-[[meta title="Git"]]
+[[!meta title="Git"]]
[Git][git] is a distributed revison control system originally developed for
the Linux kernel. Ikiwiki supports storing a wiki in git.
[git]: http://git.or.cz/
-Ikiwiki can run as a `post-update` hook to update a wiki whenever commits
-come in. When running as a [[cgi]] with Git, ikiwiki automatically
-commits edited pages, and uses the Git history to generate the
-[[RecentChanges]] page.
+Ikiwiki can run as a git `post-update` hook to update a wiki
+whenever commits come in. When running as a [[cgi]],
+ikiwiki automatically commits edited pages, and uses the
+git history to generate the [[RecentChanges]] page.
+
+Normally you can just follow the instructions in [[setup]] to create
+the git repositories and get started. To understand the details, read on.
## git repository setup
-The suggested setup for git is a set of repositories setup like a
-shallow, single level tree, with a bare repository (meaning that it
-does not have a working tree checked out) at the root, and various
-working clones (with working directories) as leaf nodes. The root
-(bare) repository is meant to be pushed to and pulled from the various
-working clones. The image below displays the relationship between the
-root repository and the clone repositories (this is not a directory
-layout):
+[[!img wiki_edit_flow.svg size=490x align=right]]
-
+The suggested setup for git has a bare repository, and various
+working clones (with working directories). The bare
+repository is pushed to and pulled from the various working clones.
-One of the leaf node clone repositories is special; it has working
-directory which is used to compile the wiki from, and is also used by the
+One of the clones is special; it is the srcdir
+which is used to compile the wiki, and is also used by the
[[cgi]] to commit changes made via the web interface. It is special
-since the `post-commit` hook for the bare root repository is used to
+since the `post-update` hook for the bare root repository is used to
trigger an update of this repository, and then an ikiwiki refresh
-updates the published wiki itself.
+updates the published wiki itself.
-The other (optional) leaf node repositories are meant for you to work
+The other (optional) clones are meant for you to work
on, and commit to, changes should then be pushed to the bare root
-repository. In theory, you could work on the same leaf node repository
-that ikiwiki uses to compile the wiki from, and the [[cgi]] commits
-to, as long as you ensure that permissions and ownership don't hinder
-the working of the [[cgi]]. This can be done, for example, by using
-ACL's, in practice, it is easier to just setup separate clones for
-yourself.
-
-So, to reiterate, when using Git, you probably want to set up three
-repositories:
-
-* The root repository. This should be a bare repository (meaning that
- it does not have a working tree checked out), which the other
- repositories will push to/pull from. It is a bare repository, since
- there are problems pushing to a repository that has a working
- directory. This is called _repository_ in [[ikiwiki-makerepo]]'s
- manual page.
-
- Nominally, this bare repository has a `post-commit` hook that either
- is or calls ikiwiki's git wrapper, which changes to the working
- directory for ikiwiki, does a _git pull_, and refreshes ikiwiki to
- regenerate the wiki with any new content.
-
- The configuration sections below show how to let the post-commit
- hook be replaced by the ikiwiki git wrapper.
-* The second repository is a clone of the bare root repository, and
- has a working tree which is used as ikiwiki's srcdir for compiling
- the wiki. **Never** push to this repository. When running as a
- [[cgi]], the changes are committed to this repository, and pushed to
- the master repository above. This is called _srcdir_ in
- [[ikiwiki-makerepo]]'s manual page.
-* The other (third, fourth, fifth, sixth -- however many pleases you)
- repositories are also clones of the bare root repository above --
- and these have a working directory for you to work on. Use either
- the `git` transport (if available), or `ssh`. These repositories may
- be on remote machines, your laptop, whereever you find convenient to
- hack on your wiki. you can commit local changes to the version on
- the laptop, perhaps while offline. You can browse and edit the wiki
- using a local web server. Any new content should be pushed to the
- bare master repository when you are ready to publish it, and then
- the post-commit hook of the bare repository will ensure that the
- ikiwiki's source directory is updated, and the ikiwiki refreshed
- with the new content.
-
-Using three or more of repositories isn't the most obvious set up, but
+repository.
+
+Using three or more repositories isn't the most obvious set up, but
it works the best for typical ikiwiki use. [[ikiwiki-makerepo]] can
automate setting this up for the common case where there is no
pre-existing wiki. [[tips/Laptop_wiki_with_git]] describes a different
way to set up ikiwiki and git.
-It is **paramount** that you **never** push to the non-bare repository
-([this FAQ entry explains why](http://git.or.cz/gitwiki/GitFaq#head-b96f48bc9c925074be9f95c0fce69bcece5f6e73)).
-Instead, clone the bare repository as mentioned above, and push
-**only** to the bare repository.
-
-The ikiwiki `post-commit` hook should be put in the bare repository.
-
## git repository with multiple committers
It can be tricky to get the permissions right to allow multiple people to
commit to an ikiwiki git repository. As the [[security]] page mentions,
for a secure ikiwiki installation, only one person should be able to write
to ikiwiki's srcdir. When other committers make commits, their commits
-should go to the bare repository, which has a `post-update` hook that uses
-ikiwiki to pull the changes to the srcdir.
+should be pushed to the bare repository, which has a `post-update` hook
+that uses ikiwiki to pull the changes to the srcdir.
One setup that will work is to put all committers in a group (say,
"ikiwiki"), and use permissions to allow that group to commit to the bare git
group. Take care that ikiwiki uses a umask that does not cause files in
the srcdir to become group writable. (umask 022 will work.)
-## Configuration of working clone repositories
-
-These are repositories (Clone 1 .. N in the image) usually setup to
-avoid permission problems with the working directory used by ikiwiki
-itself. They also represent the most convenient way to add content to
-the wiki on a different machine (that is, not the machine the wiki is
-published on) which is more convenient.
-
-The use case for these clones is this: If you want to edit your wiki
-on your development box, or on your laptop, you usually set up a clone
-as above. But very often, you also want to test what the changes look
-like, locally, before pushing it to the root repository and publishing
-the wiki for the world to see.
-
-In order to do this, you should another setup file and setup a private
-ikiwiki on the local machine (your laptop, for instance) where you do
-most of your editing. You will also need to set up a webserver, and
-install ikiwiki on this machine. Only when you are happy with any
-changes do you push them to the root repository.
-
-Here are some things to be aware of when configuring ikiwiki on the
-local machine:
-
-* By default, ikiwiki pulls and pushes from `origin`. This is not
- ideal for the working clones on the local machine, since you might
- go through several iterations of a page before pushing to the bare
- root of the repository tree and publishing it on your public
- wiki. In the configuration, set:
-
- gitorigin_branch => "",
- ## git post-commit wrapper
- wrapper => "/working/dir/.git/hooks/post-commit",
-
- Then just committing should refresh the private ikiwiki on the local
- host.
-
-* You can optionally enable to the [[plugins/mirrorlist]] plugin,
- and configure it so that each page links to the corresponding page on the
- server.
-
-Now just run `ikiwiki -setup wiki.setup -getctime` and you should be
-good to go. (You only need the slow `-getctime` option the first time you
-run setup.)
-
-Use standard git commands to handle pulling from and pushing to the server.
-
-Note: Currently, after pulling changes, you will need to manually update
-the wiki, with a command such as `ikiwiki -setup wiki.setup -refresh`. This
-is because git 1.5.4 doesn't have a hook that is run locally after pulling
-changes. Newer versions of git will have a `post-merge` hook that should
-work for this purpose.
+## git repository with untrusted committers
+
+By default, anyone who can commit to the git repository can modify any file
+on the wiki however they like. A `pre-receive` hook can be set up to limit
+incoming commits from untrusted users. Then the same limits that are placed
+on edits via the web will be in effect for commits to git for the users.
+They will not be allowed to edit locked pages, they will only be able to
+delete pages that the [[plugins/remove]] configuration allows them to
+remove, and they will only be allowed to add non-page attachments that the
+[[plugins/attachment]] configuration allows.
+
+To enable this, you need to set up the git repository to have multiple
+committers. Trusted committers, including the user that ikiwiki runs as,
+will not have their commits checked by the `pre-receive` hook. Untrusted
+committers will have their commits checked. The configuration settings to
+enable are `git_test_receive_wrapper`, which enables generation of a
+`pre-receive` hook, and `untrusted_committers`, which is a list of
+usernames of the untrusted committers.
+
+Note that when the `pre-receive` hook is checking incoming changes, it
+ignores the git authorship information, and uses the username of the unix
+user who made the commit. Then tests including the `locked_pages`
+[[ikiwiki/PageSpec]]
+are checked to see if that user can edit the pages in the commit.
+
+You can even set up an [[anonymous_user|tips/untrusted_git_push]], to allow
+anyone to push changes in via git rather than using the web interface.
+
+## Optionally using a local wiki to preview changes
+
+When working on your wiki,
+it is common (but optional) practice to preview your changes using a
+private wiki on the local host before publishing the updates by
+sending it to the root repository. If you do want to setup a private
+wiki, you will have to have another setup file and and an ikiwiki
+installation on your local machine. You will need all the packages
+this implies -- a web server, git, ikiwiki, etc. However, there is a
+_caveat_: by default, ikiwiki pulls and pushes from `origin`. This is
+not ideal for the working clones on the local machine, since you might
+go through several iterations of a page before pushing to the bare
+root of the repository tree (and thus publishing it on your public wiki).
+You do not want the action of refreshing the local wiki in order to
+review your work to accidentally publish the
+contents before you are ready. In order to prevent the git push that
+is the normal behaviour of ikiwiki, set the configuration of the local wiki:
+
+ gitorigin_branch => "",
+ ## git post-commit wrapper
+ git_wrapper => "/working/dir/.git/hooks/post-commit",
+
+Then just committing should refresh the private ikiwiki on the local
+host. Now just run `ikiwiki -setup localwiki.setup -gettime` and
+you should be good to go. (You only need the slow `-gettime` option
+the first time you run setup.) Use standard git commands to handle
+pulling from and pushing to the server. **Note**: After
+pulling changes from the bare root repository, you will need to
+manually update the local wiki, with a command such as `ikiwiki
+-setup localwiki.setup -refresh`. You could use git's `post-merge` hook
+to automate that command.