[[!meta title="Hosting Ikiwiki with a master git repository on a remote machine"]]
+[[!meta date="2013-07-22 16:38:20 -0400"]]
This tutorial explains how to set up a wiki such that:
# Similar and related tips and problems
+- [[tips/distributed_wikis]] References different way of distributing wikis (including this one).
- [[http://www.icanttype.org/blog/ikiwiki_git_remote_repo/]] Similar to what I
am describing, excepted that you must be able to connect to the machine
hosting Ikiwiki using ssh.
will also ensure that the wiki is rendered whenever a commit is done to the git
repository.
+[[!img separate-web-git-servers.svg size=400x]]
+
# Conventions
- We are building a wiki called *SITE*.
## Configuring the wiki on the wiki machine so that it uses the repository of the git machine
- Configure ssh so that it uses the ssh key `id_SITE` to connect to the git
- michine: add the following lines to file `~/.ssh/config` on the ikiwiki
+ machine: add the following lines to file `~/.ssh/config` on the ikiwiki
machine:
Host server.name.of.the.git.machine
## Configure the git repository (on the git machine) to update the wiki after a push
-- Add in the `post-receive` hook (file `SITE.git/hooks/post-receive`):
+Add in the `post-receive` hook (file `SITE.git/hooks/post-receive`):
+
+ git log -1 --format=format:%ae HEAD | grep -e '@web$' -e 'USER@HOST' || wget "http://WIKI-URL/ikiwiki.cgi?do=ping" -O /dev/stdout
- wget "http://WIKI-URL/ikiwiki.cgi?do=ping" -O /dev/stdout
+If your wiki is password protected, use:
- If your wiki is password protected, use:
+ git log -1 --format=format:%ae HEAD | grep -e '@web$' -e 'USER@HOST' || wget "http://LOGIN:PASSWORD@WIKI-URL/ikiwiki.cgi?do=ping" -O /dev/stdout
- wget "http://LOGIN:PASSWORD@WIKI-URL/ikiwiki.cgi?do=ping" -O /dev/stdout
+The bit before `wget` is here to prevent updating the wiki while it is
+updating, which can lead to a deadlock. Indeed, when the wiki is edited via
+web, or a tag page is automatically added, IkiWiki pushes the changes to the
+Git machine. Then, the hook on this latter machine tries to pull changes from
+the IkiWiki machine, and here is the deadlock. Explanations of the command:
+* `git log -1 --format=format:%ae HEAD`: Looks for the user name of the
+ latest commit.
+* `grep -e '@web$' -e 'USER@HOST': Check whether this last commit was pushed
+ from the IkiWiki machine (change `USER@HOST` to the appropriate string).
+* `wget ...`: If the last commit does not come from the IkiWiki machine
+ (which means it comes from another machine), update the wiki.
## Going further
- *Web server on a third machine* It should be possible to use a third machine
- to host the web server. A hook might be used to export the rendered wiki on
- this server, or use a nfs repository as the destination repository of
- ikiwiki. However, allowing web modifications (using CGI) might be tricky…
+ to host the web server, using [[this documentation|tips/Git_repository_and_web_server_on_different_hosts/]].
- *Using [[gitolite|https://github.com/sitaramc/gitolite]] to manage
repositories on the git machine* Simply replace the manipulations of git on
the git machine by the corresponding manipulations using gitolite.
+ * With gitolite, you can use this line in a `post-update` hook:
+
+ `[ x"$GL_USER" = x"`*`gitolite-user`*`" ] || wget ...` where *gitolite-user* is the name of the public key registered through gitolite.
+
+ Thus, you filter out precisely the events that originate from the server-to-be-pinged, no matter what the commit id says. (For example, if you push commits you created on a local CGI ikiwiki, they'd be called '@web' as well).