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Gitolite lets one dedicated Ubuntu account host many Git repositories while SSH keys identify virtual users and repository rules decide what each user can do. Install Ubuntu’s gitolite3 package, initialize it with an administrator’s public key, then make every access change in the cloned gitolite-admin repository. Users can clone, fetch, and push according to your rules, but they cannot obtain an interactive shell on the server.
What Gitolite controls
Git itself transfers objects and updates references; it does not provide a complete multi-user authorization policy for an SSH Git service. Gitolite adds that policy in front of Git. Incoming SSH keys are mapped to Gitolite usernames, and the requested repository and operation are checked against rules before Git is started.
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This arrangement gives you three useful boundaries:
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- Identity: a public-key file in
keydirmaps an SSH key to a virtual username. - Authorization:
conf/gitolite.confgrants read, write, and force-update capabilities by repository, group, and ref pattern. - Audit and rollback: changes are ordinary commits in
gitolite-admin, so you can review who changed access and revert a bad change.
Prepare the Ubuntu host
Use a dedicated hosting account
Gitolite’s SSH installation expects a dedicated Unix account. The conventional name is git, with a home directory such as /home/git. Do not use a personal administrator account for repository hosting, and do not give the hosting account an interactive login shell for routine administration.
Have Git, Perl, and an administrator key ready
Gitolite requires Git and Perl on the server. You also need an SSH key pair for the person who will administer access. The public half must be available as a file, for example ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub. Keep the private key on the administrator’s workstation; copy only the public key to the server during initialization.
Plan names before importing keys
Choose stable virtual usernames such as alice, bob, or buildbot. The filename in keydir becomes the identity Gitolite uses in access rules. If one person needs multiple keys, use a naming convention that your Gitolite configuration supports and document which key belongs to which person. Do not treat a key filename as a Unix account: adding keydir/alice.pub does not create an operating-system user.
Install and initialize Gitolite
On Ubuntu, install the packaged server and create the dedicated account. The following sequence follows Ubuntu’s documented procedure:
sudo apt install gitolite3sudo useradd --system --home /home/git --create-home gitcp ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub /tmp/admin.pubsudo -i -u git gitolite setup -pk /tmp/admin.pub
The package installer may ask for an administrator key and storage choices. When you want the hosting username to remain git and want to customize storage yourself, Ubuntu’s procedure recommends leaving the package prompt empty. The final setup command runs as the git account and imports the administrator public key with -p (public key) and -k (key file) options.
Gitolite’s upstream setup guidance also uses the form gitolite setup -pk <admin>.pub. Keep the hosting account’s home, SSH files, Gitolite state, and repositories under the ownership and permissions Gitolite establishes. Do not subsequently replace those files with files owned by a different administrative account.
Confirm that the administrator repository exists
From the workstation that owns the corresponding private key, clone the control repository:
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git clone git@yourserver:gitolite-admin.git
cd gitolite-adminReplace yourserver with the server’s DNS name or address. A successful clone confirms that the imported key can authenticate and that the Gitolite administrator repository is reachable.
Understand the no-shell security model
SSH still authenticates the key, but Gitolite controls what happens after authentication. Its managed SSH authorization entry invokes Gitolite’s command handler instead of an interactive shell. The handler examines the requested command, repository, and ref operation, then either launches the permitted Git service or rejects the request.
This is why you should not “fix” access by editing generated SSH or repository files. In particular, do not hand-edit:
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Make changes in gitolite-admin and push them. That preserves the forced-command model and lets Gitolite compile the new authorization data consistently.
Check the SSH overview
After initialization, ask Gitolite for the repositories visible to the current key:
ssh git@yourserver
# or
ssh git@yourserver infoThe response is an overview for that key, not a server shell. If the key is the administrator key, it should show the administration repository and the repositories currently granted to that identity. A denied or unexpected result is an early indication that the wrong private key, username, host, or authorization data is being used.
Use gitolite-admin as the access control plane
The cloned administration repository contains two directories that matter most:
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keydir/contains public keys and defines virtual identities.conf/gitolite.confcontains repository and permission rules.
Every policy change follows the same reviewable cycle: edit files, inspect the diff, commit, and push. Gitolite processes the push and regenerates its managed SSH authorization and rule data on the server.
Review before applying
Use normal Git review commands before you publish a change:
git status
git diff
git diff --checkLook specifically for a key copied into the wrong filename, an unintended group member, a repository rule that is broader than intended, or a ref pattern that grants force-update rights. The commit message should identify the reason for the change, such as “Add Alice to project reviewers” or “Remove departed contractor key.”
Add and remove users
Add a user
Copy the person’s SSH public key into keydir using the virtual username you want in rules. For Alice:
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cp /path/to/alice.pub keydir/alice.pub
git add keydir/alice.pub
git commit -m "Add Alice"
git pushAfter the push completes, the key can authenticate as alice, but it still has no repository access unless a rule grants it. This separation lets you stage an identity before deciding which repositories it can see.
Remove a user
Delete the key file, then commit and push the deletion:
git rm keydir/alice.pub
git commit -m "Remove Alice"
git pushRemoving the file revokes that key’s Gitolite identity. It does not erase commits already present in repositories, and it does not revoke any other public key that may have been assigned to the same person under a different filename. Review all relevant key files when offboarding someone.
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Keep key ownership clear
Use one virtual identity per person, automation job, or other operational principal when you need independent auditing or revocation. A shared private key makes it impossible to attribute a push reliably and forces you to replace the key for everyone when one user leaves.
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Define repository permissions
Edit conf/gitolite.conf to declare groups and repository rules. This compact example separates contributors, read-only reviewers, and a trusted maintainer:
@developers = alice bob
@reviewers = carol
repo project
RW = @developers
R = @reviewers
RW+ = adminCommit and push the configuration after reviewing it:
git add conf/gitolite.conf
git commit -m "Set project access policy"
git pushPermission classes
| Rule | What it permits | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
R |
Read access, including cloning and fetching. | Reviewers or consumers who must not publish changes. |
RW |
Read and write access without the force-update privilege implied by RW+. |
Normal contributors who push new commits and ordinary updates. |
RW+ |
Read and write access with permission to force-update refs, including rewinding them. | A trusted maintainer who must rewrite or recover history. |
Grant the narrowest class that satisfies the job. In particular, do not use RW+ as a convenient synonym for ordinary write access: a force update can remove commits from a branch’s visible history or otherwise change refs in ways that affect every clone.
Use groups to keep policy readable
Groups are defined with an at-sign name, followed by virtual usernames. A user can appear in more than one group when that makes the policy clearer. Keep group names tied to a role—such as @developers or @reviewers—rather than to a temporary project description, and change membership in one place when a person’s role changes.
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Repository-wide write permission is sometimes broader than necessary. Gitolite supports ref-pattern rules so you can distinguish ordinary work from a protected branch or a maintenance namespace:
repo project
RW = @developers
RW+ dev/ = alice
R = @reviewersIn this example, developers receive normal read/write access, Alice receives the stronger class for the dev/ ref pattern, and reviewers remain read-only. Treat every pattern as a policy boundary: verify which branch or tag names it matches before relying on it to protect an important ref. Keep force-update and ref-deletion capability limited to maintainers who understand the recovery consequences.
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Apply a complete access change
Use this procedure for both identity and permission changes:
- Clone or update the administrator repository and enter its directory.
- Edit the required public-key files in
keydirand rules inconf/gitolite.conf. - Run
git diffand inspect the exact usernames, repository names, permission classes, and ref patterns. - Commit the change with a message that explains the access decision.
- Push the commit to the
gitolite-adminremote. - Run
ssh git@yourserver infowith the relevant key to confirm the repositories visible to that identity. - Perform a positive Git test and a negative test, using a test key where possible.
A normal repository URL is git@yourserver:repo. For the example repository, a user can attempt:
git clone git@yourserver:project.git
cd project
git fetch
git push origin HEAD:test-accessUse a harmless test branch or a disposable repository for a push test. A reviewer’s positive test should be clone or fetch; its negative test should be a push that Gitolite rejects. A contributor’s negative test can target a repository or ref outside the assigned rule. Testing both allowed and denied operations catches rules that look correct in the file but do not match the actual key or ref name.
Choose a policy by risk, not convenience
When deciding between policies, compare the same dimensions explicitly:
- Repository scope: Is the identity limited to one project or several?
- Read versus write: Does it need to fetch only, or publish commits?
- Force-update ability: Is
RW+genuinely required? - Branch and tag restrictions: Can the identity update every ref, or only a named pattern?
- Group membership: Is role membership maintained centrally and reviewed?
- Auditability: Will the change be visible as a commit in
gitolite-admin?
A common least-privilege arrangement is R for external or compliance reviewers, RW for day-to-day developers, and a small maintainer group with RW+ only where history repair or controlled rewrites are part of the job. If an automation key only publishes a generated branch, combine a dedicated virtual identity with a narrowly scoped rule rather than reusing a human administrator key.
Troubleshoot denied or unexpected access
| Symptom | Likely check | Correction |
|---|---|---|
The clone of gitolite-admin is denied. |
The workstation is offering a different private key, or the imported public key does not match it. | Confirm the SSH key pair, host name, and the administrator public-key file used by gitolite setup -pk. Re-run ssh git@yourserver info with the intended key. |
| A key authenticates but sees no project. | The key exists in keydir but no repository rule names its user or group. |
Add the virtual username to the appropriate rule, commit, push, and run the info command again. |
| A reviewer can push. | The username is also in a write-capable group, or a broader rule grants write access. | Review the complete configuration and group membership. Remove the overlapping write grant, then test a push denial. |
| A contributor cannot update a branch. | The rule’s repository name or ref pattern does not match the actual operation. | Compare the exact repository and ref names with the rule. Check whether the operation requires a stronger class and test with a non-critical branch. |
| Changes in the admin repository have no effect. | The commit was not pushed, or the push was made to a different remote or branch. | Run git status, inspect the commit, verify the remote, and push the branch that Gitolite processes. |
| An administrator expects a shell after SSH login. | Gitolite intentionally uses a forced command. | Use ssh git@yourserver info and normal Git operations. Perform server administration through a separate, properly controlled Unix administrator account. |
Operational safeguards
- Use SSH public-key authentication; passwords are not the normal Gitolite SSH workflow.
- Keep the hosting account dedicated to Gitolite and avoid granting it an interactive shell.
- Back up the
gitolite-adminrepository and the hosted repositories according to your recovery requirements. - Review every access commit, especially changes involving
RW+, ref deletion, or branch rewinding. - Do not modify generated authorization files, internal Gitolite state, or bare repositories directly.
- Test revocations with the removed key and test both permitted and prohibited operations after policy changes.
- Document which person or service owns each virtual key so that an unfamiliar filename can be investigated quickly.
What a finished setup looks like
A correctly configured server has one dedicated git hosting account, an administrator key imported during setup, and a cloneable gitolite-admin repository. Public keys in keydir identify virtual users; rules in conf/gitolite.conf map those users and groups to repositories and refs. A commit pushed to the administration repository applies the change, while the forced SSH command permits only the Git operations authorized by those rules. The final verification is practical: ssh ... info shows the intended repositories, an allowed clone/fetch/push succeeds, and a deliberately prohibited operation is rejected.
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