.gitbay/wiki/Users.org

  1#+title: gitbay user guide
  2
  3Everything here works from stock OpenSSH — replace =gitbay= with
  4=ssh git@<host>= in any command. The CLI adds convenience (instance
  5profiles, repo inference, =$EDITOR=), nothing more. Two things differ
  6over bare ssh:
  7
  8- ssh joins its arguments with spaces and the server tokenizes the
  9  result, so a value with a space in it needs a second layer of quotes:
 10  =--description "'a widget'"=, not =--description "a widget"=, which
 11  arrives as two arguments.
 12- =--help= is not understood. =ssh git@<host> help= lists every command
 13  the server knows, and =help <noun>= (=help repo=, =help mr=) prints
 14  the usage of each command under that noun.
 15
 16* Installing the CLI
 17
 18#+begin_src sh
 19go install gitbay.org/gitbay/cmd/gitbay@latest   # any platform with Go
 20
 21brew tap krz/tap https://gitbay.org/krz/homebrew-tap.git
 22brew install krz/tap/gitbay                      # Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
 23#+end_src
 24
 25Or build from source: =go build ./cmd/gitbay= in a clone of
 26=https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay.git=.
 27
 28* Getting an account
 29
 30How you join depends on the instance's registration mode. On instances
 31with web accounts enabled, =/register= offers the same signup as a
 32browser form (paste your SSH public key); everything below works from
 33the terminal alone:
 34
 35- closed :: an admin creates your account on the host and registers your
 36  first SSH key. Nothing for you to do but hand over your public key.
 37- invite :: you receive a single-use code by email. With the SSH key you
 38  want to use:
 39  #+begin_src sh
 40  ssh git@<host> register --username you --invite <code>
 41  #+end_src
 42  Your account is active immediately; the invited address is your
 43  verified email.
 44- open ::
 45  #+begin_src sh
 46  ssh git@<host> register --username you --email you@example.org
 47  #+end_src
 48  A verification code arrives by mail. Until you run
 49  =ssh git@<host> email verify <code>=, the account is pending: you can
 50  run =whoami= and the email commands, and nothing else — no git, no
 51  repos.
 52
 53* SSH keys
 54
 55New to SSH keys? [[SSH-keys]] makes one in two commands.
 56
 57Your key is your identity; there are no passwords anywhere. The SSH
 58username is always =git= — the key alone determines who you are.
 59
 60#+begin_src sh
 61gitbay auth keys list
 62gitbay auth keys add --scope git < ~/.ssh/ci_key.pub   # key on stdin
 63gitbay auth keys add --label laptop < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
 64gitbay auth keys add --scope git --ttl 90d < ~/.ssh/ci_key.pub
 65gitbay auth keys label SHA256:... "work laptop"
 66gitbay auth keys remove SHA256:...
 67#+end_src
 68
 69A key's label is the comment on its =authorized_keys= line unless
 70=--label= gives one; =keys label= renames a key, and with no text
 71clears the name. Labels are one line of up to 64 bytes.
 72
 73=--ttl 90d= (or any Go duration, =720h=) makes a key stop
 74authenticating after that long; =repo deploy-key add= takes the same
 75flag. An expiring key cannot create credentials: tokens, keys, login
 76links. =keys list= shows when each key was last used and when it
 77expires, so a key nobody uses is easy to spot.
 78
 79Removing a key closes every connection it opened, including the CLI's
 80shared one; removing the key the current command runs on ends that
 81command's connection too.
 82
 83Scopes: =full= (default; git plus every control command), =git= (git
 84transport only — right for automation keys, which then cannot touch
 85issues, settings, or your account), or =runner= (the CI runner's
 86protocol plus read-only git, for the key a =gitbay-runner= host holds;
 87see [[Admin]]).
 88
 89A key belongs to exactly one account instance-wide. Registering a key
 90someone else already holds is refused without telling you whose it is.
 91
 92* Verified commits
 93
 94The commit badge is driven by the *author* email and the signing key:
 95=verified= means the signature is valid, the key is registered to an
 96account, and the author email is a verified address on that account.
 97
 98For OpenPGP signing (git's default):
 99#+begin_src sh
100gpg --armor --export you@example.org | gitbay auth pgp add
101#+end_src
102
103For SSH signing (=git config gpg.format ssh=): sign with any key
104registered on your account; your verified addresses act as the principal
105set. No separate registration step.
106
107Add and verify additional addresses with =email add <address>= /
108=email verify <code>= (requires the instance to have SMTP; otherwise an
109admin can assert an address for you). =email list= shows them. =email
110remove <address>= drops one, with two refusals: the primary stays until
111=email primary <address>= names another verified address, and the last
112verified address stays, since activation, login links and commit
113identity all resolve through verified addresses. Removing a verified
114address re-evaluates signature states, so a commit authored from it
115shows as =signed_email_mismatch= afterwards. A removed address is free
116for any account to claim.
117
118The states you will see, in decreasing order of trust: =verified=,
119=signed_unknown_key= (valid signature, key not registered here — register
120it and history upgrades retroactively), =signed_email_mismatch= (real
121key, author line claims someone else), =signed_key_expired= /
122=signed_key_revoked=, =bad_signature=, =unsigned=. Server-created commits
123(web edits, merge commits) are always =unsigned= — the server holds no
124signing key on principle.
125
126=repo bookmark <owner/name>= saves a repository to come back to and
127=repo unbookmark= drops it; =repo bookmarks= lists yours, each with how
128many people have bookmarked it. The web has the control on the
129repository header, the count in the facts bar, and the list at
130=/bookmarks=. Bookmarks are public and counted; pins are private and
131drive the rail. Read access is all a bookmark needs.
132
133A job's result is a property of the commit's *tree*, not its sha: a
134rebase onto a base that touched nothing the branch did gives every
135commit a new sha and the same tree, and a job that already passed for
136that tree is not run again — the new commit gets the earlier result as
137its =ci/<job>= status, naming the build it came from. Scheduled and tag
138jobs are never reused this way; their trigger is the clock or the tag.
139
140* Profiles
141
142A profile is what =/{owner}= shows: a one-line description, a website, a
143set of links, long-form about text, the repositories you can see, org
144membership, and a year of activity. Users and orgs have the same fields.
145Repository rows carry the listing metadata too — topics, license,
146default branch, last commit — so a client renders a profile listing the
147way =/{owner}= does. The web dispatches this command rather than
148assembling the page itself.
149
150#+begin_src sh
151gitbay profile show               # your own
152gitbay profile show alice
153gitbay profile set --description "builds small tools" --website https://alice.example
154#+end_src
155
156The about text is not a field. It is =profile/README.md= or
157=profile/README.org= on the default branch of =<owner>/.gitbay=, a
158repository you own like any other, written by a push or by
159=repo commit-file=:
160
161#+begin_src sh
162gitbay repo create alice/.gitbay
163gitbay repo commit-file alice/.gitbay profile/README.org \
164       --ref main --file - < about.org
165#+end_src
166
167The extension picks the renderer; =.md=, =.org= and =.markdown= are
168resolved in that order, so a =README.md= beside a =README.org= wins.
169=profile show= reports the text as =about=, its format as
170=about_format=, and the file it came from as =about_path=.
171
172Access follows the repository: a private =.gitbay= keeps the about text
173to you and the admins. A repository whose name starts with a dot is
174infrastructure rather than a project, so it stays out of =explore= and
175off the profile's repository list — =repo list= still shows it, and it
176is reachable at its own URL.
177
178Up to five links, each =label|url= or a bare url, http(s) only. Passing
179=--link= replaces the whole set; a single empty one clears it:
180
181#+begin_src sh
182gitbay profile set --link "Mastodon|https://fosstodon.example/@alice" \
183                   --link https://alice.example/now
184gitbay profile set --link ""      # clear
185#+end_src
186
187Every field follows the same rule as the rest of the CLI: a flag you
188leave out is untouched, and ='' clears the one you name. Org profiles
189work the same way and need org admin:
190
191#+begin_src sh
192gitbay org profile krz --description "software and experiments"
193gitbay org profile krz            # no flags shows it
194#+end_src
195
196An org's about text works the same way, in =<org>/.gitbay=.
197
198The settings page edits description, website and links, and points at the
199about file — with a button that creates =<owner>/.gitbay= and its first
200README when you have none, so the file editor has a branch to open. The
201JSON API runs =profile set= like any other write command.
202
203* Repositories
204
205#+begin_src sh
206gitbay repo create you/project [--private]
207gitbay repo clone you/project
208gitbay repo list
209gitbay repo show you/project
210gitbay repo log you/project --limit 20      # commits with signature states
211gitbay repo fork other/project [--name mine]
212gitbay repo rename you/project tool          # clone URLs change
213gitbay repo delete you/project --yes
214#+end_src
215
216=repo show= also reports your own state on the repository — =watch=
217(=watching= or =muted=; =repo unwatch= clears either) and =bookmarked= —
218and =fork_of= when it is a
219fork whose parent you can read, so a client draws a toggle rather than
220two blind buttons. Absent means none.
221
222Pushing is SSH-only. Public repositories are anonymously readable over
223HTTPS (and =git://= where enabled); private repositories exist only over
224SSH and answer "not found" to everyone without access.
225
226Access and settings (owner or =admin= grant):
227#+begin_src sh
228gitbay repo access grant you/project alice write    # read | write | admin
229gitbay repo access revoke you/project alice
230gitbay repo access list you/project                 # everyone who can reach it, role, and via what
231gitbay repo settings protect you/project main       # no force-push, no delete
232gitbay repo settings require-mr you/project on      # protected branches: merge requests only
233gitbay repo settings protect-tag you/project 'v*'   # matching tags: created once, never moved or deleted
234gitbay repo settings default-branch you/project trunk # HEAD, and what the web shows
235gitbay repo settings require-signed you/project on  # every commit must verify
236gitbay repo settings git-daemon you/project on      # expose over git://
237gitbay repo topics add you/project cli forge        # free-form tags, shown on the web
238gitbay repo search forge                            # find repos by name/description/topic
239gitbay repo grep you/project "some string"          # literal git grep over the default branch
240gitbay repo pin you/project                         # pin to your web dashboard
241gitbay repo unpin you/project
242gitbay repo archive you/project                     # read-only: pushes and issue/MR
243gitbay repo unarchive you/project                   #   writes refused, browsing intact
244#+end_src
245
246Import from another forge — git data first, then optionally the issue
247and PR history from GitHub or any Forgejo instance such as Codeberg
248(issues keep state/labels/comments; PRs land as closed or merged MRs
249with their discussion; originals are attributed inline since foreign
250authors have no local account; re-running resumes where it stopped):
251#+begin_src sh
252gitbay repo import you/mirror --from https://github.com/you/repo.git \
253    [--private] [--token-stdin]        # token on stdin, never in the URL
254gitbay repo import-issues you/mirror --from you/repo --token-stdin
255gitbay repo import-issues you/mirror --from you/repo \
256    --api-base https://codeberg.org/api/v1    # Forgejo: the site's /api/v1
257#+end_src
258
259Sourcehut has no API of that shape; =repo import= takes its git data
260and the todo.sr.ht tracker is not read.
261
262Moving between gitbay instances (no lock-in): run on the TARGET, with
263your key registered on both sides. Profile, repos with settings,
264issues, MRs, and comments replay with attribution; git data mirrors
265client-side through your own key. Keys never transfer and emails
266arrive unverified — trust is per-instance. Re-running resumes.
267Push-blocking policies (require-signed, protected branches) are
268deferred and printed for you to re-apply after the data lands.
269=gitbay auth export= alone doubles as a user-level backup.
270
271#+begin_src sh
272gitbay migrate --from old-instance.example [--from-port 22]
273#+end_src
274
275Mirroring keeps a foreign remote in sync during a gradual migration
276(repo admin; https remotes; the token is stored server-side for the
277recurring sync and never echoed back):
278
279#+begin_src sh
280gitbay repo mirror add you/project https://github.com/you/project.git \
281    --direction push --token-stdin    # propagate after every local push
282gitbay repo mirror add you/copy https://github.com/them/theirs.git \
283    --direction pull                  # follow upstream; local pushes refused
284gitbay repo mirror list               # sync status and last error, per mirror
285gitbay repo mirror sync / remove <id>
286#+end_src
287
288Markdown and org files render on the web when opened, the way a README
289does on the repository page, with relative links resolved against the
290file's directory; =source= in the file's action bar (or =?view=source=)
291shows the text instead. Other files show the text with highlighting.
292
293* Organizations
294
295Orgs share the owner namespace with users and own repositories at
296=org/repo=. By default members get write on all org repos; org admins
297get repo admin, create repos under the org, and manage membership. An
298org's existence and member list are public; its teams are visible to
299members, and anyone else asking is refused rather than told the org
300does not exist.
301
302#+begin_src sh
303gitbay org create krz
304gitbay org members add krz alice [--role admin]
305gitbay org show krz
306gitbay org rename krz newname     # clone URLs change
307gitbay org delete krz --yes       # only when it owns no repositories
308#+end_src
309
310Large orgs scope access with teams: set what plain membership implies,
311then grant per-repo roles through named teams (org admins always keep
312admin; the default =write= keeps the simple model):
313
314#+begin_src sh
315gitbay org settings members-role krz none   # write | read | none
316gitbay org team create krz core-devs
317gitbay org team add krz core-devs alice bob # org members only
318gitbay org team grant krz core-devs krz/gitbay write
319gitbay org team show krz core-devs          # members + grants
320gitbay org team revoke / remove / delete ...
321#+end_src
322
323* Issues
324
325Anyone who can read a repository can file and comment. Closing/reopening
326is for the author or anyone with write; labels and assignees need write.
327
328#+begin_src sh
329gitbay issue create --title "it breaks" [--body "..." | --file -]
330gitbay issue list [--state open|closed|all]
331gitbay issue show 4
332gitbay issue comment 4 --message "same here"
333gitbay issue edit 4 --title "better title" [--body|--file -]  # author or write
334gitbay issue close 4 / reopen 4
335gitbay issue label 4 --add bug --remove wontfix
336gitbay issue assign 4 --add alice
337gitbay issue milestone 4 v1.0                 # or "none" to clear
338#+end_src
339
340Inside a clone, the repository is inferred from the =origin= remote —
341that is why no =owner/name= appears above. Anywhere else, pass it as the
342first argument. Long text: =--body= inline, =--file -= from stdin, or
343neither on a terminal and =$EDITOR= opens.
344
345A wiki is the =.gitbay/wiki/= directory on the default branch — no
346separate repository, the same rendering pipeline as READMEs (markdown
347and org). Editing it is editing a file: a push, =repo commit-file=, or
348the web editor on a repository that permits server-authored commits (one
349requiring signed commits is push-only, since the server signs nothing):
350
351#+begin_src sh
352mkdir -p .gitbay/wiki
353# add Home.md (or .org), more pages, images; relative links between
354# pages just work on the web at /you/project/wiki
355git add .gitbay/wiki && git commit -m "wiki" && git push
356#+end_src
357
358Pages may sit in subfolders. A nested page is named by its path —
359=.gitbay/wiki/Guide/Install.md= is =/you/project/wiki/Guide/Install= and
360=wiki show you/project Guide/Install= — and the sidebar groups it under
361its folder. A relative link or image on a nested page resolves from the
362page's own folder first, then from the top of the wiki, so a link to
363=Home= still reaches the top-level page. SVG images render.
364
365Releases anchor notes and binary assets to a pushed tag (write access;
366assets stream over SSH, capped by the instance's =max_asset_bytes=).
367While a release exists its tag can be neither deleted nor moved, whether
368or not the tag is protected: delete the release first.
369
370#+begin_src sh
371gitbay release create v1.0 --title "First light" [--notes|--file -|$EDITOR]
372gitbay release asset add v1.0 tool-linux-amd64 < dist/tool-linux-amd64
373gitbay release asset get v1.0 tool-linux-amd64 > tool   # or the web download link
374gitbay release list / show v1.0 / delete v1.0 --yes
375#+end_src
376
377The web shows them under the repository's =releases= tab with rendered
378notes, sha256 sums, and download links. Feed readers subscribe at
379=/you/project/releases.atom=; commits are at =/you/project/log.atom=
380(the default branch) or =/you/project/log.atom/<ref>=, and an owner's
381activity on their public repositories at =/you/activity.atom=. The
382pages carry the discovery link.
383
384Commit messages act on issues when the commits land on the default
385branch (direct push, MR merge, =repo commit-file= or the web editor):
386=closes/fixes/resolves #4= closes the
387issue with a linking comment, and a bare =#4= leaves a reference
388comment. Each issue/commit pair acts once, ever. =Closes owner/name#N= closes an issue in another repository when
389you hold write there with a key whose scope reaches it; otherwise it
390stays a plain link. A deploy key closes nothing outside the repository
391it is bound to, but naming that repository by full path works as the
392bare form does. The comment left
393on the closed issue links the closing commit by its repository path, so
394closing a public repository's issue from a private one names the private
395repository there. A bare =owner/name#N= links and does nothing.
396
397Milestones group issues and MRs toward a release (write access to
398manage, attach with =issue milestone= / =mr milestone=; progress shows
399on the web at =/owner/name/milestones=):
400
401#+begin_src sh
402gitbay milestone create v1.0 --description "first release" --due 2027-01-01
403gitbay milestone list [--state open|closed|all]
404gitbay milestone close v1.0 / reopen v1.0
405#+end_src
406
407An org holds labels and milestones every repository under it sees
408beside its own. =issue label --add=, =mr label --add=, =issue
409milestone= and =mr milestone= resolve the org's row first; a repository
410cannot create a label or milestone with a name its org holds. Creating
411an org label or milestone whose name repositories under the org already
412use folds them in: their issues and merge requests move to the org's
413row. Org admins manage them; counts span the repositories you can read.
414
415#+begin_src sh
416gitbay org label set acme bug --color cf222e
417gitbay org label list acme / remove acme bug
418gitbay org milestone create acme v2 --due 2027-03-01
419gitbay org milestone list acme [--state open|closed|all]
420gitbay org milestone close acme v2 / reopen acme v2
421#+end_src
422
423On the web: =/acme/-/labels= and =/acme/-/milestones=, read-only.
424
425Issue templates: commit =.gitbay/issue-template.md= (and optional
426=issue-template-<name>.md= variants) to the default branch. =gitbay
427issue create= prefills =$EDITOR= with the default template, the web
428form prefills its textarea, and =gitbay issue templates= lists them.
429
430Lists narrow the same way on every surface: =issue list --label bug
431--assignee bob --author alice --milestone v1= (or =--milestone none=),
432=mr list --label bug --author bob --milestone v1=; the web's issue and
433merge request lists take the same names as query parameters, and each
434active filter shows with a link that drops it.
435
436Labels take a colour: =gitbay label set bug --color cf222e=; =label
437list= shows each with its colour and how many issues and merge requests
438carry it, and =label remove= takes one off all of them. =issue label
439--add= and =mr label --add= still create a colourless label on the fly.
440
441* Merge requests
442
443#+begin_src sh
444gitbay mr create --source feature --target main --title "add thing"
445gitbay mr create other/upstream --source you/fork:feature --target main --title "..."
446gitbay mr list / show 4 / diff 4
447gitbay mr checkout 4              # local branch mr/4 from the MR head
448gitbay mr review 4 --approve      # or --request-changes / --comment
449gitbay mr label 4 --add bug --remove wontfix
450gitbay mr merge 4 [--strategy ff|merge|squash|rebase]
451gitbay mr close 4
452#+end_src
453
454A merge request closed without merging can name the one that carries
455its change forward: =mr close 4 --by 7= records it and both pages show
456it, and =mr edit 4 --superseded-by 7|none= sets or clears it
457afterwards, refused on anything but a closed merge request.
458
459The web list shows each request's combined check state and comment
460count alongside its title, so open work needing attention stands out
461without opening it.
462
463Semantics worth knowing:
464
465- the MR head lives in the *target* repository as
466  =refs/merge-requests/N/head= (fetchable by any reader), so an MR
467  survives deletion of its source branch or fork. It is never removed
468  on merge or close; after a history rewrite an instance admin can
469  drop it with =admin mr prune=.
470- force-pushing the source updates the MR and marks existing reviews
471  stale — unless the diff is the one they reviewed. A rebase onto a
472  target that moved on changes every sha and nothing about the change,
473  so fresh reviews follow it to the new head; a push that changes the
474  diff stales them.
475- default strategy: fast-forward when possible, else a merge commit.
476  Squash makes one commit authored by the MR author, committed by the
477  merger. Rebase replays a linear range preserving authors; it refuses
478  ranges containing merge commits, and when fast-forward is possible it
479  *is* one (original commits and signatures land untouched).
480- on =require_signed_commits= branches only fast-forwards of fully
481  verified commits merge; everything server-created is refused with
482  instructions to rebase locally. =gitbay mr rebase <n>= is those
483  instructions: in a clone of the target it replays the source branch
484  onto the target and force-pushes it, then =mr merge <n>= fast-forwards.
485  The replay is local, so the commits carry your signature and not the
486  server's — it holds no key. A branch living in a fork is refused, with
487  the repository to run it in; rebase it there.
488
489Repo admins can gate merges (=repo settings ...=): =require-approvals
490<n>= (fresh, non-author approvals; each reviewer's latest review is
491their stance, and a fresh request-changes blocks), =require-resolved=
492(no open review threads), =require-checks= (all statuses green), and
493=require-codeowners= (an approval from an owner of every owned changed
494file). Owners come from a =CODEOWNERS= file on the target branch, root
495or =.gitbay/=, gitignore-style patterns, last match wins. The toggle is
496the opt-in, so a repository can carry the file as documentation of who
497to ask without it gating merges; with it on and no file on the target
498branch, the merge is refused and says so. It does not wait on
499=require-approvals=.
500
501=mr show= carries a =gates= block with where the merge request stands
502against all of them — approvals counted and required, owners still
503outstanding per file, open threads, checks, and whether a fast-forward
504is possible — and the merge request page shows the same block. =mr
505merge= names every unmet gate at once rather than the first. =mr
506review= says when a verdict is advisory, which it is from anyone
507without write access: the gates do not count it.
508
509Those gates apply to =mr merge=. A direct push to a protected branch
510passes none of them until =require-mr on=: then an existing protected
511branch refuses every push, including =repo commit-file= and the web
512editor, and the server's merge is its only writer. Creating the branch
513is still a push, since there is nothing to open a merge request against
514yet.
515
516A merge request whose target is another open merge request's source
517branch is stacked on it: =mr create= says so, =mr show= carries
518=stacked_on= and =stacked=, and merging the lower one retargets the
519upper onto =main= with its reviews kept. See [[Stacked-MRs][Stacked
520merge requests]].
521
522Review threads anchor to diff lines:
523
524#+begin_src sh
525gitbay mr diff-comment 4 --path main.go --line 12 --message "use log here"
526gitbay mr diff-comment 4 --reply 7 --message "done"     # join thread 7
527gitbay mr threads 4                                     # threads with staleness
528gitbay mr resolve 4 7 / unresolve 4 7
529#+end_src
530
531Threads render inline on the MR page. A force-push marks them stale
532(shown under "threads on earlier revisions") rather than guessing new
533anchors; =mr show= reports the unresolved count. Resolving is for the
534thread author, the MR author, or anyone with write.
535
536* CI builds
537
538A =.gitbay/ci.yml= in the repo runs jobs on every branch push:
539
540#+begin_src yaml
541jobs:
542  test:
543    steps:
544      - go test ./...
545#+end_src
546
547A config holds at most ten jobs of fifty steps each, each step under
5484096 bytes, in a file under 64 KiB; a longer step runs a script from the
549repository (=- sh ci/publish.sh=). A config past a cap, or otherwise
550unparseable, records a failed =ci/config= status on the commit and
551queues nothing, so look there when a push builds nothing.
552
553Each job becomes a build (=build list=, =build log=, the builds tab on
554the web) and a =ci/<job>= commit status, which =repo settings
555require-checks= can gate merges on. =build list= takes =--ref=,
556=--status= and =--job= to narrow the listing, combinable; the builds
557tab reads the same flags from its =?ref=, =?status= and =?job= query
558parameters and groups the result into one row per commit. Steps run
559with =sh -c= on the instance's runner, stopping at the first failure;
560a broken config surfaces as a failed =ci/config= status. Environment:
561=GITBAY_REPO=,
562=GITBAY_SHA=, =GITBAY_REF=, =GITBAY_JOB=, =CI=true=, and =GITBAY_SSH=,
563the instance's ssh destination as the build reaches it (=git@gitbay.org=
564from a runner elsewhere; inside a container on the server's own runner
565the host is at a private address the runner fills in). A job that
566talks back to the instance — a release asset, a comment, a push to a
567pages branch — uses =$GITBAY_SSH= with a key it holds as a secret;
568the build's container has no key of its own. Two things about that
569container: a secret with newlines (a private key) arrives intact, and
570=ssh= expands =~= from the passwd entry, =/root=, not from =$HOME=,
571which is the build home — so keep an ssh config in the workspace and
572pass it with =ssh -F= (and =GIT_SSH_COMMAND="ssh -F ..."= for git),
573which also works on a runner with no container, where writing to
574=~/.ssh= would edit that machine's own configuration.
575
576Secrets: =repo secret set <owner/name> <NAME>= reads the value from
577stdin (never argv) and injects it into the repo's builds as =$NAME=;
578=repo secret list= shows names only, and the value is never echoed
579back. Anyone with write access can read a secret from inside a build,
580so scope them accordingly.
581
582Schedules: a job with =schedule: "17 11,23 * * *"= (five-field cron,
583server-local time; lists, ranges, and steps supported) runs on its cron
584against the default branch instead of on push. A default-branch push
585registers or updates the schedule. A job with =tags: "v*"= runs when a
586matching tag is pushed — and only then; =schedule= and =tags= are
587mutually exclusive. =build trigger <owner/name> <job>= queues any job
588immediately, and =build cancel <owner/name> <n>= withdraws one, queued
589or running: a running build stops at the runner within seconds and the
590log says who cancelled it. Both need write access.
591
592What each push shape queues, with dedupe, path filters, schedules and
593the reaper together, is one table on [[CI][CI]].
594
595** Your own runner
596
597Builds run on runners attached to the repository. An instance need not
598offer any: install =gitbay-runner= on a machine of yours and attach it.
599
600#+begin_src sh
601brew install krz/tap/gitbay-runner        # or a binary from the release
602gitbay-runner init -remote git@gitbay.org
603#+end_src
604
605=init= generates a key under =~/.config/gitbay-runner/=, writes
606=config.toml= beside it, and prints the public key with the command to
607attach it:
608
609#+begin_src sh
610gitbay repo runner add owner/name < ~/.config/gitbay-runner/id_ed25519.pub
611#+end_src
612
613or paste the key under Runners on the repository's settings page. Then
614=brew services start krz/tap/gitbay-runner=, or run =gitbay-runner= with
615no arguments; it reads the config file, and any flag overrides it.
616
617What it builds: every build for the repositories it is attached to,
618with the repository's secrets, and nothing else. Merge requests from
619forks are untrusted and wait unless the runner runs with =-untrusted=,
620which is only sensible with =-isolation podman -image <ref>= (see
621[[Admin][Admin]]). Attach one runner to several repositories by repeating
622=repo runner add=; run several runners on one account by running =init=
623on each machine. =repo runner list= shows each attached key, when it
624last polled and the build it holds; =repo runner remove <fingerprint>=
625detaches one (the key stays on your account; =keys remove= drops it).
626A runner key reaches only the runner protocol and read-only git, so a
627build step that reads it off disk cannot administer your account.
628
629* Large files (LFS)
630
631Standard Git LFS works over both transports with no setup beyond the
632usual =git lfs track=. SSH remotes authenticate through
633=git-lfs-authenticate= (deploy keys included: ro keys can download, rw
634keys upload); anonymous HTTPS clones of public repositories can fetch
635LFS objects with no credentials. Objects are verified against their
636sha256 on upload and capped at 512MB by default.
637
638* Pages
639
640On instances with =[pages] domain= set, a =pages= branch in any public
641repo is served as a static site: the repo named =pages= at
642=https://<you>.<domain>/=, every other repo at
643=https://<you>.<domain>/<repo>/=. Push HTML to publish; a CI job can
644build and push the branch for automatic deploys. Sites run on a
645separate origin — your scripts work, and the forge's cookies are out of
646reach.
647
648A repo can also serve its pages branch on a domain you own.
649=repo domain add <owner/name> <domain>= claims it and prints a DNS TXT
650challenge (=_gitbay-challenge.<domain>=); create the record, run
651=repo domain verify=, then point the domain's A/AAAA records at the
652instance (DNS-only if the domain sits behind a proxying provider — the
653instance issues its own certificates). Claims are exclusive per
654instance; unverified claims serve nothing and expire after 7 days.
655=repo domain list= reports pending/verified/expired.
656
657* Snippets
658
659A snippet is one or more named text files you own outside any
660repository, for a log or a fragment shared by URL. Create one from a
661file on stdin; the reply is the id and the URL:
662
663#+begin_src sh
664gitbay snippet create build.log --description "failing build" < build.log
665gitbay snippet file set <id> notes.txt < notes.txt   # add or replace a file
666gitbay snippet file get <id> build.log > build.log
667gitbay snippet edit <id> --visibility public
668gitbay snippet list                                  # yours
669gitbay snippet list <owner>                          # their public ones
670gitbay snippet delete <id>
671#+end_src
672
673Visibility is =public= (listed on your page), =unlisted= (anyone with
674the URL, listed nowhere; the default) or =private= (you alone; not
675found to everyone else). Files are text, valid UTF-8, each under the
676instance's =max_snippet_bytes=, at most 64 per snippet. A snippet keeps
677at least one file. There is no history: setting a file replaces it.
678
679On the web, =/<you>/-/snippets= lists yours, each snippet page renders
680its files with a raw link per file, and the same page creates, edits
681and deletes through the commands above.
682
683* Browser sessions
684
685=gitbay web login= mints a one-time URL; the session it opens ends
686after twelve hours without a request, and after seven days in any case.
687=gitbay web sessions list= shows each of yours by a short id with its
688creation, expiry and last use, and =gitbay web sessions revoke <id>=
689or =--all= ends them from the terminal, which is where a lost laptop is
690handled.
691
692=web theme set light= or =dark= fixes the web UI's colour scheme for
693your account; =system=, the default, follows the browser's own
694preference. =web theme show= prints it. The account page has the same
695control under Appearance.
696
697* Notifications
698
699When the instance has SMTP configured, activity mails you as well as
700filing the inbox row: someone opens an issue or MR on your repository,
701comments where you are a participant (author, commenter, reviewer, or
702mentioned), reviews, closes, merges, or assigns you.
703=notifications settings mail off= keeps the inbox and stops that mail
704(login links are not activity and still arrive); the account page has
705the same switch.
706=notifications settings watch on= makes you a recipient of every issue
707and merge request on the repositories you can write to, as if you had
708run =repo watch= on each: it is consulted when a notice is delivered,
709so a grant or a revoke needs no watch row, and an explicit watch or
710mute on a repository still wins. Off by default; the account page has
711this switch too. Writing =@name= in an issue, merge request or
712comment files "mentioned you" in that account's inbox and makes them a
713participant of the thread, provided they can read the repository and
714have not muted it; watchers are not told about a mention addressed to
715someone else.
716You are never mailed about your own actions, and only verified primary
717addresses receive anything. Delivery retries on relay failure.
718
719Push is the same activity again, delivered to a phone: the iOS app
720registers a device, and =notifications settings push off= silences it
721the way =mail off= silences mail, without deregistering anything.
722=notifications device list= shows what is registered (token shown
723truncated); =notifications device remove <id>= drops one by hand, from
724the CLI or the account page. A device is also dropped on its own the
725moment Apple reports the token dead, so an app deleted from a phone
726stops costing anything without you having to notice. Push only works
727when the instance operator has configured it: on an instance with
728=[push] enabled = false=, =notifications device add= refuses rather
729than registering a device nothing can deliver to.
730
731Push notifications carry the notice in full: a private repository's
732name and the issue or merge request number reach Apple and can appear
733on a lock screen, the same as any other text a phone shows in a
734notification. This is deliberate, not an oversight — weigh it against
735what you keep in a private repository before registering a device.
736
737* Web vocabulary
738
739Sign in / Log out, Search, sentence-case headings and buttons, product
740name lowercase.
741
742* Output rules
743
744=--json= is the contract; the plain output is for a person at a
745terminal, and follows these rules so every noun reads the same way.
746
747- A list command prints one row per item, tab-separated, no header.
748  Columns run identifier, state, then description; a trailing column
749  may carry a word (=due 2027-01-01=, =via team=). Piped, a timestamp in
750  a row is RFC3339 to the second, UTC. Under =--json= nothing is
751  touched.
752- An empty list prints nothing on stdout and =nothing to list= on
753  stderr.
754- A mutation prints one line: verb, object, identifier
755  (=created krz/gitbay#7=). A second line appears only for something
756  to copy: a URL, a token shown once.
757- A bad invocation prints =usage:= and the command's registered usage,
758  the same text =help <noun>= shows. Exit 2.
759- A refusal says who may and what to do instead: =only admins of acme
760  can manage teams; ask one to add you=. Exit 4. A thing that does not
761  exist, or that you may not know exists, is exit 3.
762- stdout is the result; stderr is everything else: progress, a note
763  that output was truncated, errors.
764- Verbs: =create= and =delete= for things with their own identity
765  (repository, issue, release, team), =add= and =remove= for attaching
766  something to them (a key, a member, a label on an issue), =set= for
767  a value, =revoke= for a credential, =show= and =list= for reads.
768
769** At a terminal
770
771The =gitbay= CLI sends a leading =--term=<cols>[,color]= argument on
772the SSH command line when stdout is a terminal (OpenSSH's multiplexed
773sessions, which the CLI uses, do not forward a session's =SetEnv=).
774The argument goes first: the server reads =--term=<v>= only as the
775first argument, and ignores it over HTTP. The server then prints:
776
777- lists under a header, padded, fitted to the width (the title or
778  description column is cut with =…= first), states in colour, ages as
779  =2h ago=, and the next page as a command on stderr (piped output
780  keeps a =next\t<cursor>= row instead);
781- =show= views with a title line, aligned fields, the body rendered
782  from markdown or org, one line per event, and comments under a rule;
783  a sub-table (labels, revisions, and the like) carries a section label
784  line in both terminal and piped output; timestamps as
785  =2026-09-23 23:26 UTC=. =wiki show= piped prints the page source
786  verbatim; the rendered page is terminal-only;
787- help with flag descriptions, defaults, and examples; =gitbay --help=
788  groups commands under WORK, REPOSITORIES, YOU and INSTANCE;
789  =help --json= adds =flags= and =examples=.
790
791=NO_COLOR=, =TERM=dumb= and =--no-color= drop the colour. =show=,
792=diff= and =log= at a terminal go through =$GITBAY_PAGER=, else
793=$PAGER=, else =less= (with =LESS=FRX= when =LESS= is unset); an empty
794=GITBAY_PAGER= turns paging off. Paging never applies to =--follow=,
795=--json=, or piped output.
796
797=GITBAY_TERM=off= stops the CLI sending =--term= at all, for an
798instance older than v1.36.0, which refuses the argument as an unknown
799command.
800
801Stock ssh without the CLI's multiplexing gets the plain output unless
802it passes the same leading argument or sets the environment variable
803sshd is told to accept. OpenSSH parses options after the host, so the
804argument goes after =--=:
805
806#+begin_src sh
807ssh git@gitbay.org -- --term=120,color issue list krz/gitbay
808ssh -o SetEnv=GITBAY_TERM=120,color git@gitbay.org issue list krz/gitbay
809#+end_src
810
811* Scripting
812
813Every read command takes =--json= and emits one envelope:
814={"protocol_version": 1, "data": ...}=. stdout is data, stderr is
815messages. Exit codes are stable: 0 ok, 1 failure, 2 usage, 3 not found,
8164 denied, 5 server/protocol error. Usage means the arguments were wrong;
817a refusal — a name already taken, a state that does not allow the change
818— is a failure. Nothing ever prompts; destructive commands take =--yes=.
819
820For HTTP automation see [[API]].
821
822* CLI setup
823
824#+begin_src sh
825gitbay remote add myforge forge.example.org [--port n] [--user u] --default
826gitbay remote list
827gitbay init [name] [--private]   # git init + repo create + origin, in one step
828#+end_src
829
830Configuration lives at =~/.config/gitbay/config.toml=. The CLI shells
831out to your real =ssh=, so =~/.ssh/config=, the agent, and hardware keys
832all apply. It shares one connection per instance through a control
833socket under =~/.ssh=: the first command in five minutes pays the
834handshake and the rest ride it. =no_multiplex = true= on an instance in
835the config turns that off. Man pages: =gitbay man --dir <dir>=; completions:
836=gitbay completion bash|zsh|fish=.