.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
 55Your key is your identity; there are no passwords anywhere. The SSH
 56username is always =git= — the key alone determines who you are.
 57
 58#+begin_src sh
 59gitbay auth keys list
 60gitbay auth keys add --scope git < ~/.ssh/ci_key.pub   # key on stdin
 61gitbay auth keys remove SHA256:...
 62#+end_src
 63
 64Scopes: =full= (default; git plus every control command), =git= (git
 65transport only — right for automation keys, which then cannot touch
 66issues, settings, or your account), or =runner= (the CI runner's
 67protocol plus read-only git, for the key a =gitbay-runner= host holds;
 68see [[Admin]]).
 69
 70A key belongs to exactly one account instance-wide. Registering a key
 71someone else already holds is refused without telling you whose it is.
 72
 73* Verified commits
 74
 75The commit badge is driven by the *author* email and the signing key:
 76=verified= means the signature is valid, the key is registered to an
 77account, and the author email is a verified address on that account.
 78
 79For OpenPGP signing (git's default):
 80#+begin_src sh
 81gpg --armor --export you@example.org | gitbay auth pgp add
 82#+end_src
 83
 84For SSH signing (=git config gpg.format ssh=): sign with any key
 85registered on your account; your verified addresses act as the principal
 86set. No separate registration step.
 87
 88Add and verify additional addresses with =email add <address>= /
 89=email verify <code>= (requires the instance to have SMTP; otherwise an
 90admin can assert an address for you). =email list= shows them. =email
 91remove <address>= drops one, with two refusals: the primary stays until
 92=email primary <address>= names another verified address, and the last
 93verified address stays, since activation, login links and commit
 94identity all resolve through verified addresses. Removing a verified
 95address re-evaluates signature states, so a commit authored from it
 96shows as =signed_email_mismatch= afterwards. A removed address is free
 97for any account to claim.
 98
 99The states you will see, in decreasing order of trust: =verified=,
100=signed_unknown_key= (valid signature, key not registered here — register
101it and history upgrades retroactively), =signed_email_mismatch= (real
102key, author line claims someone else), =signed_key_expired= /
103=signed_key_revoked=, =bad_signature=, =unsigned=. Server-created commits
104(web edits, merge commits) are always =unsigned= — the server holds no
105signing key on principle.
106
107=repo bookmark <owner/name>= saves a repository to come back to and
108=repo unbookmark= drops it; =repo bookmarks= lists yours, each with how
109many people have bookmarked it. The web has the control on the
110repository header, the count in the facts bar, and the list at
111=/bookmarks=. Bookmarks are public and counted; pins are private and
112drive the rail. Read access is all a bookmark needs.
113
114A job's result is a property of the commit's *tree*, not its sha: a
115rebase onto a base that touched nothing the branch did gives every
116commit a new sha and the same tree, and a job that already passed for
117that tree is not run again — the new commit gets the earlier result as
118its =ci/<job>= status, naming the build it came from. Scheduled and tag
119jobs are never reused this way; their trigger is the clock or the tag.
120
121* Profiles
122
123A profile is what =/{owner}= shows: a one-line description, a website, a
124set of links, long-form about text, the repositories you can see, org
125membership, and a year of activity. Users and orgs have the same fields.
126Repository rows carry the listing metadata too — topics, license,
127default branch, last commit — so a client renders a profile listing the
128way =/{owner}= does. The web dispatches this command rather than
129assembling the page itself.
130
131#+begin_src sh
132gitbay profile show               # your own
133gitbay profile show alice
134gitbay profile set --description "builds small tools" --website https://alice.example
135#+end_src
136
137About text is markdown by default, or org-mode. It takes inline text or
138stdin, so it can live in a file you keep:
139
140#+begin_src sh
141gitbay profile set --about "I maintain a few small tools."
142gitbay profile set --file - --about-format org < about.org
143#+end_src
144
145Up to five links, each =label|url= or a bare url, http(s) only. Passing
146=--link= replaces the whole set; a single empty one clears it:
147
148#+begin_src sh
149gitbay profile set --link "Mastodon|https://fosstodon.example/@alice" \
150                   --link https://alice.example/now
151gitbay profile set --link ""      # clear
152#+end_src
153
154Every field follows the same rule as the rest of the CLI: a flag you
155leave out is untouched, and ='' clears the one you name. Org profiles
156work the same way and need org admin:
157
158#+begin_src sh
159gitbay org profile krz --description "software and experiments" --about-format org --file - < krz.org
160gitbay org profile krz            # no flags shows it
161#+end_src
162
163The web renders profiles but has no form for editing one, so the CLI is
164the only interface today. =profile set= is not =SSHOnly=, so the JSON API
165runs it like any other write command.
166
167* Repositories
168
169#+begin_src sh
170gitbay repo create you/project [--private]
171gitbay repo clone you/project
172gitbay repo list
173gitbay repo show you/project
174gitbay repo log you/project --limit 20      # commits with signature states
175gitbay repo fork other/project [--name mine]
176gitbay repo rename you/project tool          # clone URLs change
177gitbay repo delete you/project --yes
178#+end_src
179
180=repo show= also reports your own state on the repository — =watch=
181(=watching= or =muted=; =repo unwatch= clears either) and =bookmarked= —
182and =fork_of= when it is a
183fork whose parent you can read, so a client draws a toggle rather than
184two blind buttons. Absent means none.
185
186Pushing is SSH-only. Public repositories are anonymously readable over
187HTTPS (and =git://= where enabled); private repositories exist only over
188SSH and answer "not found" to everyone without access.
189
190Access and settings (owner or =admin= grant):
191#+begin_src sh
192gitbay repo access grant you/project alice write    # read | write | admin
193gitbay repo access revoke you/project alice
194gitbay repo settings protect you/project main       # no force-push, no delete
195gitbay repo settings default-branch you/project trunk # HEAD, and what the web shows
196gitbay repo settings require-signed you/project on  # every commit must verify
197gitbay repo settings git-daemon you/project on      # expose over git://
198gitbay repo topics add you/project cli forge        # free-form tags, shown on the web
199gitbay repo search forge                            # find repos by name/description/topic
200gitbay repo grep you/project "some string"          # literal git grep over the default branch
201gitbay repo pin you/project                         # pin to your web dashboard
202gitbay repo unpin you/project
203gitbay repo archive you/project                     # read-only: pushes and issue/MR
204gitbay repo unarchive you/project                   #   writes refused, browsing intact
205#+end_src
206
207Import from another forge — git data first, then optionally the GitHub
208issue and PR history (issues keep state/labels/comments; PRs land as
209closed or merged MRs with their discussion; originals are attributed
210inline since foreign authors have no local account; re-running resumes
211where it stopped):
212#+begin_src sh
213gitbay repo import you/mirror --from https://github.com/you/repo.git \
214    [--private] [--token-stdin]        # token on stdin, never in the URL
215gitbay repo import-issues you/mirror --from you/repo --token-stdin
216#+end_src
217
218Moving between gitbay instances (no lock-in): run on the TARGET, with
219your key registered on both sides. Profile, repos with settings,
220issues, MRs, and comments replay with attribution; git data mirrors
221client-side through your own key. Keys never transfer and emails
222arrive unverified — trust is per-instance. Re-running resumes.
223Push-blocking policies (require-signed, protected branches) are
224deferred and printed for you to re-apply after the data lands.
225=gitbay auth export= alone doubles as a user-level backup.
226
227#+begin_src sh
228gitbay migrate --from old-instance.example [--from-port 22]
229#+end_src
230
231Mirroring keeps a foreign remote in sync during a gradual migration
232(repo admin; https remotes; the token is stored server-side for the
233recurring sync and never echoed back):
234
235#+begin_src sh
236gitbay repo mirror add you/project https://github.com/you/project.git \
237    --direction push --token-stdin    # propagate after every local push
238gitbay repo mirror add you/copy https://github.com/them/theirs.git \
239    --direction pull                  # follow upstream; local pushes refused
240gitbay repo mirror list               # sync status and last error, per mirror
241gitbay repo mirror sync / remove <id>
242#+end_src
243
244Markdown and org files render on the web when opened, the way a README
245does on the repository page, with relative links resolved against the
246file's directory; =source= in the file's action bar (or =?view=source=)
247shows the text instead. Other files show the text with highlighting.
248
249* Organizations
250
251Orgs share the owner namespace with users and own repositories at
252=org/repo=. By default members get write on all org repos; org admins
253get repo admin, create repos under the org, and manage membership.
254
255#+begin_src sh
256gitbay org create krz
257gitbay org members add krz alice [--role admin]
258gitbay org show krz
259gitbay org rename krz newname     # clone URLs change
260gitbay org delete krz --yes       # only when it owns no repositories
261#+end_src
262
263Large orgs scope access with teams: set what plain membership implies,
264then grant per-repo roles through named teams (org admins always keep
265admin; the default =write= keeps the simple model):
266
267#+begin_src sh
268gitbay org settings members-role krz none   # write | read | none
269gitbay org team create krz core-devs
270gitbay org team add krz core-devs alice bob # org members only
271gitbay org team grant krz core-devs krz/gitbay write
272gitbay org team show krz core-devs          # members + grants
273gitbay org team revoke / remove / delete ...
274#+end_src
275
276* Issues
277
278Anyone who can read a repository can file and comment. Closing/reopening
279is for the author or anyone with write; labels and assignees need write.
280
281#+begin_src sh
282gitbay issue create --title "it breaks" [--body "..." | --file -]
283gitbay issue list [--state open|closed|all]
284gitbay issue show 4
285gitbay issue comment 4 --message "same here"
286gitbay issue edit 4 --title "better title" [--body|--file -]  # author or write
287gitbay issue close 4 / reopen 4
288gitbay issue label 4 --add bug --remove wontfix
289gitbay issue assign 4 --add alice
290gitbay issue milestone 4 v1.0                 # or "none" to clear
291#+end_src
292
293Inside a clone, the repository is inferred from the =origin= remote —
294that is why no =owner/name= appears above. Anywhere else, pass it as the
295first argument. Long text: =--body= inline, =--file -= from stdin, or
296neither on a terminal and =$EDITOR= opens.
297
298A wiki is the =.gitbay/wiki/= directory on the default branch — no
299separate repository, the same rendering pipeline as READMEs (markdown
300and org). Editing it is editing a file: a push, =repo commit-file=, or
301the web editor on a repository that permits server-authored commits (one
302requiring signed commits is push-only, since the server signs nothing):
303
304#+begin_src sh
305mkdir -p .gitbay/wiki
306# add Home.md (or .org), more pages, images; relative links between
307# pages just work on the web at /you/project/wiki
308git add .gitbay/wiki && git commit -m "wiki" && git push
309#+end_src
310
311Releases anchor notes and binary assets to a pushed tag (write access;
312assets stream over SSH, capped by the instance's =max_asset_bytes=):
313
314#+begin_src sh
315gitbay release create v1.0 --title "First light" [--notes|--file -|$EDITOR]
316gitbay release asset add v1.0 tool-linux-amd64 < dist/tool-linux-amd64
317gitbay release asset get v1.0 tool-linux-amd64 > tool   # or the web download link
318gitbay release list / show v1.0 / delete v1.0 --yes
319#+end_src
320
321The web shows them under the repository's =releases= tab with rendered
322notes, sha256 sums, and download links.
323
324Commit messages act on issues when the commits land on the default
325branch (direct push or MR merge): =closes/fixes/resolves #4= closes the
326issue with a linking comment, and a bare =#4= leaves a reference
327comment. Each issue/commit pair acts once, ever. Same repository only.
328
329Milestones group issues and MRs toward a release (write access to
330manage, attach with =issue milestone= / =mr milestone=; progress shows
331on the web at =/owner/name/milestones=):
332
333#+begin_src sh
334gitbay milestone create v1.0 --description "first release" --due 2027-01-01
335gitbay milestone list [--state open|closed|all]
336gitbay milestone close v1.0 / reopen v1.0
337#+end_src
338
339Issue templates: commit =.gitbay/issue-template.md= (and optional
340=issue-template-<name>.md= variants) to the default branch. =gitbay
341issue create= prefills =$EDITOR= with the default template, the web
342form prefills its textarea, and =gitbay issue templates= lists them.
343
344Lists narrow the same way on every surface: =issue list --label bug
345--assignee bob --author alice --milestone v1= (or =--milestone none=),
346=mr list --author bob --milestone v1=; the web's issue and merge request
347lists take the same names as query parameters, and each active filter
348shows with a link that drops it.
349
350Labels take a colour: =gitbay label set bug --color cf222e=; =label
351list= shows each with its colour and how many issues carry it, and
352=label remove= takes one off every issue. =issue label --add= still
353creates a colourless label on the fly.
354
355* Merge requests
356
357#+begin_src sh
358gitbay mr create --source feature --target main --title "add thing"
359gitbay mr create other/upstream --source you/fork:feature --target main --title "..."
360gitbay mr list / show 4 / diff 4
361gitbay mr checkout 4              # local branch mr/4 from the MR head
362gitbay mr review 4 --approve      # or --request-changes / --comment
363gitbay mr merge 4 [--strategy ff|merge|squash|rebase]
364gitbay mr close 4
365#+end_src
366
367Semantics worth knowing:
368
369- the MR head lives in the *target* repository as
370  =refs/merge-requests/N/head= (fetchable by any reader), so an MR
371  survives deletion of its source branch or fork.
372- force-pushing the source updates the MR and marks existing reviews
373  stale.
374- default strategy: fast-forward when possible, else a merge commit.
375  Squash makes one commit authored by the MR author, committed by the
376  merger. Rebase replays a linear range preserving authors; it refuses
377  ranges containing merge commits, and when fast-forward is possible it
378  *is* one (original commits and signatures land untouched).
379- on =require_signed_commits= branches only fast-forwards of fully
380  verified commits merge; everything server-created is refused with
381  instructions to rebase locally. =gitbay mr rebase <n>= is those
382  instructions: in a clone of the target it replays the source branch
383  onto the target and force-pushes it, then =mr merge <n>= fast-forwards.
384  The replay is local, so the commits carry your signature and not the
385  server's — it holds no key. A branch living in a fork is refused, with
386  the repository to run it in; rebase it there.
387
388Repo admins can gate merges (=repo settings ...=): =require-approvals
389<n>= (fresh, non-author approvals; each reviewer's latest review is
390their stance, and a fresh request-changes blocks), =require-resolved=
391(no open review threads), =require-checks= (all statuses green), and
392=require-codeowners= (an approval from an owner of every owned changed
393file). Owners come from a =CODEOWNERS= file on the target branch, root
394or =.gitbay/=, gitignore-style patterns, last match wins. The toggle is
395the opt-in, so a repository can carry the file as documentation of who
396to ask without it gating merges; with it on and no file on the target
397branch, the merge is refused and says so. It does not wait on
398=require-approvals=.
399
400A merge request whose target is another open merge request's source
401branch is stacked on it: =mr create= says so, =mr show= carries
402=stacked_on= and =stacked=, and merging the lower one retargets the
403upper onto =main= with its reviews kept. See [[Stacked-MRs][Stacked
404merge requests]].
405
406Review threads anchor to diff lines:
407
408#+begin_src sh
409gitbay mr diff-comment 4 --path main.go --line 12 --message "use log here"
410gitbay mr diff-comment 4 --reply 7 --message "done"     # join thread 7
411gitbay mr threads 4                                     # threads with staleness
412gitbay mr resolve 4 7 / unresolve 4 7
413#+end_src
414
415Threads render inline on the MR page. A force-push marks them stale
416(shown under "threads on earlier revisions") rather than guessing new
417anchors; =mr show= reports the unresolved count. Resolving is for the
418thread author, the MR author, or anyone with write.
419
420* CI builds
421
422A =.gitbay/ci.yml= in the repo runs jobs on every branch push:
423
424#+begin_src yaml
425jobs:
426  test:
427    steps:
428      - go test ./...
429#+end_src
430
431Each job becomes a build (=build list=, =build log=, the builds tab on
432the web) and a =ci/<job>= commit status, which =repo settings
433require-checks= can gate merges on. Steps run with =sh -c= on the
434instance's runner, stopping at the first failure; a broken config
435surfaces as a failed =ci/config= status. Environment: =GITBAY_REPO=,
436=GITBAY_SHA=, =GITBAY_REF=, =GITBAY_JOB=, =CI=true=.
437
438Secrets: =repo secret set <owner/name> <NAME>= reads the value from
439stdin (never argv) and injects it into the repo's builds as =$NAME=;
440=repo secret list= shows names only, and the value is never echoed
441back. Anyone with write access can read a secret from inside a build,
442so scope them accordingly.
443
444Schedules: a job with =schedule: "17 11,23 * * *"= (five-field cron,
445server-local time; lists, ranges, and steps supported) runs on its cron
446against the default branch instead of on push. A default-branch push
447registers or updates the schedule. A job with =tags: "v*"= runs when a
448matching tag is pushed — and only then; =schedule= and =tags= are
449mutually exclusive. =build trigger <owner/name> <job>= queues any job
450immediately, and =build cancel <owner/name> <n>= withdraws one, queued
451or running: a running build stops at the runner within seconds and the
452log says who cancelled it. Both need write access.
453
454* Large files (LFS)
455
456Standard Git LFS works over both transports with no setup beyond the
457usual =git lfs track=. SSH remotes authenticate through
458=git-lfs-authenticate= (deploy keys included: ro keys can download, rw
459keys upload); anonymous HTTPS clones of public repositories can fetch
460LFS objects with no credentials. Objects are verified against their
461sha256 on upload and capped at 512MB by default.
462
463* Pages
464
465On instances with =[pages] domain= set, a =pages= branch in any public
466repo is served as a static site: the repo named =pages= at
467=https://<you>.<domain>/=, every other repo at
468=https://<you>.<domain>/<repo>/=. Push HTML to publish; a CI job can
469build and push the branch for automatic deploys. Sites run on a
470separate origin — your scripts work, and the forge's cookies are out of
471reach.
472
473A repo can also serve its pages branch on a domain you own.
474=repo domain add <owner/name> <domain>= claims it and prints a DNS TXT
475challenge (=_gitbay-challenge.<domain>=); create the record, run
476=repo domain verify=, then point the domain's A/AAAA records at the
477instance (DNS-only if the domain sits behind a proxying provider — the
478instance issues its own certificates). Claims are exclusive per
479instance; unverified claims serve nothing and expire after 7 days.
480=repo domain list= reports pending/verified/expired.
481
482* Browser sessions
483
484=gitbay web login= mints a one-time URL; the session it opens lasts
485seven days. =gitbay web sessions list= shows each of yours by a short
486id with its creation and expiry, and =gitbay web sessions revoke <id>=
487or =--all= ends them from the terminal, which is where a lost laptop is
488handled.
489
490* Notifications
491
492When the instance has SMTP configured, activity mails you: someone
493opens an issue or MR on your repository, comments where you are a
494participant (author, commenter, reviewer), reviews, closes, or merges.
495You are never mailed about your own actions, and only verified primary
496addresses receive anything. Delivery retries on relay failure.
497
498* Scripting
499
500Every read command takes =--json= and emits one envelope:
501={"protocol_version": 1, "data": ...}=. stdout is data, stderr is
502messages. Exit codes are stable: 0 ok, 1 failure, 2 usage, 3 not found,
5034 denied, 5 server/protocol error. Nothing ever prompts; destructive
504commands take =--yes=.
505
506For HTTP automation see [[API]].
507
508* CLI setup
509
510#+begin_src sh
511gitbay remote add myforge forge.example.org [--port n] [--user u] --default
512gitbay remote list
513gitbay init [name] [--private]   # git init + repo create + origin, in one step
514#+end_src
515
516Configuration lives at =~/.config/gitbay/config.toml=. The CLI shells
517out to your real =ssh=, so =~/.ssh/config=, the agent, and hardware keys
518all apply. It shares one connection per instance through a control
519socket under =~/.ssh=: the first command in five minutes pays the
520handshake and the rest ride it. =no_multiplex = true= on an instance in
521the config turns that off. Man pages: =gitbay man --dir <dir>=; completions:
522=gitbay completion bash|zsh|fish=.