Using cgit

| linux | internet | devops |

This is the last post in a three part series about cgit. Previously we saw how to install and configure cgit and then we saw how to make cgit pretty. This last post has to do with actually using cgit. There are a couple of tools out there to make the process of adding, removing, and modifying git repositories within cgit much simpler but we will focus here on how to do it manually and I will leave it up to you to decide which tools works best for you. cgit does not impose any special requirements for adding, removing, or modifying repositories so the entire process is based around core git functionality. Below is a workflow that works well for me.

Creating a Git User

Creating a git user that has access to /srv/git just makes good sense. To add a new user in Debian you will need to run the following commands and follow the on screen instructions to complete this process. adduser git

Adding your public key

In order to authenticate to the server and work with git it is good to add your public key to avoid working with passwords. If you do not already have a key, go ahead and create one on your local machine. ssh-keygen -b 8192 Follow the on screen instructions, and be sure to add a password to this key! Once you have create this key, copy the public key over to your git server under the git users .ssh/authorized_keysfile. scp $USER/.ssh/id_rsa.pub [email protected]:/home/git/.ssh/authorized_keys

Creating a new repository

Log into the git server as the git user and create a bare repository
cd /srv/git 
mkdir myrepo.git 
cd myrepo.git 
git init --bare

Push to the new repository

On your local computer
mkdir myrepo 
cd myrepo git init echo "My Awesome Repo" >> README.md 
git add README.md 
git commit -m 'initial commit' 
git remote add origin [email protected]:/srv/git/myrepo.git 
git push origin master

Add the new repository to cgit

Now that your repository is on your server, you can add it cgit by editing /etc/cgitrc and adding it as we did before.
repo.url = myrepo 
repo.path = /srv/git/myrepo.git 
repo.desc = My Awesome Repo 
repo.owner = Your Name
You are all set! Now you will see the new repo and any future changes inside of cgit as well as being able to hack away with git as you normally would.

Thank you for reading! Share your thoughts with me on bluesky, mastodon, or via email.

Check out some more stuff to read down below.

Most popular posts this month

Recent Favorite Blog Posts

This is a collection of the last 8 posts that I bookmarked.

Articles from blogs I follow around the net

“From digital mischief to outright destruction”

The 1980s and 1990s PC viruses were a special breed. The MS-DOS operating system wasn’t particularly secure – few home computer operating systems were back then – so viruses could spread quickly, and many did. Some of the viruses focused more on actually w...

via Unsung November 11, 2026

The villa of Ormen

As a child, I was never a fan of any actor or singer. David Bowie is the closest thing to a “music idol” I’ve ever had. I never had a poster of him on my wall, or a T-shirt with his face on it, but he was a constant presence in my playlists, to the point w...

via Personal Site of Andrei N. Ciobanu November 11, 2026

Candidate Statement for the 2026 W3C TAG Election

Group photo of the W3C TAG in July 2022 with me to the left of Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the Web and TAG chair emeritus). Photo credit: Dan Appelquist I had the great honor of being elected to the TAG by the W3C membership in 2020 and again in 2022,...

via Lea Verou’s blog November 11, 2026

Generated by openring