gitbay

README

#+title: gitbay
#+author: Christian Cleberg

[[https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay/builds][file:https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay/badge/build.svg]]

A CLI-first git forge. One binary, SQLite, and the system =git= — designed
so the command line is the product and the web UI is a rendering of state
the CLI already manages. Runs at [[https://gitbay.org]].

* Design

SSH is the API. The server authenticates by public key, then dispatches the
requested command: =git-upload-pack= / =git-receive-pack= stream the git
transport, anything else is a control command. The control plane is fully
usable from stock OpenSSH with no client installed:

#+begin_src sh
ssh git@gitbay.org repo create you/project --private
ssh git@gitbay.org issue create you/project --title "bug" --file - < body.md
ssh git@gitbay.org repo log you/project --json
#+end_src

The =gitbay= CLI is ergonomics on top — instance profiles, repo inference
from the origin remote, =$EDITOR= for long text — never a requirement. A
registry test enforces that every command stays reachable over bare ssh.

Properties that follow from the design:

- pushing is SSH-only. HTTPS and =git://= serve anonymous reads of public
  repositories; a push over HTTPS is answered with a pkt-line ERR that
  every git version prints as =remote error:= — no credential prompt,
  ever. Private repositories answer 404/not-found identically to
  nonexistent ones on every surface.
- commit signatures (OpenPGP and SSHSIG) are verified against registered
  keys and verified emails, with six distinct states — =verified=,
  =signed_unknown_key=, =signed_email_mismatch=, =signed_key_expired=,
  =signed_key_revoked=, =bad_signature=, =unsigned= — cached and
  invalidated by a global key epoch, so registering a key retroactively
  verifies old commits.
- there is no server signing key. Server-created commits (web edits,
  merge/squash/rebase commits) display honestly as unsigned, and branches
  with =require_signed_commits= accept only fast-forward merges of
  verified commits — enforced at push time and merge time.
- the web UI is server-rendered with no JavaScript required. In
  =view_only= mode the mutating routes are never registered on the mux;
  browser sessions, where enabled, are minted over SSH (=web login=) —
  there are no passwords.

* Features

- repositories with per-branch protection, forks, and organizations
  (shared owner namespace, membership-derived access)
- issues and merge requests (fast-forward, merge-commit, squash, rebase)
  entirely over ssh, with reviews that go stale on force-push
- merge request heads are fetched /into/ the target repository, so an MR
  survives deletion of its source fork
- =repo import= mirrors from any http(s)/git URL, tokens via stdin only
- registration modes: =closed= (admin creates users), =invite=, =open=
  with SMTP email verification
- signed outbound webhooks with retries, dead-lettering, and SSRF
  guarding; a JSON API (=POST /api/v1/cmd=) fronting the same command
  registry, with bearer tokens mintable only over SSH
- built-in ACME (Let's Encrypt) TLS; =admin backup= produces one
  restore-tested archive (database snapshot first, then repositories)

* Server quickstart

#+begin_src sh
# /etc/gitbay/config.toml
[server]
root = "/var/lib/gitbay"
site_url = "https://forge.example.org"

[http]
acme_email = "you@example.org"
#+end_src

#+begin_src sh
gitbayd --config /etc/gitbay/config.toml check-config
gitbayd --config /etc/gitbay/config.toml admin user create you \
    --key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub --email you@example.org --verified --admin
gitbayd --config /etc/gitbay/config.toml serve
#+end_src

The embedded SSH listener takes port 22 (move the host sshd, or set
=ssh.mode = "system"= to run under it via =AuthorizedKeysCommand=). See
=deploy/= for a cloud-init file, hardened systemd unit, and nightly
backup timer.

* Client quickstart

#+begin_src sh
gitbay remote add myforge forge.example.org --default
gitbay auth whoami
gitbay repo create you/project
gitbay repo clone you/project && cd project
gitbay issue create --title "first issue"   # repo inferred from origin
gitbay mr checkout 4                        # fetches refs/merge-requests/4/head
#+end_src

Every read command takes =--json=; stdout is data, stderr is messages;
exit codes are stable (0 ok, 2 usage, 3 not found, 4 denied). Man pages
via =gitbay man=, completions via =gitbay completion <shell>=.

* Documentation

Docs live in [[https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay/wiki][the wiki]] — itself a git repository
(=git clone ssh://git@gitbay.org/krz/gitbay.wiki.git=), dogfooding the
wiki feature:

- [[https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay/wiki/Users][user guide]] — accounts, keys, verified commits, repos, issues, MRs, scripting
- [[https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay/wiki/Admin][admin guide]] — install, full configuration reference, backup/restore, security
- [[https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay/wiki/API][API and webhooks]] — the JSON API contract, tokens, webhook payloads and HMAC
- [[https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay/wiki/Roadmap][roadmap]] — status, phased plan, and what is deliberately not planned
- [[https://gitbay.org/krz/gitbay/wiki/Threat-Model][threat model]] — what the forge trusts and never does

* Contributing

See [[file:CONTRIBUTING.org][CONTRIBUTING]]. Development happens on gitbay.org itself.

* Development

#+begin_src sh
go build ./...
go test ./...        # e2e drives real git, ssh, sshd, and gpg binaries
#+end_src

Layout: =cmd/gitbay= (CLI), =cmd/gitbayd= (daemon, hooks, admin),
=internal/control= (command registry — the single source of truth fronted
by ssh and the JSON API), =internal/sshd= / =httpd= / =gitd= (transports),
=internal/sig= (signature verification), =internal/policy= (access rules),
=internal/store= (SQLite, migrations), =e2e/= (integration tests).

* License

0BSD.