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Asked: 2026-05-14T04:16:24+00:00

Are there alternatives to gitosis that are easier to use? I currently run gitosis

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Are there alternatives to gitosis that are easier to use?

I currently run gitosis on a Ubuntu server for my lab. We regularly add new users and repos. I find the gitosis.conf syntax non-intuitive, and if I make even a minor mistake the whole gitosis system fails, see for example this question on SO. When gitosis fails it also kills access to the git repository that contains gitosis.conf… go figure… There must be a better way.

I’ve thought about private GitHub accounts, but is there anything else that I could host locally?

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  1. Editorial Team

    I ended up just paying for GitHub. Here is what I tried:

    • Gitolite: The install is actually tricky. I ran into lots of SSH key trouble which was compounded by the fact that I first tried installing from a windows workstation. Also, Gitolite requires a server running Git 1.6, but Ubuntu stable on my server only runs Git 1.5. I could have compiled newer git from source, but by that point I had already sank 3 hours into my gitolite install.

    • Gitorious: Gitorious requires ruby, mysql, and a gazillion gems and packages. As @calmh said,

      Gitorious is wonderful when up and running. It’s a nightmare to get there…

    At that point I decided to go with GitHub:

    • GitHub: $50/month gets 50 private repositories, 25 collaborators and 6 GB of space. Individual users can easily add additional SSH keys themselves and its trivial for my colleague and me to create new repos for our coworkers. I usually like the free DIY solution, but in this case the money really is well worth it.

    Final thought: It would be great if TurnkeyLinux could one day improve their revision control appliance to include gitorious by default.

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