# setting up gitolite

This is the second step in using gitolite, after [install][].  This also
happens on the server,  (The next step is [clone][]).

----

Installing the software gets you ready to use it, but the first "use" of it is
always the "setup" command.

The first time you run it, you need to have a public key file (usually from
the admin's workstation) ready.  If the main gitolite admin's username is
"alice", this file should be named "alice.pub".  Then run

    gitolite setup -pk alice.pub

If that command completes without any warnings, you should be done.  If it had
a warning, you probably supplied a key which already has shell access to the
server.  That won't work.

>   ----

>   Normally, gitolite is hosted on a user that no one accesses directly --
>   you log on to the server using some other userid, and then `su - git`.  In
>   this scenario, there *is* no key being used for shell access, so there is
>   no conflict.

>   An alternative method is to use two different keys, and a [host
>   alias][ssh-ha] to distinguish the two.

>   [common errors][ce] has some links to background information on this
>   issue.

>   ----

The 'setup' command has other uses, so you will be running it at other times
after the install as well:

  * To setup the update hook when you move [existing][] repos to gitolite.
    This also applies if someone has been fiddling with the hooks on some
    repos and you want to put them all right quickly.

  * To replace a [lost admin key][lost-key].

  * To setup gitolite for http mode (run 'gitolite setup -h' for more info).

When in doubt, run 'gitolite setup' anyway; it doesn't do any harm, though it
may take a minute or so if you have more than a few thousand repos!