# what users (not admins) need to know about gitolite

...written for the one guy in the world no one will think of as "just a normal
user" ;-)

This document has some text, and a lot of links.  Most of this info *is*
available in the rest of the documentation, but it's scattered and sparse.
Collecting all of it, or at least links to it, in one place sounds useful.

In this document:

  * <a href="#_accessing_gitolite">accessing gitolite</a>
  * <a href="#_always_available_commands">always available commands</a>
  * <a href="#_digression_two_kinds_of_repos">digression: two kinds of repos</a>
  * <a href="#_commands_only_available_with_wildrepos_on">commands only available with "wildrepos" on</a>
      * <a href="#_listing_repos_you_created">listing repos you created</a>
      * <a href="#_set_get_additional_permissions_for_repos_you_created">set/get additional permissions for repos you created</a>
      * <a href="#_adding_a_description_to_repos_you_created">adding a description to repos you created</a>
  * <a href="#_site_local_commands">"site-local" commands</a>

----

<a name="_accessing_gitolite"></a>

### accessing gitolite

The most common setup is based on ssh, where your admin asks you to send him
your public key, and uses that to setup your access.

Your actual access is either a git command (like `git clone
git@server:reponame`, and we won't be discussing these any more in this
document), or an ssh command (like `ssh git@server info`).

Note that you do *not* get a shell on the server -- the whole point of
gitolite is to prevent that!

<a name="_always_available_commands"></a>

### always available commands

The only command that is *always* available to every user is the [`info`
command][info], which tells you what version of gitolite and git are on the
server, and what repositories you have access to.  The list of repos is very
useful if you have doubts about the spelling of some new repo that you know
was setup.

[info]: http://sitaramc.github.com/gitolite/doc/report-output.html#_the_info_command

<a name="_digression_two_kinds_of_repos"></a>

### digression: two kinds of repos

Gitolite has two kinds of repos.  Normal repos are specified by their full
names in the config file.  "Wildcard" repos are specified by a regex in the
config file.  If you look at the documentation on the [`info` command][info]
you will see there are a couple of lines that look like regex patterns,
against which you see an additional "C" permission not available with the
others.

This means you are allowed to create brand new repos whose names fit that
pattern.  When you create such a repo, your "ownership" of it (as far as
gitolite is concerned) is noted by creating a 1-line file called "gl-creater"
(note spelling!) in the repo directory, with just your gitolite userid in it.

This happens automatically.  But for repos that were migrated into gitolite
and whose names fit a pattern, the admin has to manually create those files,
otherwise you won't be able to execute certain commands that you otherwise
might have access to.

"Wildrepos" is an optional feature of gitolite that the admin has to "turn
on".

<a name="_commands_only_available_with_wildrepos_on"></a>

### commands only available with "wildrepos" on

<a name="_listing_repos_you_created"></a>

#### listing repos you created

The info command will not show you your own wildcard repos.  To get that list,
try the [`expand` command][expand].

[expand]: http://sitaramc.github.com/gitolite/doc/report-output.html#_the_expand_command

<a name="_set_get_additional_permissions_for_repos_you_created"></a>

#### set/get additional permissions for repos you created

The gitolite config may have several permissions lines for your repo, like so:

    repo pub/CREATOR/..*
        RW+     =   CREATOR
        RW      =   user1 user2
        R       =   user3

If that's all it had, you really can't do much.  Any changes to access must be
done by the administrator.  (Note that "CREATOR" is a reserved word that gets
expanded to your userid in some way, so the admin can literally add just the
first two lines, and *every* authenticated user now has his own personal repo
namespace, starting with `pub/<username>/`).

To give some flexibility to users, the admin could add rules like this:

        RW      =   WRITERS
        R       =   READERS

(he could also add other roles but then he needs to read the documentation).

Once he does this, you can then use the [`setperms` command][setperms] to set
permissions for other users by specifying which users are in the list of
"READERS", and which in "WRITERS".  That same section also talks about the
`getperms` command as well.

If you think of READERS and WRITERS as "roles", it will help.  You can't
change what access a role has, but you *can* say which users have that role.

**Note**: there isn't a way for you to see the actual rule set unless you're
given read access to the special 'gitolite-admin' repo.  Sorry.  The idea is
that your admin will tell you what "roles" he added into rules for your repos,
and what permissions those roles have.

[setperms]: http://sitaramc.github.com/gitolite/doc/wildcard-repositories.html#_handing_out_rights_to_wildcard_matched_repos

<a name="_adding_a_description_to_repos_you_created"></a>

#### adding a description to repos you created

The `setdesc` and `getdesc` commands work similarly to the `setperms` and
`getperms` commands.  You just say

    echo "some description here" | ssh git@server setdesc pub/<yourname>/<your_reponame>

and if you want to check you just say

    ssh git@server getdesc pub/<yourname>/<your_reponame>

<a name="_site_local_commands"></a>

### "site-local" commands

The main purpose of gitolite is to prevent you from getting a shell.  But
there are commands that you often need to run on the server (i.e., cannot be
done by pushing something to a repo).

To enable this, gitolite allows the admin to setup scripts in a special
directory that users can then run.  Gitolite comes with a set of working
scripts (in "contrib/adc") that your admin may install, or may use as a
starting point for his own, if he chooses.

Think of these commands as equivalent to those in `COMMAND_DIR` in `man
git-shell`.

Most of the shipped ADCs are briefly described [here][ADCs], with links to
more details if available.  However, **please understand** that these commands
may not be available, or their behaviour may have been changed to suit local
requirements, and of course new ones may have been added.  You'll have to ask
your local admin for answers, not me!

[ADCs]: http://sitaramc.github.com/gitolite/contrib/adc/README.html