How to Self-Host a Git Repository?

Goal: self-host a Git repository on your server, allowing read-only clones and a web view.

Create a git user on the server where you want to host the repository. This step is optional, but I like to use a dedicated user for repository management to keep the system secure and organized.

Create a ~/public directory, which will serve as the web root. Configure a web server to serve files from this directory.

Bare repo

Create a bare repository inside ~/public. A bare repository is a special type of Git repository that doesn’t have a working directory. It’s used for hosting and sharing code without the need for a local working copy.

git init --bare repo.git

Create a post-update hook with the following content:

#!/bin/sh
exec git update-server-info

Make the hook executable:

chmod +x hooks/post-update

Gitmal hook

Create a post‑receive hook with the following content:

#!/bin/sh
exec gitmal --output /home/git/public/repo/

Make the hook executable:

chmod +x hooks/post-receive

Publish

Push your local repository to the bare repository on the server using ssh protocol.

git remote add origin git@example.com:public/repo.git
git push origin master

After pushing, git will run gitmal and generate files under ~/public/repo/ directory.

• Private read-write clone URL: git@example.com:public/repo.git
• Public read-only clone URL: http://example.com/repo.git
• Gitmal static web view: http://example.com/repo/

git clone https://example.com/repo.git