Gitea

Gitea Expert Skill

You are an expert in Gitea, a lightweight self-hosted Git service similar to GitHub/GitLab.

Core Concepts

Features

• Git Hosting: Repository management with web UI
• Issue Tracking: Built-in issue management
• Pull Requests: Code review workflow
• Wiki: Documentation per repository
• Organizations: Group repositories and users
• Webhooks: Integration with external services
• REST API: Programmatic access
• CI/CD: Built-in Actions (GitHub Actions compatible)

Architecture

User/Application
      ↓
Gitea (Go application)
      ↓
Git (repositories on disk)
      ↓
SQLite/PostgreSQL/MySQL (metadata)

Installation

Docker (Recommended)

services:
  gitea:
    image: gitea/gitea:latest
    container_name: gitea
    environment:
      - USER_UID=1000
      - USER_GID=1000
      - GITEA__database__DB_TYPE=postgres
      - GITEA__database__HOST=db:5432
      - GITEA__database__NAME=gitea
      - GITEA__database__USER=gitea
      - GITEA__database__PASSWD=gitea
    restart: always
    networks:
      - gitea
    volumes:
      - gitea-data:/data
      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"  # Web UI
      - "2222:22"    # SSH
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:14-alpine
    restart: always
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=gitea
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=gitea
      - POSTGRES_DB=gitea
    networks:
      - gitea
    volumes:
      - postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

networks:
  gitea:
    driver: bridge

volumes:
  gitea-data:
  postgres-data:

Standalone Binary

# Download
wget -O gitea https://dl.gitea.io/gitea/latest/gitea-latest-linux-amd64
chmod +x gitea

# Create user
sudo adduser --system --shell /bin/bash --gecos 'Git Version Control' \
  --group --disabled-password --home /home/git git

# Install
sudo mv gitea /usr/local/bin/gitea

# Create directories
sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/gitea/{custom,data,log}
sudo chown -R git:git /var/lib/gitea/
sudo chmod -R 750 /var/lib/gitea/

# Systemd service
sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/gitea.service

gitea.service:

[Unit]
Description=Gitea (Git with a cup of tea)
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=git
Group=git
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/gitea/
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gitea web --config /etc/gitea/app.ini
Restart=always
Environment=USER=git HOME=/home/git GITEA_WORK_DIR=/var/lib/gitea

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

# Enable and start
sudo systemctl enable gitea
sudo systemctl start gitea

Configuration

app.ini (Main Config)

# /etc/gitea/app.ini or /data/gitea/conf/app.ini (Docker)

[server]
DOMAIN = git.example.com
HTTP_PORT = 3000
ROOT_URL = https://git.example.com/
DISABLE_SSH = false
SSH_PORT = 22
SSH_DOMAIN = git.example.com
START_SSH_SERVER = true

[database]
DB_TYPE = postgres
HOST = db:5432
NAME = gitea
USER = gitea
PASSWD = gitea
SCHEMA =
SSL_MODE = disable

[repository]
ROOT = /data/git/repositories
DEFAULT_BRANCH = main
DEFAULT_PRIVATE = private

[security]
INSTALL_LOCK = true
SECRET_KEY = change-this-secret-key
INTERNAL_TOKEN = change-this-internal-token

[service]
DISABLE_REGISTRATION = false
REQUIRE_SIGNIN_VIEW = false
ENABLE_NOTIFY_MAIL = true
DEFAULT_KEEP_EMAIL_PRIVATE = true

[mailer]
ENABLED = true
FROM = noreply@example.com
MAILER_TYPE = smtp
HOST = smtp.gmail.com:587
USER = user@gmail.com
PASSWD = app-password

[log]
MODE = console, file
LEVEL = info
ROOT_PATH = /data/gitea/log

[actions]
ENABLED = true
DEFAULT_ACTIONS_URL = https://github.com

Environment Variables (Docker)

environment:
  # Database
  - GITEA__database__DB_TYPE=postgres
  - GITEA__database__HOST=db:5432
  - GITEA__database__NAME=gitea
  - GITEA__database__USER=gitea
  - GITEA__database__PASSWD=gitea

  # Server
  - GITEA__server__DOMAIN=git.example.com
  - GITEA__server__ROOT_URL=https://git.example.com/
  - GITEA__server__HTTP_PORT=3000
  - GITEA__server__SSH_PORT=22

  # Security
  - GITEA__security__INSTALL_LOCK=true
  - GITEA__security__SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key

  # Service
  - GITEA__service__DISABLE_REGISTRATION=false

Usage

Repository Management

Create Repository (Web UI)

1. Click "+" → New Repository
2. Fill details:
   - Owner: user/organization
   - Name: my-repo
   - Visibility: Public/Private
   - Initialize: README, .gitignore, License
3. Click "Create Repository"

Clone Repository

# HTTPS
git clone https://git.example.com/user/repo.git

# SSH
git clone git@git.example.com:user/repo.git

Push to Gitea

git remote add origin https://git.example.com/user/repo.git
git push -u origin main

Organizations

1. Click "+" → New Organization
2. Set name, visibility, description
3. Add members with roles:
   - Owner: Full control
   - Admin: Manage repos and members
   - Member: Access repos

Webhooks

Configure Webhook (Web UI)

1. Repository → Settings → Webhooks
2. Add Webhook:
   - URL: https://your-service.com/webhook
   - Content Type: application/json
   - Secret: optional
   - Events: Push, Pull Request, Issues, etc.
3. Test Delivery

Webhook Payload Example

{
  "ref": "refs/heads/main",
  "before": "abc123...",
  "after": "def456...",
  "commits": [
    {
      "id": "def456...",
      "message": "Add feature",
      "author": {
        "name": "John Doe",
        "email": "john@example.com"
      }
    }
  ],
  "repository": {
    "name": "my-repo",
    "full_name": "user/my-repo",
    "html_url": "https://git.example.com/user/my-repo"
  }
}

API

Authentication

# Personal Access Token
1. User Settings → Applications → Generate New Token
2. Select scopes: repo, write:repo, admin:org
3. Copy token

REST API Examples

List Repositories

curl -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  https://git.example.com/api/v1/user/repos

Create Repository

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "my-new-repo",
    "description": "My repository",
    "private": false,
    "auto_init": true
  }' \
  https://git.example.com/api/v1/user/repos

Create Issue

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "title": "Bug found",
    "body": "Description of the bug",
    "labels": ["bug"]
  }' \
  https://git.example.com/api/v1/repos/user/repo/issues

Create Pull Request

curl -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "head": "feature-branch",
    "base": "main",
    "title": "Add new feature"
  }' \
  https://git.example.com/api/v1/repos/user/repo/pulls

List Files in Repository

curl -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" \
  https://git.example.com/api/v1/repos/user/repo/contents/path/to/dir

Gitea Actions (CI/CD)

Enable Actions

# app.ini
[actions]
ENABLED = true
DEFAULT_ACTIONS_URL = https://github.com

Workflow Example

# .gitea/workflows/build.yml
name: Build and Test

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v3
        with:
          node-version: '18'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm install

      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test

      - name: Build
        run: npm run build

      - name: Upload artifacts
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: build
          path: dist/

Self-hosted Runner

# Download runner
wget https://dl.gitea.io/act_runner/latest/act_runner-latest-linux-amd64
chmod +x act_runner-latest-linux-amd64
mv act_runner-latest-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/act_runner

# Register runner
act_runner register --instance https://git.example.com --token YOUR_RUNNER_TOKEN

# Run runner
act_runner daemon

Integration with NiFi Registry

Use Case

Store NiFi flow versions in Gitea using NiFi Registry's Git backend.

Setup

<!-- NiFi Registry providers.xml -->
<flowPersistenceProvider>
  <class>org.apache.nifi.registry.provider.flow.git.GitFlowPersistenceProvider</class>
  <property name="Flow Storage Directory">./flow_storage</property>
  <property name="Remote To Push">origin</property>
  <property name="Remote Access User">gitea-user</property>
  <property name="Remote Access Password">gitea-token</property>
</flowPersistenceProvider>

Initialize Git in flow_storage:

cd flow_storage
git init
git remote add origin http://gitea:3000/user/nifi-flows.git
git config user.name "NiFi Registry"
git config user.email "registry@nifi.local"

# Test push
echo "# NiFi Flows" > README.md
git add README.md
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git push -u origin main

Backup & Restore

Backup

# Backup all data (repositories, database, config)
docker-compose exec gitea /bin/sh -c \
  "gitea dump -c /data/gitea/conf/app.ini -f /data/gitea-backup.zip"

# Copy backup out
docker cp gitea:/data/gitea-backup.zip ./backups/

# Database only (PostgreSQL)
docker-compose exec db pg_dump -U gitea gitea > gitea-db-backup.sql

Restore

# Stop Gitea
docker-compose stop gitea

# Restore database
docker-compose exec -T db psql -U gitea gitea < gitea-db-backup.sql

# Restore data from dump
unzip gitea-backup.zip
# Copy files to appropriate locations

# Start Gitea
docker-compose start gitea

Best Practices

Security

1. Use HTTPS: Configure reverse proxy (Nginx/Traefik)
2. Strong passwords: Enforce password policies
3. 2FA: Enable two-factor authentication
4. SSH keys: Prefer SSH over HTTPS for Git operations
5. Regular backups: Automate backups
6. Update regularly: Keep Gitea up to date

Performance

1. Database: Use PostgreSQL for better performance
2. Caching: Enable Redis for session storage
3. Indexing: Enable repository indexing for search
4. LFS: Use Git LFS for large files
5. Cleanup: Periodic garbage collection (gitea admin regenerate hooks)

Organization

1. Teams: Use teams for permission management
2. Labels: Standardize issue labels across repos
3. Templates: Use issue/PR templates
4. Protected branches: Require reviews for main branch
5. Branch naming: Enforce branch naming conventions

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Logs

# Docker
docker-compose logs -f gitea

# Standalone
tail -f /var/lib/gitea/log/gitea.log

# Enable debug logging
# app.ini → [log] LEVEL = debug

Commands

# Admin commands (Docker)
docker-compose exec gitea gitea admin user list
docker-compose exec gitea gitea admin user create --username admin --password password --email admin@example.com --admin

# Repository maintenance
docker-compose exec gitea gitea admin regenerate hooks
docker-compose exec gitea gitea doctor

Reverse Proxy (Nginx)

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name git.example.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name git.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/certs/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/certs/key.pem;

    client_max_body_size 512M;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://gitea:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Resources

• Gitea Documentation
• API Documentation
• Gitea Actions
• Configuration Cheat Sheet