I had to write this up after abandoning gitolite-admin for GitHub. It
was nice not to have to do all that work myself anymore.
Steps to setting up a new account in GitHub
Go to www.github.com
Sign in.
Click on tools icon (Account settings).
Fill in Public Profile, leave e-mail blank.
Click SSH Keys in left-hand navigation pannel.
Click "generating SSH keys" and follow the instructions to create
and copy an SSH key to your clipboard. (There is an example below on this
page.)
Click Add SSK key.
Give the key a suitably descriptive name.
Paste the key on your clipboard into the space provided.
Click on Add Repository button (book with a plus sign).
Change owner to "powerful" owner (acme ).
Fill in repository name.
Give repository a description.
Make repository private (or public).
Click green Create repository button.
The steps for Bitbucket are similar to those above.
Steps to setting up a new repository in Bitbucket
The steps are outlined at the website when you create a new repository.
Here they are anyway because this can also be used for other Git hosting
unless you insist on creating, then cloning the new repository.
At the Bitbucket website ,
logged into your personal account, create the new repository.
Using the wizard, give as much information as you'd like, but at
least give it a name (duh), a short description, set the
respository type (to Git, of course), and the principal language
of expression (Java, Python, etc.).
(For the host you're running on, you'll need an RSA key; I'm not
covering that here.)
When the respository page comes up, it will give you some commands
to set up the respository. The ones you really need are:
$ git init
$ git remote add origin [email protected] :yourname /projectname .git
Then add your new files (assuming you know how to use Git:
git add . ).
Commit (git commit -m "Initial commit" ).
And push (git push origin master ).
How to clone a repository on a new host in Bitbucket (or GitHub)
Assuming git installed on the new host...
In your filesystem, go to the parent subdirectory where you'd like
your cloned project to live.
If you don't already know the command, go to the repository page
at Bitbucket; at the top, you'll see SSH and, to the
right, a path. Copy that path to use below.
Clone with this command:
$ git clone [email protected] :yourname /projectname .git
You should see your new project code, which will be the latest,
ready to use.
How to finish setting up a freshly created Bitbucket repository
You've already created a project in your filesystem, decide to keep it on
Bitbucket as its own repository and need to commit the existing files. Here
are the steps:
Create the respository in Bitbucket; let's call it project .
At project 's root, type
~/dev/project $ git init
Still at the root, type
~/dev/project $ git remote add origin [email protected] :atlassian-user /project.git
...where atlassian-user is something like russellbateman .
Create .gitignore and add entries to it that are things you
never wish to commit.
Remove all temporary subdirectories and files (like target , classes ,
.idea/workstation.xml , etc.) so you do not inadvertantly commit them the
first time.
Use git status (at the root) to list all the files not currently
under git 's control. This will pretty much be everything at this
point. Revisit previous step if you see something you don't want or be careful
in the next step.
Use git add to stage what you want git to control. For example:
~/dev/project $ git add .gitignore .idea/ pom.xml src/ project.iml
Perform the initial commit:
~/dev/project $ git commit -m "Initial commit."
Push to the Bitbucket master using
~/dev/project $ git push origin master
How to migrate existing repository contents...
There are instructions, however, they're somewhat difficult to pursue. The following
are easier, but they require that you be in your master branch with your local
updated to everything remote has. username is the "power" username, like
acme .
$ git remote add github [email protected] :acme/projectname.git
$ git push --all -f github
$ git push --tags github
Look at Github in browser to see that all is there.
Here are some console scrapes...
test-client :
master ~/dev/test-client $ git remote add github [email protected] :acme/test-client.git git push --all github [email protected] :acme/test-client.git
! [rejected] master -> master (non-fast-forward)
error: failed to push some refs to '[email protected] :acme/test-client.git'
To prevent you from losing history, non-fast-forward updates were rejected
Merge the remote changes before pushing again. See the 'Note about
fast-forwards' section of 'git push --help' for details.
master ~/dev/test-client $ git push --all -f github [email protected] :acme/test-client.git
+ 5f5f421...ad462aa master -> master (forced update)
master ~/dev/test-client $ git push --tags github git remote git remote set-url origin [email protected] :acme/test-client.git git remote git remote -v [email protected] :acme/test-client.git (fetch)
github [email protected] :acme/test-client.git (push)
origin [email protected] :acme/test-client.git (fetch)
origin [email protected] :acme/test-client.git (push)
test-server :
master ~/dev/test-server $ git remote add github [email protected] :acme/test-server.git git push --all -f github [email protected] :acme/test-server.git
+ db1dd06...efc4025 master -> master (forced update)
master ~/dev/test-server $ git push --tags github git remote set-url origin [email protected] :acme/test-server.git git remote git remote -v [email protected] :acme/test-server.git (fetch)
github [email protected] :acme/test-server.git (push)
origin [email protected] :acme/test-server.git (fetch)
origin [email protected] :acme/test-server.git (push)
Migration command summary...
$ git remote add github [email protected] :username /projectname .git
$ git push --all -f github
$ git push --tags github
$ git remote set-url origin [email protected] :username /projectname .git
$ git remote -v
Once you've finished, you'll want to use the last command just to verify that
when you start working again in the filesystem, your fetches and pushes will
be going where you think they should (i.e.: to GitHub instead of to
your old Git server).
Getting started: cloning a new repository...
Once you've created a new repository (or migrated an old one), you begin
working in it by cloning it. (Of course, whether for GitHub or Bitbucket,
you'll need to install appropriate ssh keys. See notes above.)
~/dev $ git clone [email protected] :acme/test-server.git cd test-server ll
Here's how I got Jenkins and GitHub wired up...
There's a lot of help out there for this, most of it complex pratting that doesn't
work.
When you set up a Jenkins job, you tell it to kick off based on Git. You have to set up
the Git plug-in in Jenkins, but you get the following error:
Failed to connect to repository : Command "git ls-remote -h [email protected] :acme/test-server.git HEAD"
returned status code 128:
stdout:
stderr: ERROR: Repository not found.
fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly
Here's what I did to wire up Jenkins and GitHub.
Fetched git.hpi and github.hpi plug-ins for Jenkins and dropped them on the
path /var/lib/jenkins/plugins .
Bounced Jenkins: sudo /etc/init.d/jenkins restart .
Became user jenkins and generated a key pair with no passphrase:
jenkins@acme-buildserver:~/.ssh$ ssh-keygen Copied the resulting key pair to my Linux development host via scp .
Copied the public key to the clipboard (because this is how to get it into
GitHub):
~/Downloads/jenkins-deploy-keys $ xclip -selection c -i ./id_rsa.pub
Logged into GitHub and navigated to my project. Clicked on the Admin
tab, then clicked on Deploy Keys (left-hand navigational thumb), then
Add deploy key . Gave the deploy key a descriptive name to do with
"Jenkins deploy key for <server-name> and copied the key (already on the
clipboard) into the space provided.
Returned to console on my server to see if this was successful from the
jenkins user:
jenkins@acme-buildserver:~$ ssh -T [email protected]
Return to the Jenkins dashboard, click on the project (if not created, do
create it), then Configure , then scroll down to Source Code Management
where Git should be checked with a Repository URL of
[email protected] :username/projectname.git
Don't stop here; read the next section.
Here's how I really got Jenkins and GitHub wired up...
The problem with the method above, I quickly found out, is that it only works
for one repository. GitHub won't let you add that RSA key for any other
repositories since it's already been used.
So, I did an end-run...
Created a new GitHub free user, Acme-Jenkins with a bogus e-mail
address (waiting to see if this fails because I have no way to answer any
confirmation e-mail if GitHub sends one and insists on it being answered).
Logged into GitHub and established an RSA key, the one created for user
jenkins in the previous section.
(I removed this key from the repository I'd put it into.)
From user jenkins on the server, I attempted to ssh
into [email protected]
I logged in to GitHub as my poweruser self, clicked the Teams
tab, created new team Acme-pull only . I added user Acme-Jenkins
as a team member, then two repositories already created.
I configured the jobs for both repository projects to use
[email protected] :acme/projectname
Unless GitHub doesn't insist upon a confirmation step as noted above, I should
be home free.
Migration accomplished, how to cut over to GitHub
You must log into GitHub and add an RSA key. There's information elsewhere on
this page on how to copy your RSA key to the Linux clipboard such that you can
paste it accurately into GitHub.
If the migration was accomplished with everything committed and pushed to
origin master, then the following commands should suffice to accomplish an
individual's cutover.
$ git checkout master git remote set-url origin [email protected] :acme/projectname .git
As I haven't migrated any repositories with branches, I don't yet know what
will become of branch russ after the second command. I'll do that and
find out then, if there's anything noteworthy, I'll let you know. I know that
the migration actually covers branches too, but as I say, I haven't actually
seen it work yet.
Error and hang for git push origin master
You've just committed some code, maybe (and especially) a lot of it, and are
pushing it to the master remote. You find it hangs and, if you squint hard,
that there was an error.
master ~/bitbucket/zMongoTryStuff $ git push origin master
Had to use Ctrl-C to get out. What's happened is that the
push buffer isn't big enough . The solution is a change in git
configuration, an arbitrary new size for the HTTP POST buffer.
master ~/bitbucket/zMongoTryStuff $ git config http.postBuffer 524288000 git push -u origin master [email protected] /russellbateman/zMongoTryStuff.git
* [new branch] master -> master
Branch master set up to track remote branch master from origin.
Bitbucket
Just a recap in case it's not obvious. Assuming I'm russellbateman ,
but have been granted rights to my friend's projects, I clone one of the latter
using the second command below.
~/dev/bitbucket $ git clone [email protected] :russellbateman/zMongoTryStuff git clone [email protected] :jsevison/java-learn
Jenkins and Bitbucket
Check here for hooking the two up:
In the end, it was much easier than I thought although I'm doing this very
privately and so didn't care about others being able to reach Jenkins for my
project. I used a Jenkins I had installed privately that's not visible on the
Internet.
It was not the nightmare that GitHub was in that Bitbucket conveniently allows
me to tell Jenkins a URL of
https://russellbateman:<password>@bitbucket.org/russellbateman/<repositor>.git
...for the Source Code Management -> Git -> Repositories ->
Repository URL field.
GitHub pull-request paradigm
The whole "Pull-request" paradigm was new to me as I'd always used the
"Shared-repository" model. Here I'm following GitHub's
Fork a Repository instructions in order to fork a repository (to
contribute to a project). Despite the comment, you do not have to be new to Git
and GitHub to need to read this page. I've used Git and GitHub for years, but
always used a different model (approach) than what I'm learning to do here.
What's going on here: there's an existing repository to which I need to make a
contribution. I need to change a small thing in a file. I don't have ownership
over that repository, but my product consumes what it creates. In order to do
this, I have to make a fork of that repository, make my changes, then plead with
the owners to accept them. First, I need to fork the repositior and make the
changes. Here are the steps:
- Step 1: Fork the repository you wish to contribute to.
- Step 2: Clone your fork (and make it your current working directory):
$ git clone https://github.com/russellbateman/tomcat-default.git
$ cd tomcat-default
- Step 2bis: Configure your forked repository (if you like—not in article)
$ git config --global user.email "[email protected] "
$ git config --global user.name "Russell Bateman"
$ git config color.ui true
- Step 3: Configure your remotes:
$ git remote add upstream https://github.com/fs-eng/tomcat-default.git
$ git fetch upstream
Note: If you're reading this, the upstream remote is probably something
you've never created or done, etc. It constitutes a salient difference with your
previous Git experience.
- Step 4: Make your change(s):
$ cd src/main/conf
$ gvim server.xml
$ git diff server.xml
# On branch master
# Changes not staged for commit:
# (use "git add ..." to update what will be committed)
# (use "git checkout -- ..." to discard changes in working directory)
#
# modified: server.xml
#
no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")
- Step 4bis: Commit and push your changes:
$ git commit -a server.xml
[master 7603346] Spoke to Stephen Kinser; Awaken Tomcat access logging and
set to 1-second granularity. (Future: We'll be going for millisecond
granularity in Tomcat 7.)
1 file changed, 18 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
$ git push origin master
Now I'm following
Using Pull Requests , in particular, the "Fork & Pull" model.
I have to propose the change I made to tomcat-default 's owners for
incorporation into the official source base. To do this, I have to initiate a
pull request, then send it to them.
Initiate and review the pull request
- Step 1: Switch to your (forked) branch. I clicked "tomcat-default",
noted by the arrow below:
- Step 2: Click the Compare & review button.
...to get the diff and be ready to create the request.
As explained in Changing the Branch Range and Destination Repository ,
your pull request will be based on the parent repository's default branch
(master ). Here, russellbateman/tomcat-default was forked from
fs-eng/tomcat-default .
Send the pull request
- Step 1: Click on the Create Pull Request button. You'll get a chance
to entitle the pull request and add a comment:
- Step 2: Click the Send pull request button to see the result; you'll
await some response from the owning team:
Cancelling a pull request
You can't cancel a pull request, but you can close it. To do this, you go to
the discussion page associated with the request.
To get to the page to do that, follow these steps:
Get to your GitHub page.
Click on the relevant repository near the bottom of the rightmost column.
Click the green Compare, review, create a pull request button
at the upper left of the page content region.
Click the green View Pull Request button.
Near the bottom, click the Close button next to the green
Comment button.
GitHub simple pull-request
—directly in the browser. These steps to modify a version of a JAR in a
pom.xml file:
Go to github.com
Locate the file to change.
Click Edit and make the change.
Below Propose file change , edit the change message.
Click big, green Propose file change button. This makes a fork
named patch-1 .
If there's nothing more to say (nothing to add to the existing message
that's needed as the message to the pull request), then just click the
big, green Create pull request button (or, on later versions,
there's a New pull request button that's not green—to
get the pull-request started).
Done! You should see something like this:
How to stop getting notification for a repository
Go to the repository top page.
Click the Unwatch button.
Choose either Not watching (you only get notified if you're
actually involved somehow) or Ignoring (you won't get any
notifications at all).
Agent admitted failure...key...Permission denied (publickey)
"Cloning into ...
Agent admitted failure to sing using the key.
Permission denied (publickey).
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.
Please make sure you have the correct access rights
and the repository exists.
This happened even after I recreated the public key, etc. What I neglected to do,
and this something I never had to do before around 2012, is add the key:
~/.ssh $ ssh-add
Identity added: /home/russ/.ssh/id_rsa (/home/russ/.ssh/id_rsa)
How to remove or change remote origin from repository
You've been working on a project committed to an existing repository, then
want to rename that project and the repository it will be held in. You create
the new repository (in Bitbucket, GitHub, etc.). You rename the subdirectory.
You want to shift over to the new respository.
If it were a new repository and new in your project (what would be the case
if you did $ rm .git ; git init ),
you would do this:
master ~/dev/cda-filter $ git remote add origin [email protected] :russellbateman/cda-filter.git
fatal: remote origin already exists.
but, as noted, you already have a remote (recorded down inside .git/config ).
So, instead, you change the URL to the new repository you've created:
master ~/dev/cda-filter $ git remote set-url origin [email protected] :russellbateman/cda-filter.git
And, yes, this retains all the original history from when the repository
was otherwise named!
How to paste a new key for ssh into Bitbucket, etc.
Install xclip .
Generate the key locally.
Do cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | xclip -sel clip .
Paste what's on the clipboard into the place reserved for the key.
Creating and using a personal-access token...
...in Enterprise GitHub.
First, add the following paragraph to ~/.gitconfig :
[credential]
helper = store --file ~/.git-credentials
Go to GitHub, e.g.: https://github.acme.com/ .
Create a personal-access token :
Click the pull-down next to your avatar.
Choose Settings → Developer settings → Personal access token .
Click Generate new token .
Write a description of the token (like the hostname from which you'll use it).
Click the checkbox next to repo
Scroll to bottom and click Generate token .
You should see something like:
c890257fdczzyzzxa3fde2c3d855zzyzzx1facfc
Copy this string of characters to your clipboard.
To use this from command-line git , paste it into .git-credentials with
the surrounding context shown here. Obviously, github.acme.com will be replaced
with the domain of your corporation's GitHub domain:
https:// c890257fdczzyzzxa3fde2c3d855zzyzzx1facfc :@github.acme.com
Sample clone command:
$ git clone https://github.acme.com/hardware-orders/explosives.git
Note, for the last step above, that it's likely possible to skip creating
~/.git-credentials and simply use the personal-access token
(on your clipboard) as your username in a git command like:
$ git clone https://github.acme.com/hardware-orders/explosives.git
Cloning into 'explosives'...
Username for 'https://github.acme.com': paste personal-access token here [email protected] ': (just press Enter here)
This will create and fill in .git-credentials exactly as it needs to be.