Ubuntu deploy

rabun-git is a systemd unit plus a release archive on an x86_64 (or aarch64) Ubuntu host. The same machine can already run Rabun: this forge sits beside rabun.service, keeps settings in its own env file, and upserts [[apps]] in /etc/rabun/rabun.toml. The host never talks to GitHub. This machine (or Actions) packs or downloads the archive and copies it over SSH.

There is no public HTTP git UI and no Caddy virtual host. serve listens for git and management commands on TCP 2222 and writes a loopback companion heartbeat.

1. Host

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS. 1 vCPU / 1 GB is enough for hosting repositories; give the box more RAM if .rabun/workflows will compile code.

• SSH keys on the host (port 22) so push.sh can copy the archive
• git at runtime (bootstrap installs it). The host does not need pkg-config or a compiler unless you run CI workflows that need them
• Firewall: clients clone on 2222, not 22

Do not curl | bash the bootstrap script from GitHub.

2. Bootstrap (once)

From a clone on this machine (gh auth login if you have not already). Pack this checkout and install in one step. SSH is publickey only (no sshd password prompt): use the account you already ssh to with a key, not root@HOST unless that key is in root’s authorized_keys.

./deploy/ubuntu/push.sh --pack --bootstrap user@HOST

--identity FILE (or RABUN_GIT_SSH_IDENTITY) selects a private key. After login, install still needs root: passwordless sudo runs with no prompt; otherwise one sudo password (not SSH).

--env is optional. If you pass it, the file is copied to /etc/rabun-git/rabun-git.env (0640). That is the correct place for RABUN_GIT_ROOT and bind overrides — not /etc/rabun/rabun.env.

First-time from a GitHub Release (latest stable if you omit the tag):

./deploy/ubuntu/push.sh --bootstrap user@HOST

--pack needs pkg-config, a C compiler, git, and Cargo (./scripts/install-linux-build-deps.sh). It names the archive with git describe --tags --always --dirty unless you pass a tag. Combine --pack with --bootstrap for a first-time host from this checkout.

After bootstrap, register the first admin from this machine (host SSH + sudo) or in an operator session on the host. Files under /var/lib/rabun-git must stay owned by rabun-git.

From this machine:

rgit remote add origin git@HOST
rgit origin key copy ada --admin --file ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
rgit origin repo create ada/website

On the host:

rabun-git shell          # or: sudo rabun-git shell
rabun-git user add ada --admin
rabun-git key add ada --file /path/to/ada.pub
rabun-git repo create ada/website
exit

rabun-git shell runs one sudo as the rabun-git user, then an interactive bash. The prompt is (rabun-git) … $ for the whole session; exit ends it. Mutating commands (user, key, repo, …) refuse to run as your login user so the service does not lose write access.

rabun-git check and rabun-git status still work outside the session. After the first admin key is registered, this machine can create more repos without sudo: rgit origin repo create ada/website or ssh -p 2222 git@HOST repo create ada/website. key add --file on the host still needs a path there; from this machine, --file is read locally. key copy always uses host SSH (port 22), not git port 2222.

rabun-git loads /etc/rabun-git/rabun-git.env, so you do not need to pass --config when that file sets RABUN_GIT_CONFIG.

Open TCP 2222 if clients are not on the same machine. If ufw is already active, bootstrap allows 2222. To enable ufw from scratch: RABUN_GIT_ENABLE_UFW=1 ./deploy/ubuntu/push.sh --pack --bootstrap user@HOST.

3. Later deploys

After bootstrap, pack current master (or a dirty tree) and scp it:

./deploy/ubuntu/push.sh --pack user@HOST

Two-step (inspect the archive first):

./deploy/ubuntu/pack.sh
# dist/release/rabun-git-<git-describe>-<triple>.tar.gz
./deploy/ubuntu/push.sh --archive dist/release/rabun-git-<git-describe>-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz user@HOST

GitHub Release deploys are unchanged: omit --pack and push.sh downloads the latest stable tarball (or a tag you pass). --pack and --archive cannot be used together.

Refresh the env file without rewriting the example:

./deploy/ubuntu/push.sh --pack --env .env user@HOST

Layout on the host

The systemd user is rabun-git. Git clients still connect as git@HOST on port 2222 (russh; not the unix user). Admin SSH on port 22 is unchanged.

Logs: journalctl -u rabun-git -f. Heartbeat: rabun-git status or curl -sS http://127.0.0.1:8792/health. If rabun-feeds already uses 8792 on the same host, set RABUN_GIT_HEALTH_BIND to another loopback port. Audit sandboxing with systemd-analyze security rabun-git. There is still no public HTTP git UI.

Clone URL after DNS points at the host:

ssh://git@HOST:2222/owner/name.git

Housekeeping

Every install:

• Refreshes rabun-git.service and restarts the unit
• Upserts Rabun’s app manifest (name = "git", command = "rabun-git", args = ["serve"], health_url, status_file)
• Leaves warehouse, feeds, and other [[apps]] blocks alone
• Leaves /etc/rabun/rabun.toml alone when Rabun is not installed
• Does not overwrite an existing env file unless you pass --env

rabun list / rabun run git read that manifest after Rabun restarts. This forge still runs on its own unit; do not also rabun run git on the same host unless you stop the systemd service.