git-browser

Minimal web UI for browsing local Git repositories.

git-browser scans a directory for Git repositories directly under the configured root or one level below it in organization/user folders, and serves a small read-only interface for:

• listing repositories
• browsing trees and files at any branch, tag, or commit
• viewing repository and file commit history
• listing branches
• showing the top-level README file inline
• rendering inline $...$ and display $$...$$ math in Markdown with bundled KaTeX assets
• copying configured SSH and/or HTTPS clone URLs from the page header

Clone URLs are optional. Configure them with:

• -clone-ssh-prefix=git@example.com:repos/
• -clone-https-prefix=https://example.com/repos/

The repository name is appended directly to each configured prefix.

Single-image Gitolite appliance

The included container image runs both services needed for a small Git host:

• OpenSSH and Gitolite on port 22 for authenticated clone, fetch, and push
• git-browser on port 8080 for read-only browsing
• one persistent /var/lib/gitolite volume for repositories, Gitolite configuration, authorized keys, logs, and SSH host keys

Gitolite runs as the unprivileged git account. Only the SSH daemon and the small service supervisor run as root. Password login, root login, forwarding, user-controlled SSH environments, tunnels, and user SSH startup files are disabled.

Start with Docker Compose

Create a dedicated administrator key if you do not already have one:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f admin -C gitolite-admin

The private key stays on the administrator's machine. admin.pub is mounted as a Docker secret and is only used when initializing a completely empty volume.

docker compose up -d --build
docker compose ps
git clone ssh://git@localhost:2222/gitolite-admin

The default deployment publishes SSH on all host interfaces at port 2222, but publishes the unauthenticated web UI only on 127.0.0.1:8080. Open http://127.0.0.1:8080 locally or put an authenticating reverse proxy in front of it.

Set these values in the environment before starting Compose when the defaults do not match the deployment:

For a remote host, the clone prefix normally looks like ssh://git@git.example.com:2222/ or, when using port 22, git@git.example.com:.

Start with Docker directly

docker build -t git-browser-gitolite .
docker volume create gitolite-data
docker run -d \
  --name git \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  --pids-limit 128 \
  --read-only \
  --security-opt no-new-privileges \
  --tmpfs /run:size=16m,mode=0755 \
  --tmpfs /tmp:size=64m,mode=1777 \
  -p 2222:22 \
  -p 127.0.0.1:8080:8080 \
  -e GIT_BROWSER_CLONE_SSH_PREFIX=ssh://git@localhost:2222/ \
  -v gitolite-data:/var/lib/gitolite \
  -v "$PWD/admin.pub:/run/secrets/gitolite_admin_key:ro" \
  git-browser-gitolite

Persistence and restarts

Initialization is idempotent:

• An empty volume requires a valid administrator public key and creates the gitolite-admin repository exactly once.
• An initialized volume is preserved. Each boot refreshes the bundled Gitolite executable, generated configuration, and hooks without replacing repositories or administrator configuration.
• Partial Gitolite state causes startup to fail rather than overwriting data.
• SSH host keys are stored in the same volume, so replacing the container does not change the server fingerprint.

Back up the gitolite-data volume as the git account or while the container is stopped. Restoring that single volume restores repositories, access rules, keys, audit logs, and the server's SSH identity.

The image uses uid/gid 1000 for the git account. Named Docker volumes work without additional configuration. For an existing bind mount, set ownership to 1000:1000 before the first start. As an explicit recovery option, GITOLITE_FIX_PERMISSIONS=true repairs ownership below the state directory once; remove it after the container starts successfully.

Additional runtime variables are available when using the image directly:

Web authorization boundary

Gitolite permissions protect Git operations over SSH. The browser is deliberately read-only but does not apply Gitolite's per-user access rules: every repository it discovers is visible over HTTP. Keep port 8080 private, hide sensitive repositories with GIT_BROWSER_HIDE, or enforce authentication and authorization at a reverse proxy before exposing it to a network.