+Gitea Notes
+###########
+
+:date: 2025-08-25
+:tags: lessons
+:category: lessons
+:author: Jude N
+
+Here are some notes on using `Gitea`_ as a git forge and issue tracker after using it for around 6 months.
+
+The Good
+--------
+In general, everything pretty much works as expected, and I didn't run into any problems provisioning it..
+
+- It's mostly deployed as a single go executable on the git server, and then a single go executable on each build server.
+
+ There were no external dependencies to wrangle, or pull you down into dependency hell.
+- I didn't run into any issues porting my existing repos into Gitea.
+
+ After that the workflow feels like using GitLab or GitHub.
+
+ For the most part, it works, and it's been a joy.
+- The workflow support mirrors GitHub actions a bit too closely, as per below, but for the most part, workflows are working as expected.
+- `Template repos`_ work surprisingly well, as per below.
+
+The Bad/Ugly
+------------
+Most of these are minor UI choices Gitea made that I don't like. There's certainly nothing here to force me to switch to another forge.
+
+- I don't really like that issues have to be opened against a repo, and that there's not a good way to move issues between repos.
+
+ If you end up opening an issue against the wrong repo, you have to close the first issue and open a second issue in the correct repo.
+- For some reason, I always have trouble adding new users to a repo.
+
+ It's done through the ``https://<git-server>/<organization-name>/<repo-name>/settigs/collaboration`` page.
+
+ You can also define a collection of users called a 'team' for an organization at ``https://<git-server>/<organization-name>/teams`` and then add the team to the repo.
+
+ I don't like the 'collaborator' terminology since it makes me feel like a quisling. 🤷
+- Gitea will convert issue instances to links, but you have to use a kludgy '<organization-name>/<repo-name>#<issue-number>' format.
+
+ It would be better if the organization-name and repo-name weren't needed and defaulted to the current repo's values.
+- I always have trouble finding the commit graph for a repo.
+
+ Go to the '<> Code' link for the repo, then the 'Commits' link, and there should be a 'Commit Graph' link next to the branch name.
+
+ It should also be available at `https://<gitea-server>/<org-name>/<repo-name>/graph`.
+- Setting up branch protection was a little hard.
+
+ To do it, go the Settings for the repo, then click the 'Branch' button, then click on the 'Add New Rule' button.
+
+ I enabled the 'Require Signed Commits' and 'Enable Status Check' checks.
+
+ The Status check pattern format is ``'<name of .gitea/workflows workflow> / < job name> (<git trigger>)'``.
+
+ For example, my workflow file looks like below, making the status check 'On Push Workflows / On-Push-Job (push)".
+
+ If you've already triggered the workflow, it should show up on the page in a text box below the setting.
+
+ .. code-block:: yaml
+
+ name: On Push Workflow
+ run-name: ${{ gitea.actor }} pushed out some changes. 🚀
+ on:
+ push:
+ branches:
+ - "*"
+
+ jobs:
+ On-Push-Job:
+ <<clipped the rest of the workflow>>
+
+The Surprising
+--------------
+I ran into one pleasant surprise and two that weren't as pleasant.
+
+- Cloning from Gitea template repos worked really well, even working on file names.
+
+ I had a file named ``test_${REPO_NAME_CAMEL}.py`` in the tests directory of my template repo, and Gitea successfully created the file with the correct name.
+
+ Make sure the ``.gitea/template`` file in the template repo includes the files where the templates should be applied. It wasn't enough for me to add a ``tests`` directory .gitea/template. I had to add ``tests/**`` to get Gitea to apply the templates to everything under the tests directory.
+- Setting up Gitea to sign merge commits was a big hassle
+
+ I spent a lot of time trying to add the key to ``/home/git/.gnupg``, but Gitea expects the key to be at ``/var/lib/gitea/home/data/.gnupg``.
+
+ Thanks to `Ivan's post`_ for pointing out the correct directory.
+
+- I'll close with the biggest gotcha I've run into: The ``actions/checkout@v4`` steps used to checkout repo code during .gitea/workflows was **cloning the actions repo from Github**.
+
+ The whole reason for spinning up a local forge was to be able to keep working when GitHub was down, or when it was enshitttenfied past the point of usefulness.
+
+ To avoid this GitHub dependency, I added the block below to ``/etc/gitea/app.ini``, then created an 'actions' organization and pushed a mirror of https://github/actions/checkout.git into the 'actions' organization.
+
+ Once I did this, and restarted Gitea, I saw the workflows cloning from ``https://<my-gitea-server>/actions/checkout`` instead of ``https://github/actions/checkout``.
+
+ .. code-block:: bash
+
+ [actions]
+ DEFAULT_ACTIONS_URL = self
+
+ Note the Gitea FAQs do `call out this behavior`_ so I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was.
+
+.. _Gitea: https://about.gitea.com/
+.. _Template repos: https://docs.gitea.com/next/usage/template-repositories
+.. _Ivan's post: https://ipetkov.dev/blog/configuring-gitea-to-sign-merge-commits/
+.. _term of venery: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_noun#Terms_of_venery
+.. _call out this behavior: https://docs.gitea.com/usage/actions/faq#where-will-the-runner-download-scripts-when-using-actions-such-as-actionscheckoutv4
+
projects / pwan.org.git / commitdiff