We support integration with the Apache webserver to create and serve repositories on the fly along with contributions to the fine-grained project authorization system of OpenProject.
Using the default configuration, OpenProject allows you to *link* existing Subversion and Git repositories from the local filesystem (For Subversion, you can also integrate repositories from other servers using basic auth credentials).
This functionality is extended with managed repositories, whose life spans are actively controlled by OpenProject. You can explicitly create local repositories for a project and configure repository access using permission the existing access-control functionality on a per-project level.
## Managed Repositories
You can create repositories explicitly on the filesystem using *managed* repositories.
Managed repositories need to be enabled manually for each SCM vendor individually using the `configuration.yml`.
It contains a YAML configuration section for repository management residing under the namespace `scm`.
The following is an excerpt of the configuration and contains all required information to set up your data.
This script has been integrated into OpenProject and extended. For further guidance on how to migrate to managed repositories, please see the [upgrade guide to 5.0](../../operation/upgrading)
To enable remote managed repositories, pass an absolute URL to the `manages` key of a vendor in the `configuration.yml`. The following excerpt shows that configuration for Subversion, assuming your callback is `https://example.org/repos`.
Upon creating and deleting repositories in the frontend, OpenProject will POST to this endpoint a JSON object containing information on the repository.
When the response is successful, it must at least return a `url` property that contains an accessible URL and optionally a `path` property to access the repository locally.
*Note* that for Git repositories, OpenProject currently can only read them locally (i.e, through an NFS mount), so a path is mandatory here.
Our main use-cases for this feature is to eliminate the complexity associated with permission issues around Subversion mainly in packager, for which a simple Apache wrapper script is used in `extra/Apache/OpenProjectRepoman.pm`.
It supports notifications for creating repositories (action `create`), moving repositories (action `relocate`, when a project's identifier has changed), and deleting repositories (action `delete`).
If you're interested in setting up the integration manually outside the context of packager, the following excerpt will help you:
* This checkout instruction contains the checkout URL for the given repository and some further information on how the checkout works for this particular vendor (e.g., Subversion → svn checkout, Git → git clone).
* The instructions contain information regarding the capabilities a user has (read, read-write)
* The instructions are defined by the SCM vendor implementations themselves, so that the checkout instructions could be extended by some 3rd party SCM vendor plugin
The total required disk space for a project's its repository and attachments are listed in the projects administration pane, as well as the project setting overview.
This information is refreshed in the same manner that changesets are retrieved: By default, the repository is refreshed when a user visits the repository page. This information is cached for the time configured under the global `administration settings → repositories`.
It could also externally be refreshed by using a cron job using the Sys API. Executing a GET against `/sys/projects/:identifier/repository/update_storage` will cause a refresh when the maximum cache time is expired. If you pass the query `?force=1` to the request above, it will ignore the cache.
For a future release, we are hoping to provide a webhook to update changesets and storage immediately after a change has been committed to the repository.
# Accessing repositories through Apache
With managed repositories, OpenProject takes care of the lifetime of repositories and their association with projects, however we still need to serve the repositories to the client.
In the remainder of this document, we assume that you run OpenProject using a separate process, which listens for requests on http://localhost:3000 that you serve over Apache using a proxy.
On that page, enable *"Enable repository management web service"* and generate an API key (do not
forget to save the settings). We need that API key later in our Apache configuration.
You also need a distinct filesystem path for Subversion and Git repositories.
In this guide, we assume that you put your svn repositories in /srv/openproject/svn and your git repositories in /srv/openproject/git .
## Subversion Integration
Apache provides the module `mod_dav_svn` to serve Subversion repositories through HTTP(s).
This method requires some apache modules to be enabled and installed. The following commands are required for Debian / Ubuntu, please adjust accordingly for other distributions:
**Important:** If Apache and OpenProject run under separate users, you need to ensure OpenProject remains the owner of the repository in order to browse and delete it, when requested through the user interface.
Due to the implementation of `mod_svn`, we have no way to influence the permissions determined by apache when changing repositories (i.e., by committing changes).
Without correcting the permissions, the following situation will occur:
* The run user of OpenProject can correctly create and manage repository under the managed path with appropriate permissions set
* As soon as a user checks out the repository and commits new data
* Apache alters and adds files to the repository on the server, now owned by the apache user its default umask.
* If the user decides to delete the repository through the frontend
* Altered files are not / no longer owned or writable by the OpenProject user
* The deletion fails
The following workarounds exist:
#### Apache running `mod_dav_svn` and OpenProject must be run with the same user
This is a simple solution, but theoretically less secure when the server provides more than just SVN and OpenProject.
#### Use Filesystem ACLs
You can define ACLs on the managed repository root (requires compatible FS).
You'll need the the `acl` package and define the ACL.
On many file systems, ACLS are enabled by default. On others, you might need to remount affected filesystems with the `acl` option set.
Note that this issue applies to mod_dav_svn only.
### Use the Apache wrapper script
Similar to the integration we use ourselves for the packager-based installation, you can set up Apache to manage repositories using the remote hook in OpenProject.
For more information, see the section 'Managing Repositories Remotely'.
### Exemplary Apache Configuration
We provide an example apache configuration. Some details are explained inline as comments.
## Git Integration
We can exploit git-http-backend to serve Git repositories through HTTP(s) with Apache.
This method additionally requires the `cgi` Apache module to be installed. The following commands are required for Debian / Ubuntu, please adjust accordingly for other distributions:
<pre>
apt-get install git libapache2-mod-perl2
a2enmod proxy proxy_http cgi
</pre>
You need to locate the location of the `git-http-backend` CGI wrapper shipping with the Git installation.
Depending on your installation, it may reside in `/usr/libexec/git-core/git-http-backend`.
[More information on git-http-backend.](http://git-scm.com/docs/git-http-backend)
### Permissions
We create bare Git repositories in OpenProject with the [`--shared`](https://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-init.html) option of `git-init` set to group-writable.
Thus, if you use a separate user for Apache and OpenProject, they need to reside in a common group that is used for repository management. That group must be set in the `configuration.yml` (see above).
### Exemplary Apache Configuration
We provide an example apache configuration. Some details are explained inline as comments.
# Load OpenProject per module used to authenticate requests against the user database.
# Be sure that the OpenProjectAuthentication.pm script is located in your perl path.
PerlSwitches -I/srv/www/perl-lib -T
PerlLoadModule Apache::OpenProjectAuthentication
<VirtualHost*:80>
ErrorLog /var/log/apache2/error
# The /sys endpoint is an internal API used to authenticate repository
# access requests. It shall not be reachable from remote.
<LocationMatch"/sys">
Order Deny,Allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.1
</LocationMatch>
# This fixes COPY for webdav over https
RequestHeader edit Destination ^https: http: early
# Serves svn repositories locates in /srv/openproject/svn via WebDAV
# It is secure with basic auth against the OpenProject user database.