Installing and configuring Gerrit Code Review System
In this handbook we we will see how to install and do the initial configuration of Gerrit - a code review and project management system for Git based project.
So, what is Gerrit?
Quoting from the official web page of Gerrit:
“Gerrit is a web based code review system, facilitating online code reviews for projects using the Git version control system.
Gerrit makes reviews easier by showing changes in a side-by-side display, and allowing inline comments to be added by any reviewer.
Gerrit simplifies Git based project maintainership by permitting any authorized user to submit changes to the master Git repository, rather than requiring all approved changes to be merged in by hand by the project maintainer. This functionality enables a more centralized usage of Git.”
In this handbook we will see how to install and configure Gerrit under FreeBSD and also Debian GNU/Linux
Currently there are no official Gerrit packages for FreeBSD and Debian GNU/Linux at the moment of writing this handbook, so I’ve ported Gerrit to both systems and the port/package can be found in my Github projects.
- FreeBSD Port for Gerrit
- [Debian GNU/Linux package for
- Gerrit](https://github.com/dnaeon/gerrit-debian)
If you are willing to submit these packages as official FreeBSD/Debian packages, please feel free to do so :)
Requirements
- root access or sudo rights
Tested And Verified
- FreeBSD 9.0 system
- Debian GNU/Linux 6.0 system
- Gerrit 2.4.2
Installing Gerrit on FreeBSD
In order to install Gerrit under FreeBSD we are going to use the gerrit-freebsd port from Github.
NOTE: There is already a PR for adding Gerrit to the FreeBSD Ports collection, so until Gerrit goes into the Ports Tree, please use the instructions provided below. Once Gerrit has been added to the Ports Tree install it as you would with any other port. See ports/163655
So, first clone the Gerrit Git repository:
$ git clone https://github.com/dnaeon/gerrit-freebsd.git
Before we install Gerrit we also need a dedicated user for Gerrit. In order to create the Gerrit user, we need to patch our ports/UIDs and ports/GIDs first.
NOTE: Once ports/163666 gets commited and Gerrit is added to the Ports Tree, you will not have to patch the files manually, but this will be already set for you.
Download the patch from ports/163666 and then apply it:
$ cd /usr/ports && sudo patch < /path/to/patch.txt
This should add entries for the Gerrit user and group, which in turn will be used by the Gerrit Port during installation.
Now, lets build the Gerrit port:
$ cd gerrit-freebsd && sudo make install clean
Once Gerrit is installed lets enable it in /etc/rc.conf, so that Gerrit is also started during boot-time. To do that add this line to your /etc/rc.conf file:
gerrit_enable="YES"
Installing Gerrit on Debian GNU/Linux
In order to install Gerrit under Debian GNU/Linux we are going to use the gerrit-debian package from Github.
So, first clone the Gerrit repository from Github:
$ git clone https://github.com/dnaeon/gerrit-debian.git
Before building Gerrit make sure you have build-essential package installed already. Now let’s build the Gerrit package:
$ cd gerrit-debian && dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc
Once the package is built you will be able to install it just like any other Debian GNU/Linux package using dpkg(1):
$ sudo dpkg -i gerrit_2.4.2_all.deb
You can also find a pre-compiled package of Gerrit for Debian GNU/Linux 6.0 (Squeeze) on the link below:
Configuration of Gerrit
In this section of the handbook we will see how to start/stop and do the initial configuration of our Gerrit instance.
In order to start/stop your Gerrit instance under FreeBSD, you should use the rc.d script found in /usr/local/etc/rc.d/gerrit.
For starting/stopping your Gerrit instance under Debian GNU/Linux, you should use the init.d script found in /etc/init.d/gerrit.
Now, lets start our Gerrit instance for the first time and perform the initial configuration.
Starting Gerrit under FreeBSD:
$ sudo service gerrit start
Start Gerrit under Debian GNU/Linux:
$ sudo /etc/init.d/gerrit start
During the first-time run of Gerrit you will need to perform the initial configuration of Gerrit, which includes:
- Location to the Git repositories
- The SQL database used by Gerrit
- Authentication
- Email server
- The Java runtime environment
- etc, etc.
Below you can see the configuration we’ve used for setting up Gerrit during our first-time run under a FreeBSD system.
$ sudo service gerrit start
No Gerrit site found. Will initialize Gerrit first...
*** Gerrit Code Review 2.4.2
***
Create '/usr/local/gerrit/review_site' [Y/n]?
*** Git Repositories
***
Location of Git repositories [git]:
*** SQL Database
***
Database server type [H2/?]:
*** User Authentication
***
Authentication method [OPENID/?]:
*** Email Delivery
***
SMTP server hostname [localhost]:
SMTP server port [(default)]:
SMTP encryption [NONE/?]:
SMTP username :
*** Container Process
***
Run as [gerrit]:
Java runtime [/usr/local/openjdk6/jre]:
Copy gerrit.war to /usr/local/gerrit/review_site/bin/gerrit.war [Y/n]?
Copying gerrit.war to /usr/local/gerrit/review_site/bin/gerrit.war
*** SSH Daemon
***
Listen on address [*]:
Listen on port [29418]:
Gerrit Code Review is not shipped with Bouncy Castle Crypto v144
If available, Gerrit can take advantage of features
in the library, but will also function without it.
Download and install it now [Y/n]? y
Downloading http://www.bouncycastle.org/download/bcprov-jdk16-144.jar
... OK
Checksum bcprov-jdk16-144.jar OK
Generating SSH host key ... rsa... dsa... done
*** HTTP Daemon
***
Behind reverse proxy [y/N]?
Use SSL (https://) [y/N]?
Listen on address [*]:
Listen on port [8080]:
Canonical URL [http://localhost:8080/]:
Initialized /usr/local/gerrit/review_site
Executing /usr/local/gerrit/review_site/bin/gerrit.sh start
Starting Gerrit Code Review: OK
Waiting for server to start ... OK
Opening browser ...
Please open a browser and go to
http://localhost:8080/#/admin/projects/
The initial configuration of Gerrit under Debian GNU/Linux is identical to the one in FreeBSD with minor changes in the above example output like the location to the Java runtime environment and the location of the review site.
Once you have successfully initialized and started your Gerrit instance you can access it using your web browser at http://example.org:8080/#/admin/projects
For further configuration of Gerrit, please refer to the offcial documentation of Gerrit which provides extensive information on how to fully configure your Gerrit instance.