How to install GitBucket on Ubuntu Server 18.04

Having your own on-premises Git repository isn't nearly as challenging as you think.

Freelance programmer or developer working at home and typing source code with laptop — Image: iStockphoto/comzeal

If you use Git and you're looking for a user-friendly means of managing on-premises repositories, you might want to have a look at GitBucket. This tool, written in Scala, offers:

Intuitive UI
Plugin system
API compatibility with GitHub
Public and private repositories
GitLFS support
Repository viewer
Online file editor
Activity timeline
Email notifications
Account and group management (using LDAP integration)
And more

SEE: 10 free alternatives to Microsoft Word and Excel (TechRepublic download)

What you'll need

The only things you'll need to make this work are:

A running, updated instance of Ubuntu Server 18.04
A user account with sudo privileges

Installing Java

The first thing to be done is the installation of Java. To do this, open a terminal window and issue the command:

sudo apt-get install default-jdk -y

Install NGINX

GitBucket requires a web server. We'll use NGINX. If your Ubuntu Server includes Apache, you must first stop and disable it with the commands:

sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl disable apache2

Install NGINX with the command:

sudo apt-get install nginx -y

How to add a new group

We're going to add a new group and unprivileged user for the running of GitBucket. Back at the terminal window, create the group with the command:

sudo groupadd -g 555 gitbucket

Next add the unprivileged user with the command:

sudo useradd -g gitbucket --no-user-group --home-dir /opt/gitbucket --no-create-home --shell /usr/sbin/nologin --system --uid 555 gitbucket

How to download and install GitBucket

It's now time to download GitBucket with the command:

wget https://github.com/gitbucket/gitbucket/releases/download/4.31.2/gitbucket.war

Once the file has downloaded, create a new directory with the command:

sudo mkdir /opt/gitbucket

Move the downloaded file into the newly created directory with the command:

sudo mv gitbucket.war /opt/gitbucket

Give the .war file the proper permissions with the command:

sudo chown -R gitbucket:gitbucket /opt/gitbucket

How to create a Systemd file

In order for the service to start, we need to create a systemd file. Issue the command:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gitbucket.service

In that new file, paste the following:

# GitBucket Service
[Unit]
Description=Manage Java service

[Service]
WorkingDirectory=/opt/gitbucket
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -Xms128m -Xmx256m -jar gitbucket.war
User=gitbucket
Group=gitbucket
Type=simple
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and close the file. Reload systemd with the command:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Start and enable the new service with the following commands:

sudo systemctl start gitbucket
sudo systemctl enable gitbucket

How to configure a database connection for GitBucket

Next we must configure a database connection for GitBucket. To take care of this, issue the command:

sudo nano /opt/gitbucket/database.conf

In that file, paste the following into this new file:

db {
  url = "jdbc:h2:${DatabaseHome};MVCC=true"
  user = "sa"
  password = "sa"
}

How to configure NGINX as reverse proxy

Now we need to create an NGINX virtual host file, and set NGINX as a reverse proxy. To do this, create a new file with the command:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitbucket.conf

In that new file, paste the following:

upstream gitbucket {
  server 127.0.0.1:8080 weight=100 max_fails=5 fail_timeout=5;
}

server {
  listen          80;
  server_name     your-domain.com;

  location / {
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Server $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_pass http://gitbucket/;
  }
}

Save and close the file.

Enable the NGINX virtual host with the command:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitbucket.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Restart NGINX with the command:

sudo systemctl restart nginx

How to access the web interface

Open a web browser on your network and point it to http://SERVER_IP:8080 (where SERVER_IP is the IP address of your hosting server). You should be greeted by the GitBucket main page. Log in with the credentials root/root. At this point you should see a brand new instance of GitBucket (Figure A), where you can begin the process of creating and managing new repositories for your projects.

Figure A

Do make sure to click the "r" drop-down (top right corner), click System Administration, and change the default root password. Other than that, your instance of GitBucket is ready for work.