Installing GitBucket on Ubuntu 20.04

GitBucket is a self-hosted Git platform that provides a lightweight alternative to popular Git platforms like GitHub and GitLab. It is written in Scala and provides a user-friendly web interface for managing repositories, users, and access control.

Step 1: Install Java

First, you need to install Java on your Ubuntu 20.04 machine. GitBucket requires Java to run. Open the terminal and run the following commands:

        $ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install default-jdk
    

Step 2: Download and Configure GitBucket

Next, you need to download and configure GitBucket. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the GitBucket releases page on GitHub.
2. Download the latest gitbucket.war file using the provided link.
3. Create a folder to store GitBucket on your system. For example, /opt/gitbucket/.
4. Move the downloaded gitbucket.war file to the created folder.
5. Create a new user to run the GitBucket service. For example, gitbucket.
6. Give ownership of the GitBucket folder to the new user:

                   $ sudo chown -R gitbucket:gitbucket /opt/gitbucket/
               

7. Create a new systemd service file for GitBucket:

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

   Add the following content to the file:

                   [Unit]
   Description=GitBucket
   After=network.target
   
   [Service]
   User=gitbucket
   ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -jar /opt/gitbucket/gitbucket.war
   Restart=always
   StandardOutput=syslog
   StandardError=syslog
   SyslogIdentifier=gitbucket
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
               

8. Save and close the file.
9. Reload systemd to load the new service file:

                   $ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
               

10. Start the GitBucket service:

                    $ sudo systemctl start gitbucket
                

Step 3: Access GitBucket Web Interface

Once GitBucket is running, you can access its web interface by opening your browser and navigating to http://localhost:8080/. If you have a firewall enabled, make sure to open port 8080 to allow external access to GitBucket.

During the first visit, you will be asked to create the administrator account. Follow the instructions on the web interface to complete the setup.

Step 4: Managing GitBucket Service

You can use the following commands to manage the GitBucket service:

        $ sudo systemctl start gitbucket    # Start GitBucket
$ sudo systemctl stop gitbucket     # Stop GitBucket
$ sudo systemctl restart gitbucket  # Restart GitBucket
$ sudo systemctl status gitbucket   # Check the status of GitBucket
    

Conclusion

Now you have successfully installed and configured GitBucket on your Ubuntu 20.04 machine. You can start using GitBucket to manage your repositories and collaborate with your team.