git-shell
GIT-SHELL(1) Git Manual GIT-SHELL(1)
NAME
git-shell - Restricted login shell for Git-only SSH access
SYNOPSIS
chsh -s $(command -v git-shell) <user>
git clone <user>@localhost:/path/to/repo.git
ssh <user>@localhost
DESCRIPTION
This is a login shell for SSH accounts to provide restricted Git access.
It permits execution only of server-side Git commands implementing the
pull/push functionality, plus custom commands present in a subdirectory
named git-shell-commands in the user’s home directory.
COMMANDS
git shell accepts the following commands after the -c option:
git receive-pack <argument>, git upload-pack <argument>, git
upload-archive <argument>
Call the corresponding server-side command to support the client’s
git push, git fetch, or git archive --remote request.
cvs server
Imitate a CVS server. See git-cvsserver(1).
If a ~/git-shell-commands directory is present, git shell will also
handle other, custom commands by running "git-shell-commands/<command>
<arguments>" from the user’s home directory.
INTERACTIVE USE
By default, the commands above can be executed only with the -c option;
the shell is not interactive.
If a ~/git-shell-commands directory is present, git shell can also be run
interactively (with no arguments). If a help command is present in the
git-shell-commands directory, it is run to provide the user with an
overview of allowed actions. Then a "git> " prompt is presented at which
one can enter any of the commands from the git-shell-commands directory,
or exit to close the connection.
Generally this mode is used as an administrative interface to allow users
to list repositories they have access to, create, delete, or rename
repositories, or change repository descriptions and permissions.
If a no-interactive-login command exists, then it is run and the
interactive shell is aborted.
EXAMPLES
To disable interactive logins, displaying a greeting instead:
$ chsh -s /usr/bin/git-shell
$ mkdir $HOME/git-shell-commands
$ cat >$HOME/git-shell-commands/no-interactive-login <<\EOF
#!/bin/sh
printf '%s\n' "Hi $USER! You've successfully authenticated, but I do not"
printf '%s\n' "provide interactive shell access."
exit 128
EOF
$ chmod +x $HOME/git-shell-commands/no-interactive-login
To enable git-cvsserver access (which should generally have the
no-interactive-login example above as a prerequisite, as creating the
git-shell-commands directory allows interactive logins):
$ cat >$HOME/git-shell-commands/cvs <<\EOF
if ! test $# = 1 && test "$1" = "server"
then
echo >&2 "git-cvsserver only handles \"server\""
exit 1
fi
exec git cvsserver server
EOF
$ chmod +x $HOME/git-shell-commands/cvs
SEE ALSO
ssh(1), git-daemon(1), contrib/git-shell-commands/README
GIT
Part of the git(1) suite
Git 2.34.0 11/14/2021 GIT-SHELL(1)