Chapter 2
Installation and Deployment Strategies
Achieving a robust and scalable Gitea deployment starts with optimal installation choices and strategic automation. This chapter dissects the most advanced approaches for deploying Gitea-from bare-metal to cloud-native platforms-highlighting real-world tradeoffs, automation opportunities, and high-availability patterns that set the groundwork for an enterprise-class version control ecosystem.
2.1 Binary and Source Installations
The installation of Gitea can be accomplished through two primary methodologies: deploying pre-built binaries or compiling from source. Each approach offers distinct benefits and challenges, grounded in differing demands for customization, performance optimization, and security compliance. Understanding these options facilitates tailored deployments suitable for diverse environments, ranging from rapid setup on standard platforms to finely tuned, secure builds in specialized infrastructures.
Installation via Pre-Built Binaries
Pre-built binaries represent a streamlined installation method, circumventing complex build dependencies and significantly reducing setup time. Official Gitea releases provide statically linked binaries for multiple architectures, typically available as compressed archives or package manager entries.
The initial step involves selecting the appropriate binary corresponding to the target system's architecture and operating system. Commonly supported platforms include amd64, arm64, and 386 for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Verifying system compatibility and ensuring integrity through cryptographic signatures or checksums is essential to protect against supply chain compromises.
Once verified, binaries require minimal dependencies, often limited to standard system libraries. The deployment involves unpacking the archive and granting executable permissions:
tar -xzf gitea-{{version}}-{{os}}-{{arch}}.tar.gz chmod +x gitea sudo mv gitea /usr/local/bin/ Configuration files and data directories can be placed according to system conventions or customized paths dictated by operational policies. When leveraging system service managers such as systemd, creating a dedicated unit file orchestrates automated management:
[Unit] Description=Gitea Git Service After=network.target [Service] User=gitea Group=gitea ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gitea web Restart=always Environment=USER=gitea HOME=/home/gitea [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target From a security perspective, running under a non-privileged user reduces risk exposure, while ensuring filesystem permissions restrict access to sensitive data. Routine binary updates should be accompanied by revalidation steps to maintain operational integrity.
Building Gitea from Source
Compiling Gitea from source affords granular control over the build configuration, enabling patch integration, dependency modifications, architecture-specific optimizations, and compliance with security policies such as reproducible builds or custom cryptographic libraries.
Preparation commences with the resolution of build dependencies. Gitea primarily uses the Go language toolchain, requiring a minimum Go version compatible with the source release-commonly Go 1.18 or later. Additional tools like git for repository cloning and make for build automation enhance efficiency. Dependency retrieval is managed through Go modules, which encapsulate library versions essential for reproducibility.
The compilation process follows:
git clone https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea.git cd gitea git checkout v{{version}} make deps # Ensures all modules and dependencies are downloaded make build # Produces the gitea executable Custom compiler flags may be applied to tailor optimizations. For instance, enabling architecture-specific instruction sets improves runtime performance on compatible CPUs:
go build -ldflags "-s -w" -o gitea Here, the flags -s -w strip debugging information, reducing binary size-a beneficial practice for...
