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>
@localhostDESCRIPTION
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 2.48.1 2025-01-13 GIT-SHELL(1)
