How to Install Cgit on FreeBSD Latest

Cgit is a free and open-source web frontend for Git repositories, which allows users to browse and download files, view commit history, and manage repositories. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Cgit on FreeBSD Latest operating system.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure that you have the following:

  • A FreeBSD Latest system accessible via the command-line interface.
  • Root or superuser account with administrative privileges.

Step 1: Install Required Packages

The first step is to install Git, Apache, and other necessary packages that are required for installing Cgit. Run the following commands:

pkg update
pkg install git apache24 php74 mod_php74

Step 2: Clone Cgit Repository

In this step, we will clone the Cgit repository using the Git package that we installed in the previous step. Run the following command to clone the Cgit repository:

cd /usr/local/www
git clone https://git.zx2c4.com/cgit

Step 3: Configure Apache

In this step, we will configure the Apache web server to serve Cgit properly. The first step is to create a virtual host file for Cgit.

First, create the Cgit virtual host file:

nano /usr/local/etc/apache24/Includes/cgit.conf

Add the following content to the file:

<VirtualHost *:80>
        DocumentRoot /usr/local/www/cgit
        ServerName cgit.example.com

        <Directory /usr/local/www/cgit>
                Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
                AllowOverride All
                Require all granted
        </Directory>

        # Cgit will handle everything, so disable directory listing
        <Directory /usr/local/www/cgit>
                Options -Indexes
        </Directory>

        # Enable CGI for Cgit
        <Directory "/usr/local/www/cgit/">
                AllowOverride None
                Options Indexes FollowSymLinks ExecCGI
                AddHandler cgi-script .cgi
                Order allow,deny
                Allow from all
        </Directory>

        # Allow serving JPG and PNG files
        AddType image/png .png
        AddType image/jpeg .jpeg .jpg
        AddType image/gif .gif

        # Alias to ~/.bashrc 
        <IfModule mod_alias.c>
                Alias /~/.bashrc "/root/.bashrc"
        </IfModule>
</VirtualHost>

The above configuration creates a virtual host for Cgit, allows access to its directory, enables the CGI module, and sets MIME types for image files.

Save and close the file.

Next, enable the virtual host by adding it to the Apache configuration file:

nano /usr/local/etc/apache24/httpd.conf

Add the following line to the end of the file:

Include etc/apache24/Includes/cgit.conf

Save and close the file.

Step 4: Test Cgit

In this step, we will test Cgit to see if it works correctly.

Restart the Apache service to apply the new configuration:

service apache24 restart

Open a web browser and enter the following URL:

http://<server-ip-address>

Replace with the IP address of your server.

If all goes well, the Cgit web interface will appear.

Conclusion

We have shown you how to install and configure Cgit on FreeBSD Latest. You can now use it to browse Git repositories and manage them through a web interface.