How to setup Local Git Server on CentOS 7

Build your own Git server on CentOS 7 and take full control of your code! Learn how to set it up step by step—securely and efficiently. Don’t risk relying on third-party platforms—join the pros who host locally and never look back!
#centlinux #linux #git

What is Git?

git is a famous version control system. git is used to track changes in computer files and to coordinate work on those files among multiple people. git is primarily used for source-code management by software development teams, however, it can be used to keep track of changes in any set of files. git is freeware and open source. It is packaged with almost every distribution of Linux operating systems.

Git is a distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency. It tracks changes in source code during software development and is widely used for version control in programming and collaborative projects.

Here’s a detailed overview of Git and its features:

Key Features of Git

1. Distributed Version Control:
   • Local Repositories: Each developer has a complete copy of the project history on their local machine.
   • Collaboration: Developers can work offline, commit changes, and synchronize with others when they are back online.
2. Branching and Merging:
   • Branch Creation: Create branches to work on new features or fixes without affecting the main codebase.
   • Merging: Combine changes from different branches into the main branch.
3. Data Integrity:
   • SHA-1 Hashing: Git uses SHA-1 hashing to ensure the integrity of the data. Every commit is identified by a unique hash, which helps in detecting changes and potential data corruption.
4. Commit History:
   • Version History: Git maintains a detailed history of changes, allowing users to review, revert, or roll back changes.
5. Efficient Performance:
   • Speed: Git is designed for high performance, handling large projects and repositories efficiently.
   • Performance: Common operations like committing changes, creating branches, and merging are fast.
6. Staging Area:
   • Indexing: Changes can be staged before committing, allowing users to review and organize changes.
7. Collaboration Workflows:
   • Pull Requests/Merge Requests: Tools and services like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket offer additional features for code reviews and pull requests.
8. Support for Multiple Workflows:
   • Centralized Workflow: A single central repository with multiple contributors.
   • Feature Branch Workflow: Creating separate branches for new features.
   • Git Flow Workflow: A standardized branching model for managing releases and hotfixes.

Common Git Commands

How Git Works

1. Repository Structure:
   • Working Directory: Where you make changes to your files.
   • Staging Area (Index): A place to prepare changes before committing.
   • Local Repository: Stores committed changes and history.
   • Remote Repository: A version of the repository on a server used for collaboration.
2. Basic Workflow:
   • Make Changes: Edit files in the working directory.
   • Stage Changes: Add changes to the staging area.
   • Commit Changes: Save changes to the local repository.
   • Push Changes: Upload changes to a remote repository.
   • Pull Changes: Fetch and merge changes from a remote repository.

Recommended Training: The Git & Github Bootcamp from Colt Steele

Benefits of Using Git

• Collaboration: Facilitates team collaboration with features for branching, merging, and pull requests.
• Flexibility: Supports various workflows and branching strategies.
• Control: Offers tools for code review, version tracking, and change management.
• Security: Ensures data integrity and provides a detailed history of changes.

Git vs. Other Version Control Systems

Summary

Git is a powerful and flexible version control system that supports both individual and collaborative development workflows. Its distributed nature, combined with features like branching, merging, and staging, makes it an essential tool for modern software development.

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Linux Server Specification

In this article, we will setup local git server, then we will create our first git repository for our project, and finally access it from a remote client.

We have two virtual machines, one as the git server, and the other as the git client. Their specifications are:

Read Also: How to install Git on Rocky Linux 9 

Setup Local Git Server on CentOS 7

git rpm is provided in RHEL/CentOS ISO, therefore we can easily install git from a local yum repository.

Connect to git-server.itlab.com using ssh, and install git by using yum command.

yum install -y git

We need a user to own our git repository. Therefore, we add git user and set the password as follows:

useradd git
passwd git

Output:

Changing password for user git.
New password:
BAD PASSWORD: The password is shorter than 8 characters
Retype new password:
passwd: all authentication tokens updated successfully.

Create Your First git Repository

Now, login with git user.

su - git

Execute following commands to create a local git repository.

mkdir ~/repo
cd ~/repo
git init --bare --shared project1

Output:

Initialized empty shared Git repository in /home/git/repo/project1/

Here, we have created a directory repo to keep all of our projects’ repositories in a single place. Then, we have created a bare repository for our project1 project.

Note: A bare repository has no working area, therefore, it is not possible to add files to it locally. While a shared repository is used to allow project members to push changes to the git server.

Enable post-update hook by copying the sample file as follows:

cd ~/repo/project1/hooks/
cp post-update.sample post-update

git access remote repositories via ssh service, therefore, no explicit Linux firewall configuration is required.

Our git server has been successfully configured and we have created an empty repository for our first git project.

Configure a git Client on CentOS 7

Connect to git-client.itlab.com using ssh with root user.

Configure name resolution by adding following line in /etc/hosts.

echo "192.168.116.129 git-server.itlab.com git-server" >> /etc/hosts

Install git rpm by using yum command.

yum install -y git

git is already installed on git-client.itlab.com, therefore, yum didn’t perform any installation.

Connect as ahmer user and configure keybased-authentication between ahmer@git-client.itlab.com and git@git-server.itlab.com.

ssh-keygen

Output:

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/ahmer/.ssh/id_rsa):
Created directory '/home/ahmer/.ssh'.
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /home/ahmer/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /home/ahmer/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:qJKo3QumkS/Rz/LOqR3gCEOdYH9lLaeGgS1B/QkqrkE ahmer@git-client.itlab.com
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 2048]----+
| o.o=  o.        |
|. +o.=o. o       |
| . +o.= =        |
|.E ... *         |
|=.o   o S        |
|+B.o .           |
|*o*oo            |
|+*.*oo           |
|o.+=O.           |
+----[SHA256]-----+

Copy this SSH key on git server.

ssh-copy-id git@git-server.itlab.com

Output:

/bin/ssh-copy-id: INFO: Source of key(s) to be installed: "/home/ahmer/.ssh/id_rsa.pub"
The authenticity of host 'git-server.itlab.com (192.168.116.129)' can't be established.
ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:PhsrMh10ZgS3G8P/upEd5bIbjTbUW0Asbbgtsq9y3Xs.
ECDSA key fingerprint is MD5:24:af:0c:3a:33:39:2b:2a:d5:3d:64:05:a2:b6:a1:b8.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
/bin/ssh-copy-id: INFO: attempting to log in with the new key(s), to filter out any that are already installed
/bin/ssh-copy-id: INFO: 1 key(s) remain to be installed -- if you are prompted now it is to install the new keys
git@git-server.itlab.com's password:

Number of key(s) added: 1

Now try logging into the machine, with:   "ssh 'git@git-server.itlab.com'"
and check to make sure that only the key(s) you wanted were added.

Now connect with git server using ssh client.

ssh git@git-server.itlab.com

Set following git variables for the ahmer user.

git config --global user.name "ahmer"
git config --global user.email "ahmer@git-client.itlab.com"

Create a directory for keeping local git repositories.

mkdir ~/repo
cd ~/repo

Create a clone of project1 git repository.

git clone git@git-server.itlab.com:~/repo/project1 project1

Output:

Cloning into 'project1'...
warning: You appear to have cloned an empty repository.

We have created a clone of project1 repository on our local machine. You can see that currently there isn’t any file in the repository. Let’s create some files therein.

cd project1
echo "my first file" > file1.txt
cp /etc/hosts .
ls

Output:

file1.txt  hosts

Add these two files to our git repository.

git add .
git commit -am "My First Commit"

Output:

[master (root-commit) 10394a7] My First Commit
 2 files changed, 4 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 file1.txt
 create mode 100644 hosts

Push these changes to the remote git repository at git-server.itlab.com.

git push origin master

Output:

Counting objects: 4, done.
Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
Writing objects: 100% (4/4), 362 bytes | 0 bytes/s, done.
Total 4 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0)
To git@git-server.itlab.com:~/repo/project1
 * [new branch]      master -> master

To verify the changes, connect to git-server.itlab.com via ssh and check the log.

git log

Output:

commit 10394a774797bc5c5313b9aae086aa1ab71c69b5
Author: ahmer 
Date:   Sun Dec 9 01:04:16 2018 -0500

    My First Commit

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Final Thoughts

By setting up a local Git server on CentOS 7, you’ve taken a major step toward gaining full control over your source code, version history, and collaboration workflows. With your own secure and private Git hosting environment, you reduce reliance on external platforms and improve performance for internal teams.

Don’t wait until a service outage or data privacy issue forces your hand—take charge of your development infrastructure now. Top development teams already host locally—why miss out? Start reaping the benefits today!

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Thank you for reading, and happy coding!