233 lines
7.9 KiB
Markdown
233 lines
7.9 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
disqus_identifier: 'https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/workflow/git_annex.html'
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# Git annex
|
|
|
|
> **Warning:** GitLab has [completely
|
|
removed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/issues/1648) in GitLab 9.0 (2017/03/22).
|
|
Read through the [migration guide from git-annex to Git LFS](../topics/git/lfs/migrate_from_git_annex_to_git_lfs.md).
|
|
|
|
The biggest limitation of Git, compared to some older centralized version
|
|
control systems has been the maximum size of the repositories.
|
|
|
|
The general recommendation is to not have Git repositories larger than 1GB to
|
|
preserve performance. Although GitLab has no limit (some repositories in GitLab
|
|
are over 50GB!), we subscribe to the advice to keep repositories as small as
|
|
you can.
|
|
|
|
Not being able to version control large binaries is a big problem for many
|
|
larger organizations.
|
|
Videos, photos, audio, compiled binaries, and many other types of files are too
|
|
large. As a workaround, people keep artwork-in-progress in a Dropbox folder and
|
|
only check in the final result. This results in using outdated files, not
|
|
having a complete history, and increases the risk of losing work.
|
|
|
|
This problem is solved in GitLab Enterprise Edition by integrating the
|
|
[git-annex](https://git-annex.branchable.com/) application.
|
|
|
|
`git-annex` allows managing large binaries with Git without checking the
|
|
contents into Git.
|
|
You check-in only a symlink that contains the SHA-1 of the large binary. If you
|
|
need the large binary, you can sync it from the GitLab server over `rsync`, a
|
|
very fast file copying tool.
|
|
|
|
## GitLab git-annex Configuration
|
|
|
|
`git-annex` is disabled by default in GitLab. Below you will find the
|
|
configuration options required to enable it.
|
|
|
|
### Requirements
|
|
|
|
`git-annex` needs to be installed both on the server and the client-side.
|
|
|
|
For Debian-like systems (for example, Debian and Ubuntu) this can be achieved by running:
|
|
|
|
```shell
|
|
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install git-annex
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
For RedHat-like systems (for example, CentOS and RHEL) this can be achieved by running:
|
|
|
|
```shell
|
|
sudo yum install epel-release && sudo yum install git-annex
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
### Configuration for Omnibus packages
|
|
|
|
For Omnibus GitLab packages, only one configuration setting is needed.
|
|
The Omnibus package will internally set the correct options in all locations.
|
|
|
|
1. In `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` add the following line:
|
|
|
|
```ruby
|
|
gitlab_shell['git_annex_enabled'] = true
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](restart_gitlab.md#omnibus-gitlab-reconfigure) for the changes to take effect.
|
|
|
|
### Configuration for installations from source
|
|
|
|
There are 2 settings to enable git-annex on your GitLab server.
|
|
|
|
One is located in `config/gitlab.yml` of the GitLab repository and the other
|
|
one is located in `config.yml` of GitLab Shell.
|
|
|
|
1. In `config/gitlab.yml` add or edit the following lines:
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
gitlab_shell:
|
|
git_annex_enabled: true
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
1. In `config.yml` of GitLab Shell add or edit the following lines:
|
|
|
|
```yaml
|
|
git_annex_enabled: true
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
1. Save the files and [restart GitLab](restart_gitlab.md#installations-from-source) for the changes to take effect.
|
|
|
|
## Using GitLab git-annex
|
|
|
|
> **Note:**
|
|
> Your Git remotes must be using the SSH protocol, not HTTP(S).
|
|
|
|
Here is an example workflow of uploading a very large file and then checking it
|
|
into your Git repository:
|
|
|
|
```shell
|
|
git clone git@example.com:group/project.git
|
|
|
|
git annex init 'My Laptop' # initialize the annex project and give an optional description
|
|
cp ~/tmp/debian.iso ./ # copy a large file into the current directory
|
|
git annex add debian.iso # add the large file to git annex
|
|
git commit -am "Add Debian iso" # commit the file metadata
|
|
git annex sync --content # sync the Git repo and large file to the GitLab server
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
The output should look like this:
|
|
|
|
```plaintext
|
|
commit
|
|
On branch master
|
|
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/master' by 1 commit.
|
|
(use "git push" to publish your local commits)
|
|
nothing to commit, working tree clean
|
|
ok
|
|
pull origin
|
|
remote: Counting objects: 5, done.
|
|
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (4/4), done.
|
|
remote: Total 5 (delta 2), reused 0 (delta 0)
|
|
Unpacking objects: 100% (5/5), done.
|
|
From example.com:group/project
|
|
497842b..5162f80 git-annex -> origin/git-annex
|
|
ok
|
|
(merging origin/git-annex into git-annex...)
|
|
(recording state in git...)
|
|
copy debian.iso (checking origin...) (to origin...)
|
|
SHA256E-s26214400--8092b3d482fb1b7a5cf28c43bc1425c8f2d380e86869c0686c49aa7b0f086ab2.iso
|
|
26,214,400 100% 638.88kB/s 0:00:40 (xfr#1, to-chk=0/1)
|
|
ok
|
|
pull origin
|
|
ok
|
|
(recording state in git...)
|
|
push origin
|
|
Counting objects: 15, done.
|
|
Delta compression using up to 4 threads.
|
|
Compressing objects: 100% (13/13), done.
|
|
Writing objects: 100% (15/15), 1.64 KiB | 0 bytes/s, done.
|
|
Total 15 (delta 1), reused 0 (delta 0)
|
|
To example.com:group/project.git
|
|
* [new branch] git-annex -> synced/git-annex
|
|
* [new branch] master -> synced/master
|
|
ok
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Your files can be found in the `master` branch, but you'll notice that there
|
|
are more branches created by the `annex sync` command.
|
|
|
|
Git Annex will also create a new directory at `.git/annex/` and will record the
|
|
tracked files in the `.git/config` file. The files you assign to be tracked
|
|
with `git-annex` will not affect the existing `.git/config` records. The files
|
|
are turned into symbolic links that point to data in `.git/annex/objects/`.
|
|
|
|
The `debian.iso` file in the example will contain the symbolic link:
|
|
|
|
```plaintext
|
|
.git/annex/objects/ZW/1k/SHA256E-s82701--6384039733b5035b559efd5a2e25a493ab6e09aabfd5162cc03f6f0ec238429d.png/SHA256E-s82701--6384039733b5035b559efd5a2e25a493ab6e09aabfd5162cc03f6f0ec238429d.iso
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Use `git annex info` to retrieve the information about the local copy of your
|
|
repository.
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
Downloading a single large file is also very simple:
|
|
|
|
```shell
|
|
git clone git@gitlab.example.com:group/project.git
|
|
|
|
git annex sync # sync Git branches but not the large file
|
|
git annex get debian.iso # download the large file
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
To download all files:
|
|
|
|
```shell
|
|
git clone git@gitlab.example.com:group/project.git
|
|
|
|
git annex sync --content # sync Git branches and download all the large files
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
By using `git-annex` without GitLab, anyone that can access the server can also
|
|
access the files of all projects, but GitLab Annex ensures that you can only
|
|
access files of projects you have access to (developer, maintainer, or owner role).
|
|
|
|
## How it works
|
|
|
|
Internally GitLab uses [GitLab Shell](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-shell) to handle SSH access and this was a great
|
|
integration point for `git-annex`.
|
|
There is a setting in GitLab Shell so you can disable GitLab Annex support
|
|
if you want to.
|
|
|
|
## Troubleshooting tips
|
|
|
|
Differences in the version of `git-annex` on the GitLab server and on local machines
|
|
can cause `git-annex` to raise unpredicted warnings and errors.
|
|
|
|
Consult the [Annex upgrade page](https://git-annex.branchable.com/upgrades/) for more information about
|
|
the differences between versions. You can find out which version is installed
|
|
on your server by navigating to <https://pkgs.org/download/git-annex> and
|
|
searching for your distribution.
|
|
|
|
Although there is no general guide for `git-annex` errors, there are a few tips
|
|
on how to go around the warnings.
|
|
|
|
### `git-annex-shell: Not a git-annex or gcrypt repository`
|
|
|
|
This warning can appear on the initial `git annex sync --content` and is caused
|
|
by differences in `git-annex-shell`. You can read more about it
|
|
[in this git-annex issue](https://git-annex.branchable.com/forum/Error_from_git-annex-shell_on_creation_of_gcrypt_special_remote/).
|
|
|
|
One important thing to note is that despite the warning, the `sync` succeeds
|
|
and the files are pushed to the GitLab repository.
|
|
|
|
If you get hit by this, you can run the following command inside the repository
|
|
that the warning was raised:
|
|
|
|
```shell
|
|
git config remote.origin.annex-ignore false
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
Consecutive runs of `git annex sync --content` **should not** produce this
|
|
warning and the output should look like this:
|
|
|
|
```plaintext
|
|
commit ok
|
|
pull origin
|
|
ok
|
|
pull origin
|
|
ok
|
|
push origin
|
|
```
|