GIT-SHELL(1) - man - phpMan

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>@localhost


DESCRIPTION
       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 2.34.1                                   02/26/2026                                 GIT-SHELL(1)