Toolserver:New-style Subversion repositories


 * Note: This page only applies to user accounts created before 2008-07-17, and explains a change to Subversion repositories that occurred then. If your account was created more recently, this does not apply to you.

How it used to work:


 * SVN repositories for each user were in $HOME/subversion/
 * svnserve ran to provide read-only access via svn://
 * Write access had to go via svn+ssh:// or file://, which accesses files directly

Why this sucked:


 * URLs for read-only and commit access were different
 * Allowing several users to commit to a repository required a new Unix group to be created
 * All files in the repository are readable by everyone

How it works now:


 * SVN repositories for each user are stored on amaranth
 * Direct access to the repository is not possible
 * Apache with mod_dav_svn provides read and write access to the repository via https:// URLs

Why this is better:


 * URLs for read-only and commit access are the same
 * Allowing several users to access a repository, or restricting read access, can be done by editing a single file

How to convert your repository
Run setpass on nightshade. This will set your LDAP password, which is used for Subversion. (Note: you cannot use this password to log in. See LDAP for more info.)

Then ask a root to create your new repository. If you want files from your old repository copied, make sure you say so, otherwise the new repository will be empty and you'll have to import by hand.

Your new repository is available at  https:// svn.toolserver.org/svnroot/username. To commit, use your toolserver username and the password you set earlier.

SSL certificate
If your SVN client asks you to accept the SSL certificate, you can check it against the certificate fingerprint listed at https://fingerprints.toolserver.org.