Install gitea in Linux

step-by-step guide to install and configure Gitea (a self-hosted Git service) on a Linux System

🧰 Prerequisites

Make sure you have:

• A Linux server (Ubuntu/Debian/CentOS, etc.)
• Root or sudo access
• Git installed
• A database (SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL). SQLite works by default for testing.

🪜 Step 1: Update Your System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

🪜 Step 2: Install Dependencies

sudo apt install -y git wget tar

If you’re using MySQL or PostgreSQL, install their client libraries, for example:

sudo apt install -y mariadb-server mariadb-client
# or for PostgreSQL
sudo apt install -y postgresql postgresql-contrib

🪜 Step 3: Create a Gitea User

For security, run Gitea as a non-root user.

sudo adduser \
  --system \
  --shell /bin/bash \
  --gecos 'Git Version Control' \
  --group \
  --disabled-password \
  --home /home/git \
  git

🪜 Step 4: Create Necessary Directories

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/gitea/{custom,data,log}
sudo chown -R git:git /var/lib/gitea/
sudo chmod -R 750 /var/lib/gitea/

sudo mkdir -p /etc/gitea
sudo chown root:git /etc/gitea
sudo chmod 770 /etc/gitea

🪜 Step 5: Download Gitea Binary

Check the latest version at https://dl.gitea.io/gitea/.

For example:

sudo wget -O /usr/local/bin/gitea https://dl.gitea.io/gitea/1.22.0/gitea-1.22.0-linux-amd64
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gitea

🪜 Step 6: Create a Systemd Service

Create a service file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gitea.service

Paste the following content:

[Unit]
Description=Gitea (Git with a cup of tea)
After=syslog.target
After=network.target
Requires=network.target

[Service]
RestartSec=2s
Type=simple
User=git
Group=git
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/gitea/
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gitea web --config /etc/gitea/app.ini
Restart=always
Environment=USER=git HOME=/home/git GITEA_WORK_DIR=/var/lib/gitea

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).

🪜 Step 7: Start and Enable Gitea

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable gitea
sudo systemctl start gitea

Check status:

sudo systemctl status gitea

🪜 Step 8: Configure Firewall (optional)

If you’re using UFW:

sudo ufw allow 3000/tcp
sudo ufw reload

🪜 Step 9: Access Gitea Web Interface

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://your_server_ip:3000/

Follow the setup wizard:

• Database Type: SQLite (default) — or MySQL/PostgreSQL if configured
• Root URL: e.g., http://your_server_ip:3000/
• Repository Root Path: /var/lib/gitea/data/
• Application Log Path: /var/lib/gitea/log/
• Gitea Config Path: /etc/gitea/app.ini

Create your first admin user during this setup.

🪜 Step 10: Make Gitea Start at Boot

Already done if you ran:

sudo systemctl enable gitea

To verify:

sudo systemctl is-enabled gitea

Would you like me to include how to set it up behind Nginx with HTTPS as well?