daemon Git Command Guide

The git daemon command provides a simple TCP-based server for Git repositories, allowing unauthenticated read access via the git:// protocol. It’s suitable for public or read-only repository hosting.

git daemon Syntax:

git daemon [<options>] [<directory>...]

Options:

Option	Description
—verbose, -v	Report more detail to stderr or syslog
—syslog	Log errors to syslog instead of stderr
—export-all	Allow pulling from all directories if no specific directories are given
—base-path	Remap all the path requests to be relative to the given path
—base-path-relaxed	Allow ~user notation to be used in addition to the base path
—interpolated-path=	Dynamically construct alternate paths
—reuseaddr	Reuse server sockets after program termination
—pid-file=	Save the process id to the given file
—listen=	Listen on a specific IP address or hostname
—port=	Listen on a specific port
—detach	Detach the daemon from the console
—inetd	Have the server run as an inetd service
—user=, —group=	Change daemon’s uid and gid after binding to port
—enable=, —disable=	Enable/disable services (upload-pack, upload-archive, receive-pack)
—allow-override, —forbid-override	Allow/forbid overriding site-wide service availability
—access-hook=	Execute the given access hook for each served repository
—informative-errors	Report more detailed error messages
—timeout=	Timeout for client connections
—max-connections=	Maximum number of concurrent connections
—help	Display help information

Parameters:

Parameter	Description
	Directories containing Git repositories to serve

Caution

Unauthenticated access may expose repositories to the public. Use only for read-only access. For authenticated access, use SSH or HTTP with authentication.

git daemon Command Samples:

Serve git repositories in current directory

git daemon --verbose --export-all

Starts daemon to serve all Git repositories in current directory with verbose output.

Serve specific repositories

git daemon --verbose /path/to/repo1 /path/to/repo2

Serves only the specified repositories.

Listen on specific port and interface

git daemon --listen=192.168.1.100 --port=9418 --export-all

Binds to specific IP address and port.

Run as background daemon

git daemon --detach --pid-file=/var/run/git-daemon.pid --export-all

Runs as detached daemon process with pid file.

With base path remapping

git daemon --base-path=/var/git --export-all

Allows clients to access repositories with shortened URLs.

Enable receive-pack for push support

git daemon --enable=receive-pack --user=git /var/git

Allows authenticated users to push changes (not secure for public access).

Allow interpolated paths

git daemon --interpolated-path=/var/git/%IP/%D /var/git

Allows directories based on client IP addresses.

Tip

Use with xinetd or systemd for proper server integration. Create a dedicated git user for security. Disable unnecessary services.

How do I start a Git daemon server?

To start a Git daemon server, use:

git daemon --export-all --verbose

How can I serve Git repositories over a specific port?

To serve Git repositories over a specific port, run:

git daemon --port=9418 --export-all

How do I run Git daemon as a background service?

To run Git daemon as a background service, execute:

git daemon --detach --pid-file=/var/run/git-daemon.pid --export-all

How can I restrict daemon to specific repositories?

To restrict daemon to specific repositories, use:

git daemon /path/to/repo1 /path/to/repo2

How do I enable pushing with Git daemon?

To enable pushing with Git daemon, run:

git daemon --enable=receive-pack --user=git-user /var/git

Applications of the git daemon command

1. Providing public read-only access to open source repositories
2. Supporting CI/CD systems that clone repositories over git://
3. Hosting mirror repositories for faster access
4. Enabling development teams to share repositories internally
5. Reducing server load by allowing direct cloning from development machines
6. Supporting legacy systems that require git:// protocol access