This content explains how to install a basic instance of Gerrit on a Linux machine.

Note

This quickstart is provided for demonstration purposes only. The Gerrit instance they install must not be used in a production environment.

Instead, to install a Gerrit production environment, see Standalone Daemon Installation Guide.

Before you start

Be sure you have:

  1. A Unix-based server, including any Linux flavor, MacOS, or Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD).

  2. Java SE Runtime Environment version 11 and up.

Download Gerrit

From the Linux machine on which you want to install Gerrit:

  1. Open a terminal window.

  2. Download the desired Gerrit archive.

To view previous archives, see Gerrit Code Review: Releases. The steps below install Gerrit 3.5.1:

wget https://gerrit-releases.storage.googleapis.com/gerrit-3.5.1.war
Note
 To build and install Gerrit from the source files, see Gerrit Code Review: Developer Setup.

Install and initialize Gerrit

From the command line, enter:

export GERRIT_SITE=~/gerrit_testsite
java -jar gerrit*.war init --batch --dev -d $GERRIT_SITE

This command takes two parameters:

  • --batch assigns default values to several Gerrit configuration options. To learn more about these options, see Configuration.

  • --dev configures the Gerrit server to use the authentication option, DEVELOPMENT_BECOME_ANY_ACCOUNT, which enables you to switch between different users to explore how Gerrit works. To learn more about setting up Gerrit for development, see Gerrit Code Review: Developer Setup.

While this command executes, status messages are displayed in the terminal window. For example:

Generating SSH host key ... rsa(simple)... done
Initialized /home/gerrit/gerrit_testsite
Executing /home/gerrit/gerrit_testsite/bin/gerrit.sh start
Starting Gerrit Code Review: OK

The last message confirms that the Gerrit service is running:

Starting Gerrit Code Review: OK.

Update the listen URL

To prevent outside connections from contacting your new Gerrit instance (strongly recommended), change the URL on which Gerrit listens from * to localhost. For example:

git config --file $GERRIT_SITE/etc/gerrit.config httpd.listenUrl 'http://localhost:8080'

Restart the Gerrit service

You must restart the Gerrit service for your authentication type and listen URL changes to take effect:

$GERRIT_SITE/bin/gerrit.sh restart

Viewing Gerrit

To view your new basic installation of Gerrit, go to:

http://localhost:8080

Next steps

Now that you have a simple version of Gerrit running, use the installation to explore the user interface and learn about Gerrit. For more detailed installation instructions, see Standalone Daemon Installation Guide.

Part of Gerrit Code Review