How to Install Gerrit on Elementary OS Latest

Gerrit is a web-based code review application that is used primarily for open-source software development. It is used to manage code submissions, review changes, and provide feedback to developers. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of installing Gerrit on Elementary OS Latest.

Step 1: Prerequisites

Before starting the installation process, make sure your system is up to date by running the following commands in your terminal:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

You will also need to install the following dependencies:

sudo apt-get install git openjdk-11-jdk-headless build-essential zlib1g-dev libssl-dev libbz2-dev libsqlite3-dev

Step 2: Download and Install Gerrit

1. Download the latest version of Gerrit from the official website. Go to https://www.gerritcodereview.com/download.html.

2. Next choose the latest version that is compatible with your system.

3. Extract the downloaded file by running the following command:

   tar zxf gerrit-{version}.war
   

4. Move the extracted file to the /opt directory and create a symbolic link to it. Run the following commands:

   sudo mv gerrit-{version}.war /opt/gerrit.war
   sudo ln -s /opt/gerrit.war /var/gerrit/review.war
   

Step 3: Create a Gerrit User and Group

1. Create a Gerrit user:

   sudo adduser gerrit
   

2. Create a Gerrit group:

   sudo addgroup gerrit
   

3. Add the Gerrit user to the Gerrit group:

   sudo usermod -a -G gerrit gerrit
   

4. Change the ownership of the /var/gerrit directory:

   sudo chown -R gerrit:gerrit /var/gerrit
   

Step 4: Configure Gerrit

1. Create a Gerrit configuration file:

   sudo mkdir /var/gerrit/etc
   sudo touch /var/gerrit/etc/gerrit.config
   sudo chown -R gerrit:gerrit /var/gerrit/etc
   

2. Edit the configuration file:

   sudo nano /var/gerrit/etc/gerrit.config
   

3. Add the following configuration settings to the file:

   [database]
   type = h2
   database = /var/gerrit/db/ReviewDB
   
   [container]
   user = gerrit
   javaHome = /usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64
   
   [sshd]
   listenAddress = *:29418
   
   [httpd]
   listenUrl = http://*:8080/
   
   [cache]
   directory = /var/cache/gerrit
   

4. Save and close the file by pressing Ctrl + X, Y, and Enter.

Step 5: Create a Gerrit Runtime Directory

1. Create the Gerrit runtime directory:

   sudo mkdir -p /var/gerrit/db /var/gerrit/cache /var/gerrit/plugins
   sudo chown -R gerrit:gerrit /var/gerrit
   

Step 6: Start Gerrit

1. Start Gerrit by running the following command:

   java -jar /var/gerrit/review.war init -d /var/gerrit/
   

2. After running the command, Gerrit will ask you several questions. Answer them according to your preferences.

3. Once the initialization process is complete, start Gerrit with the following command:

   sudo systemctl start gerrit
   

4. To enable Gerrit to start automatically at system startup, run the following command:

   sudo systemctl enable gerrit
   

Step 7: Access Gerrit

1. Open a web browser and enter the URL for your Gerrit installation: http://localhost:8080/

2. You will be prompted to log in. Use the default Gerrit user and password:

   Username: admin
   Password: same as the username
   

3. Once you log in, you can start using Gerrit.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have shown you how to install and configure Gerrit on Elementary OS Latest. You can now use Gerrit for code review and management.

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