[[!toc]]
Using ikiwiki with the [[rcs/git]] backend, some interesting things can be done
with creating mirrors (or, really, branches) of a wiki. In this tip, I'll
assume your wiki is located on a server, and you want to take a copy with
you on your laptop.
With the configuration described here, you can commit local changes to the
version on the laptop, perhaps while offline. You can browse and edit the
wiki using a local web server. When you're ready, you can manually push the
changes to the main wiki on the server.
Original approach
First, set up the wiki on the server, if it isn't already. Nothing special
needs to be done here, just follow the regular instructions in [[setup]]
for setting up ikiwiki with git.
Next, git clone the source ($REPOSITORY, not $SRCDIR)
from the server to the laptop.
Now, set up a [[web_server|dot_cgi]] on your laptop, if it doesn't
already have one.
Now you need to write a setup file for ikiwiki on the laptop. Mostly this
is standard, but a few special settings are needed:
-
Configure a cgi wrapper as usual, but configure the git wrapper to
be written to the post-commit hook of the git clone, rather than the
usual post-update hook.
-
By default, ikiwiki pulls and pushes from origin. This shouldn't be
done on the laptop, because the origin may not be accessible (when the
laptop is offline). Also, commits made on the laptop should stay there,
until manually pushed, so that the laptop can serve as a staging area.
Make sure you have ikiwiki 2.11 or better installed, and set:
gitorigin_branch => "",
-
You can optionally enable to the [[plugins/mirrorlist]] plugin,
and configure it so that each page links to the corresponding page on the
server.
Now just run ikiwiki -setup wiki.setup -getctime and you should be
good to go. (You only need the slow -getctime option the first time you
run setup.)
Use standard git commands to handle pulling from and pushing to the server.
Note that if changes are pulled from the server, you will need to manually
update the wiki, with a command such as ikiwiki -setup wiki.setup -refresh.
If you'd like it to automatically update when changes are merged in, you
can simply make a symlink post-merge hook pointing at the post-update
hook ikiwiki created.
Alternative Approach
As above, set up a normal ikiwiki on the server, with the usual bare repository.
Next, git clone --mirror server:/path/to/bare/repository
This will be used as the $REPOSITORY on the laptop. Then you can follow the instructions in [[setup by hand|/setup/byhand]] as per a normal ikiwiki installation.
This means that you can clone from the local bare repository as many times as you want (thus being able to have a repository which is used by the ikiwiki CGI, and another which you can use for updating via git).
When you want to update the server from the laptop, do a git push from within the laptop's bare repository, and likewise do a git pull to update the laptop from the server.
