Set Up a Gerrit Replica

This guide configures a Gerrit replica that:

Mirrors repositories from a primary server
Uses git:// for pushing refs
Uses ssh:// (port 22) to create missing repos
Serves developers via ssh:// (port 29418) from the replica

Prerequisite

Install Gerrit on both servers using: Install Gerrit 3.11.2 on Ubuntu 24.04

Environment

Role	Hostname
Primary	`gerrit`
Replica	`gerrit-replica`

Configure Gerrit on the Replica

Edit /srv/gerrit/etc/gerrit.config:

[container]
  user = gerrit
  javaHome = /usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk
  replica = true

[sshd]
  listenAddress = *:29418

Start Gerrit:

sudo -u gerrit /srv/gerrit/bin/gerrit.sh start

This enables ssh://user@gerrit-replica:29418 for end-user read access.

Enable git-daemon for Git Protocol

/etc/systemd/system/git-daemon.socket

[Socket]
ListenStream=9418
Accept=yes

[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target

/etc/systemd/system/git-daemon@.service

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/lib/git-core/git-daemon \
  --inetd \
  --base-path=/srv/gerrit/git \
  --export-all \
  --enable=receive-pack \
  --verbose
StandardInput=socket
User=gerrit

Enable the daemon:

sudo systemctl daemon-reexec
sudo systemctl enable --now git-daemon.socket

Configure UFW on the Replica

# Allow OS-level SSH (for repo creation via adminUrl)
sudo ufw allow ssh

# Allow git-daemon only from primary
sudo ufw allow from gerrit to any port 9418 proto tcp
sudo ufw deny in to any port 9418 proto tcp

# Allow end-user SSH access via Gerrit
sudo ufw allow 29418

# Enable the firewall
sudo ufw enable

Authorize Repo Creation from Primary

On the primary, run:

ssh-copy-id gerrit@gerrit-replica

Test:

ssh gerrit@gerrit-replica

Install Replication Plugin and Configure Sync

Install Replication Plugin on Primary

cd /srv/gerrit
sudo -u gerrit java -jar bin/gerrit.war init --install-plugin replication -d /srv/gerrit

This installs the plugin correctly for your Gerrit version.

Configure /srv/gerrit/etc/replication.config

[remote "replica"]
        url = git://gerrit-replica/${name}.git
        adminUrl = ssh://gerrit@gerrit-replica/srv/gerrit/git/${name}.git
        threads = 2
        mirror = true
        replicatePermissions = true
        rescheduleDelay = 15

This setup:

Pushes refs via Git protocol
Creates missing repositories over OS-level SSH
Mirrors all refs and permissions

Trigger Initial Replication

ssh -p 29418 admin@localhost replication start --all

Monitor logs:

tail -f /srv/gerrit/logs/replication_log

Developers Clone from Replica

Ensure your .gitconfig includes the following:

[user]
        email = your email
        name = your name
[color]
        ui = auto
[url "ssh://maksonlee@gerrit-replica:29418/"]
        insteadof = "git://gerrit/"
[url "ssh://maksonlee@gerrit:29418/"]
        pushinsteadof = "git://gerrit/"

You can now clone via Gerrit SSH on the replica.

mkdir ~/aosp-15 && cd ~/aosp-15
repo init -u git://gerrit/platform/manifest -b android-15.0.0_r30
repo sync -c

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