gitea-updater/README.md

gitea-updater

A comprehensive bash script for automated backup and updating of Gitea instances on Linux servers with multi-channel notifications. Features

Disclaimer - Use at Your Own Risk

This script is provided as-is without any warranties, guarantees, or support. By using this script, you acknowledge and accept all risks associated with its use.

Features:

• Automated Backups — Creates compressed backups before each update
• Auto-Update Detection — Fetches the latest Gitea release from GitHub
• Architecture Detection — Automatically detects your system (amd64, arm64, armv7)
• Service Management — Gracefully stops and starts Gitea service
• Multi-Channel Notifications — Email, Discord, and Slack alerts
• Status Updates — Real-time progress notifications during execution
• Error Handling — Comprehensive error reporting and automatic rollback
• Backup Retention — Keeps only the last 5 backups to save disk space
• Detailed Logging — All operations logged to file for audit trails

System Requirements

• OS: Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, etc.)
• Privileges: Root access (required to manage Gitea service)

Dependencies:

• curl — For downloading Gitea and sending webhooks
• tar — For compressing backups
• systemctl — For service management
• Mail client (optional) — For email notifications: msmtp, ssmtp, or mailutils
• Chat Server (optional) — For IM notifications: Discord, Fluxer, or Slack

Installation

1. Download the Script

sudo curl -o /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh https://git.ncltech.co.uk/phil/gitea-updater/raw/branch/main/gitea_update.sh

Or create it manually:

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh

Paste the script contents, then save and exit (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter).

2. Make it Executable

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh

3. Configure Variables

Edit the script to customize settings:

sudo nano /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh

• Update these sections:

Gitea Paths:

GITEA_HOME="/var/lib/gitea"          # Path to Gitea data directory
GITEA_USER="git"                     # User that runs Gitea
GITEA_BIN="/usr/local/bin/gitea"     # Path to Gitea binary
BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/gitea"      # Backup storage location

Email Configuration:
bash

ENABLE_EMAIL="true"
EMAIL_FROM="[email protected]"
EMAIL_TO="[email protected]"
SMTP_SERVER="smtp.gmail.com"
SMTP_PORT="587"
SMTP_USER="[email protected]"
SMTP_PASS="your-app-password"

Discord Configuration:
bash

ENABLE_DISCORD="true"
DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL="https://discordapp.com/api/webhooks/YOUR_WEBHOOK_ID/YOUR_WEBHOOK_TOKEN"

Slack Configuration (optional):
bash

ENABLE_SLACK="false"
SLACK_WEBHOOK_URL="https://hooks.slack.com/services/YOUR/WEBHOOK/URL"

Usage

Manual Execution

• Run the script manually anytime:

sudo /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh

• Automated Scheduling with Cron

Set up automatic backups and updates on a schedule using cron.

Edit the crontab:

sudo crontab -e

Add one of the following:

• Weekly (every Sunday at 2 AM):

0 2 * * 0 /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh >> /var/log/gitea-backup-update.log 2>&1

• Daily (every day at 3 AM):

0 3 * * * /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh >> /var/log/gitea-backup-update.log 2>&1

• Monthly (first day of each month at 1 AM):

0 1 1 * * /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh >> /var/log/gitea-backup-update.log 2>&1

• Twice weekly (Tuesday and Friday at 2 AM):

0 2 * * 2,5 /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh >> /var/log/gitea-backup-update.log 2>&1

View Execution Logs

sudo tail -f /var/log/gitea-backup-update.log

Script Workflow

The script performs the following steps in order:

Step	Action	Duration
1	Stop Gitea service	~2 seconds
2	Create full data backup	Varies with data size
3	Compress backup	Varies with data size
4	Fetch latest Gitea version	~2-3 seconds
5	Download new binary	~5-10 seconds
6	Install and verify binary	~1 second
7	Start Gitea service	~2 seconds
8	Verify service status	~1 second
9	Clean up old backups	~1 second
10	Send notifications	~2-3 seconds

Notifications

What Gets Sent

Each notification includes:

• Status — RUNNING, SUCCESS, or FAILED
• Server Name — Hostname of the server
• Duration — Total execution time in minutes and seconds
• Timestamp — Date and time of execution
• Status Message — Detailed information about what happened
• Backup Location — Path where backups are stored
• Version Info — Updated Gitea version (on success)

Discord Example

✅ Gitea Backup & Update - SUCCESS

Server: my-server
Duration: 2m 34s
Timestamp: 2024-01-15 02:15:47
Status Message: Backup completed and Gitea updated to v1.21.5 successfully
Backup Location: /var/backups/gitea

Email Example:

To: [email protected]
Subject: Gitea Backup & Update - SUCCESS

Gitea Backup and Update Script Results

Server: my-server
Status: SUCCESS
Duration: 154 seconds
Timestamp: 2024-01-15 02:15:47
Log File: /var/log/gitea-backup-update.log

Details:
Backup completed and Gitea updated to v1.21.5 successfully

Backup Location: /var/backups/gitea

Slack Example:

Similar to Discord with formatted blocks and color coding.
Backup Management
Backup Location

By default, backups are stored in:

/var/backups/gitea/

Backup Format

Each backup is named with a timestamp:

gitea_backup_20240115_021547.tar.gz

Backup Retention

The script automatically keeps only the last 5 backups. Older backups are deleted to save disk space.

To disable auto-cleanup, comment out or remove this section:

# Step 8: Cleanup old backups (keep only last 5)
# cd "$BACKUP_DIR"
# ls -t *.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | tail -n +6 | xargs -r rm

Manual Backup Cleanup

List all backups:

ls -lh /var/backups/gitea/

Delete a specific backup:

sudo rm /var/backups/gitea/gitea_backup_20240115_021547.tar.gz

Advanced Configuration

Custom Gitea Installation

If your Gitea installation uses different paths, update these variables: bash

# For Docker installations
GITEA_HOME="/data/gitea"
GITEA_BIN="/data/gitea/gitea"

# For custom installations
GITEA_HOME="/opt/gitea/data"
GITEA_BIN="/opt/gitea/bin/gitea"

Database Backups

If Gitea uses PostgreSQL or MySQL, add backup commands:

PostgreSQL:

sudo -u postgres pg_dump gitea > "$BACKUP_DIR/$BACKUP_NAME/gitea_db_backup.sql"

MySQL:

mysqldump -u gitea_user -p gitea_db > "$BACKUP_DIR/$BACKUP_NAME/gitea_db_backup.sql"

Add these after Step 2 (backup Gitea data). Skip Notifications for Specific Channels

Disable email:

ENABLE_EMAIL="false"

Disable Discord:

ENABLE_DISCORD="false"

Disable Slack:

ENABLE_SLACK="false"

Change Backup Retention

Keep last 10 backups instead of 5:

ls -t *.tar.gz 2>/dev/null | tail -n +11 | xargs -r rm

Security Considerations

Credentials Management

Never hardcode passwords in plaintext — Use environment variables or credential files Restrict script permissions:

sudo chmod 700 /usr/local/bin/gitea-backup-update.sh
sudo chmod 600 ~/.msmtprc
sudo chmod 600 /etc/ssmtp/ssmtp.conf

• Use app-specific passwords for email (Gmail App Passwords)
• Rotate webhook URLs regularly if security is compromised

Backup Security

Protect backup directory:

sudo chmod 700 /var/backups/gitea
sudo chown root:root /var/backups/gitea

Store backups offsite (cloud storage, external server)

Log Security

Restrict log file access:

sudo chmod 600 /var/log/gitea-backup-update.log

Monitor logs for errors:

sudo tail -f /var/log/gitea-backup-update.log

Future Additions/Enhancements

• Will move config settings to a .env file so that wont be overwriten if the script is updated