How to setup Subversion (SVN) on Debian

[isscbta]

This guide explains how to set up SVN (Subversion) repository management on a Debian server running myVesta.

Step 1: Create the svn user with SSH access

In the myVesta panel, create a new user named svn and grant SSH access.
We will execute some commands as root and others as svn.

Step 2: Install Subversion as root

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apt update
apt install subversion
svn --version # Verify SVN installation

Step 3: Create Repository Folders and Set Permissions

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mkdir -p /srv/svn/repos
mkdir -p /var/log/svnserve
mkdir -p /run/svnserve
chown svn:svn /srv/svn/repos
chown svn:svn /var/log/svnserve
chown svn:svn /run/svnserve

Explanation:

• /srv/svn/repos: Repository storage location
• /var/log/svnserve: Directory for svnserve logs
• /run/svnserve: Runtime directory for the daemon

Step 4: Initialize the SVN Repository as svn User

Switch to the svn user and create the repository:

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svnadmin create /srv/svn/repos/myapp
chown -R svn:svn /srv/svn/repos/myapp

Configure the repository:

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mcedit /srv/svn/repos/myapp/conf/svnserve.conf

Uncomment:

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[general]
anon-access = none
auth-access = write
password-db = passwd

Edit user credentials:

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mcedit /srv/svn/repos/myapp/conf/passwd

Add users in the format:

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[users]
username = password

Step 5: Configure the svnserve System Service as root

Create the service unit:

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mcedit /etc/systemd/system/svnserve.service

Paste the following content:

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[Unit]
Description=Subversion protocol daemon
After=syslog.target network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
RuntimeDirectory=svnserve
PIDFile=/run/svnserve/svnserve.pid
EnvironmentFile=/etc/default/svnserve
ExecStart=/usr/bin/svnserve $DAEMON_ARGS
User=svn
Group=svn
KillMode=control-group
Restart=on-failure

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Create the environment configuration:

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mcedit /etc/default/svnserve

Add the following line:

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DAEMON_ARGS="--daemon --pid-file /run/svnserve/svnserve.pid --root /srv/svn/repos --log-file /var/log/svnserve/svnserve.log"

Step 6: Reload Systemd and Start the SVN Daemon

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systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable svnserve
systemctl start svnserve
systemctl status svnserve

Step 7: Open the Firewall Port

Allow SVN traffic on TCP port 3690:

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v-add-firewall-rule 'ACCEPT' '0.0.0.0/0' '3690' 'TCP' 'svn'

Final Notes

• Replace myapp with your preferred repository name.
• Use passwd to manage access credentials securely.
• Always test your configuration by connecting to svn://your-server/myapp.
• Monitor logs at /var/log/svnserve/svnserve.log for troubleshooting.
• This setup provides a clean and maintainable SVN server with access control and service management.