How to Install Gitea on Amazon Lightsail: A Comprehensive Guide

Gitea is a lightweight, self-hosted Git repository management solution that provides a clean, easy-to-use interface similar to GitHub. In this guide, we'll walk you through installing Gitea on an Amazon Lightsail VPS.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

An Amazon Lightsail account
A Lightsail VPS running Ubuntu
SSH access to your Lightsail instance
Basic command-line knowledge

Step 1: Prepare Your Lightsail Instance

Create and Connect to Your Instance

Log in to the Amazon Lightsail console
Create a new Ubuntu instance
Choose an appropriate plan (minimum 1GB RAM recommended)
Connect via SSH through the Lightsail browser terminal or your local SSH client

Configure Lightsail Firewall

Open the Networking tab and add the following firewall rules:

HTTP (Port 80)
HTTPS (Port 443)
SSH (Port 22)
Gitea (Port 3000)

Step 2: Update Your System

Update system packages to ensure you have the latest versions:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 3: Install Dependencies

Install necessary dependencies for Gitea:

sudo apt install -y git sqlite3 wget nginx

Step 4: Create Gitea User

Create a dedicated user for Gitea:

sudo adduser --system --group --disabled-password --shell /bin/bash --home /home/gitea gitea

Step 5: Download Gitea

Download the latest Gitea binary:

wget -O gitea https://dl.gitea.io/gitea/latest/gitea-1.20.3-linux-amd64
sudo chmod +x gitea
sudo mv gitea /usr/local/bin/

Step 6: Create Directory Structure

Set up the necessary directories:

sudo mkdir -p /var/lib/gitea/{custom,data,log}
sudo chown -R gitea:gitea /var/lib/gitea/
sudo chmod -R 750 /var/lib/gitea/

Step 7: Configure Systemd Service

Create a systemd service file for Gitea:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/gitea.service

Paste the following configuration:

[Unit]
Description=Gitea
After=syslog.target
After=network.target

[Service]
RestartSec=2s
Type=simple
User=gitea
Group=gitea
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/gitea/
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gitea web -c /etc/gitea/app.ini
Restart=always
Environment=USER=gitea HOME=/home/gitea

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Step 8: Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

Create an Nginx configuration:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitea

Add the following configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name gitea.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Enable the site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitea /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

Step 9: Performance Optimization for Lightsail

Add a swap file to improve performance on smaller instances:

sudo fallocate -l 1G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo scp /swapfile /etc/fstab
sudo swapon /swapfile

Step 10: Start and Enable Gitea

Start the Gitea service and enable it to run on boot:

sudo systemctl start gitea
sudo systemctl enable gitea

Step 11: SSL Configuration with Let's Encrypt

Install Certbot:

sudo snap install --classic certbot
sudo ln -s /snap/bin/certbot /usr/bin/certbot

# Generate SSL for your domain
sudo certbot --nginx -d gitea.yourdomain.com

Security Recommendations

Use a strong, unique password
Keep Gitea and system updated
Configure two-factor authentication
Regularly backup your Gitea data

Lightsail Cost-Saving Tips

Choose an appropriate instance size
Use Lightsail's snapshot feature
Stop instances when not in use
Monitor instance metrics

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues, check the logs:

# Gitea logs
sudo journalctl -u gitea

# Nginx logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

Connecting Your Gitea Repository to DeployHQ

After setting up your Gitea instance, you can easily integrate it with DeployHQ for streamlined deployments. Follow these steps:

Manual Repository Addition

1- Generate an Access Token in Gitea

- Navigate to your Gitea user settings
- Go to "Applications"
- Create a new Personal Access Token
    - Select appropriate scopes (read:repository recommended)
    - Copy the generated token securely

2- Add Repository in DeployHQ

- Log in to your DeployHQ account
- Click "Add Repository"
- Choose "Git" as the repository type
- Select "Other Git Provider"

3- Repository Connection Details

- Repository URL: `https://your-gitea-domain.com/username/repository.git`
- Authentication Type: Token
- Username: Your Gitea username
- Password/Token: Paste the generated access token

Important Configuration Notes

Ensure the access token has sufficient permissions
Use HTTPS URL for repository connection
Verify firewall and network settings allow DeployHQ to access your Gitea instance

Deployment Setup

Once connected, you can:

Configure deployment branches
Set up automatic deployments
Define custom deployment scripts
Monitor deployment history

Troubleshooting Repository Connection

Double-check the repository URL
Verify access token permissions
Ensure Gitea is publicly accessible
Check network connectivity

Pro Tip: DeployHQ supports multiple deployment strategies, making it perfect for your self-hosted Gitea repositories!

Conclusion

You've successfully installed Gitea on Amazon Lightsail! Enjoy your self-hosted Git repository management platform.

Pro Tip: Use DeployHQ for seamless deployment of your projects directly to your Gitea repository!

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