<!-- doc/src/sgml/sourcerepo.sgml -->

<appendix id="sourcerepo">
 <title>The Source Code Repository</title>

 <para>
  The <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> source code is stored and managed
  using the <productname>Git</productname> version control system. A public
  mirror of the master repository is available; it is updated within a minute
  of any change to the master repository.
 </para>

 <para>
  Our wiki, <ulink
  url="http://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/Working_with_Git"></ulink>,
  has some discussion on working with Git.
 </para>

  <para>
   Note that building <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> from the source
   repository requires reasonably up-to-date versions of <application>bison</>,
   <application>flex</>, and <application>Perl</>. These tools are not needed
   to build from a distribution tarball since the files they are used to build
   are included in the tarball.  Other tool requirements are the same as shown
   in <xref linkend="installation">.
  </para>

 <sect1 id="git">
  <title>Getting The Source via <productname>Git</></title>

  <para>
   With <productname>Git</> you will make a copy of the entire code repository
   on your local machine, so you will have access to all history and branches
   offline. This is the fastest and most flexible way to develop or test
   patches.
  </para>

  <procedure>
   <title>Git</title>

   <step>
    <para>
     You will need an installed version of <productname>Git</>, which you can
     get from <ulink url="http://git-scm.com"></ulink>. Many systems already
     have a recent version of <application>Git</> installed by default, or
     available in their package distribution system.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <para>
     To begin using the Git repository, make a clone of the official mirror:

<programlisting>
git clone git://git.postgresql.org/git/postgresql.git
</programlisting>

     This will copy the full repository to your local machine, so it may take
     a while to complete, especially if you have a slow Internet connection.
     The files will be placed in a new subdirectory <filename>postgresql</> of
     your current directory.
    </para>

    <para>
     The Git mirror can also be reached via the HTTP protocol, if for example
     a firewall is blocking access to the Git protocol. Just change the URL
     prefix to <literal>http</>, as in:

<programlisting>
git clone http://git.postgresql.org/git/postgresql.git
</programlisting>

     The HTTP protocol is less efficient than the Git protocol, so it will be
     slower to use.
    </para>
   </step>

   <step>
    <para>
     Whenever you want to get the latest updates in the system, <command>cd</>
     into the repository, and run:

<programlisting>
git fetch
</programlisting>
    </para>
   </step>
  </procedure>

  <para>
   <productname>Git</> can do a lot more things than just fetch the source. For
   more information, consult the <productname>Git</> man pages, or see the
   website at <ulink url="http://git-scm.com"></>.
  </para>
 </sect1>

</appendix>
