[[!toc]]

Using ikiwiki with the [[rcs/git]] backend, some interesting things can be done
with creating mirrors (or, really, branches) of a wiki. In this tip, I'll
assume your wiki is located on a server, and you want to take a copy with
you on your laptop.

With the configuration described here, you can commit local changes to the
version on the laptop, perhaps while offline. You can browse and edit the
wiki using a local web server. When you're ready, you can manually push the
changes to the main wiki on the server.

## simple clone approach

First, set up the wiki on the server, if it isn't already. Nothing special
needs to be done here, just follow the regular instructions in [[setup]]
for setting up ikiwiki with git.

Next, `git clone` the source (`$REPOSITORY`, not `$SRCDIR`)
from the server to the laptop.

Now you need to write a setup file for ikiwiki on the laptop. Mostly this
is standard, but a few special settings are needed:

* Configure a cgi wrapper as usual, but configure the git wrapper to
  be written to the `post-commit` hook of the git clone, rather than the
  usual `post-update` hook.
  
    git_wrapper: /home/user/foo-wiki/.git/hooks/post-commit

* By default, ikiwiki pulls and pushes from `origin`. This shouldn't be 
  done on the laptop, because the origin may not be accessible (when the
  laptop is offline). Also, commits made on the laptop should stay there,
  until manually pushed, so that the laptop can serve as a staging area.

  Make sure you have ikiwiki 2.11 or better installed, and set:
  
  	gitorigin_branch: 

* You can optionally enable to the [[plugins/mirrorlist]] plugin,
  and configure it so that each page links to the corresponding page on the
  server.

Now just run `ikiwiki -setup wiki.setup -getctime` and you should be
good to go. (You only need the slow `-getctime` option the first time you
run setup.) If you have taken your `wiki.setup` file from an existing
wiki, you may need to change certain parameters to adapt to the paths
on your laptop, a few examples:

    srcdir: /home/user/foo-wiki
    destdir: /home/user/public_html
    # optional
    url: http://foo-wiki.localhost
    libdir: /home/user/foo-wiki/.ikiwiki
    ENV:
        TMPDIR: /home/user/tmp
    cookiejar:
        file:

Now, set up a [[web_server|dot_cgi]] on your laptop, if it doesn't
already have one. You can also skip that step if you want only to
render the wiki and not allow edition, in which case you'll want the
following:

    # disable CGI, unless you want to get really funky
    cgiurl: 
    cgi_wrapper: 

You can also direct people to the main server for web edition there.

Use standard git commands to handle pulling from and pushing to the server.

Note that if changes are pulled from the server, you will need to manually
update the wiki, with a command such as `ikiwiki -setup wiki.setup -refresh`.
If you'd like it to automatically update when changes are merged in, you
can simply make a symlink `post-merge` hook pointing at the `post-update`
hook ikiwiki created.

## bare mirror approach

As above, set up a normal ikiwiki on the server, with the usual bare repository.

Next, `git clone --mirror server:/path/to/bare/repository`

This will be used as the $REPOSITORY on the laptop.  Then you can follow
the instructions in [[setup by hand|/setup/byhand]] as per a normal ikiwiki
installation. This means that you can clone from the local bare repository
as many times as you want (thus being able to have a repository which is
used by the ikiwiki CGI, and another which you can use for updating via
git).

Use standard git commands, run in the laptop's bare git repository
to handle pulling from and pushing to the server.
