Git Backend

Twig serves repositories over Git smart HTTP and works with standard Git commands. The web UI and Git endpoints use the same namespace/repository paths.

Authentication

Git writes use HTTP Basic Authentication with your Twig username and password. Reads of public repositories do not require credentials; repositories marked private = true in .twig.toml require credentials for reads as well.

Operation	Public repository	Private repository
Clone/fetch	No credentials	Basic Auth; user must own the namespace
Push	Basic Auth; user must own the namespace	Basic Auth; user must own the namespace

Clone and fetch

git clone http://your-twig-server/namespace/repo
cd repo
git fetch origin

The .git suffix is also accepted. If Git needs credentials, it will prompt; you can use a credential helper to store them.

Push

git remote add origin http://your-twig-server/namespace/repo
git push -u origin main

Avoid putting passwords in remote URLs, where they may be saved in shell history or Git configuration. Only the namespace owner can push. A push can create a missing namespace (owned by the pushing user) and repository.

Account and repository setup

1. Get a one-time signup invite from the Twig administrator using the invite page.
2. Sign up at http://your-twig-server/auth/signup with the invite, username, email address, and password.
3. Log in and create a namespace at http://your-twig-server/auth/namespace, or let your first authenticated push create it.
4. Create a repository in the web UI at http://your-twig-server/namespace (the account needs an email), or push to a new repository path in your namespace.

For scripts and integrations, POST /init also creates a repository in an existing namespace the authenticated user owns. Submit namespace, repo, and optionally branch as form fields; the branch defaults to main.

Repository configuration

Twig reads .twig.toml from the repository's current commit. Set private = true to require authenticated access for reads. Other options control which files appear in the browser, which repository tabs are shown, whether the repository can be deleted from Settings, and which Markdown files appear in the presentation view. New UI-created repositories include a commented configuration template. The schema is available at /assets/twig.schema.json.

Troubleshooting

Authentication failed

Check your Twig username and password. For pushes, confirm that you own the namespace. If Git has cached old credentials, clear or update them using your credential helper.

Access denied to namespace

Only the namespace owner can push or read private repositories.

Repository not found

Check the namespace/repository path. A push can create a repository only when the authenticated user owns that namespace, or when the namespace does not yet exist.