OwnGit is a Git server that runs on your own computer, NAS or home server. When a force-push or a deletion replaces a branch, whether you did it or a coding agent did, OwnGit keeps the old commits so you can restore them from the browser. It is one program with a SQLite file, uses about 45 to 70 MB of memory, and has no accounts to sign up for.
brew install juliankang4/tap/owngit
Every method needs Git with git-http-backend on the host. Homebrew and the Arch package install Git for you.
npm install -g owngit
Every method needs Git with git-http-backend on the host. Homebrew and the Arch package install Git for you.
curl -fLO https://github.com/juliankang4/owngit/releases/latest/download/PKGBUILD && makepkg -si
Every method needs Git with git-http-backend on the host. Homebrew and the Arch package install Git for you.
Download the archive for your platform from GitHub Releases and check it against SHA256SUMS. The binaries are not signed.
$ git push --force origin main Enumerating objects: 5, done. Counting objects: 100% (5/5), done. Writing objects: 100% (3/3), 274 bytes | 274.00 KiB/s, done. Total 3 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0 (from 0) To http://127.0.0.1:18432/git/website.git + f744962...dfdad84 main -> main (forced update) $
Problems that people who run their own Git server often raise, and how OwnGit handles each one.
I don't want my private code on someone else's cloud.
Your code stays on your machine. Repositories are ordinary bare Git repositories on your computer, NAS or home server. You need no cloud account or subscription, and you can bring existing repositories over from any HTTPS Git host. OwnGit's source is open under the MIT License.
I need to undo a force-push or a deleted branch, even one my coding agent made.
Kept history. OwnGit keeps the branches and tags that a push replaced or deleted. In the browser you see every change first, then restore the whole tree or only the files you pick.
I need backups that actually restore.
Offline backups. owngit backup copies refs and objects, pull request, check and import records, and portable settings, with SHA-256 hashes. owngit restore brings a backup back as a new installation.
I don't want to look after another heavy server with its own database.
One program, about 45 to 70 MB. OwnGit is one Go executable and a SQLite file. There is no database service to run and no Node or Python at runtime. Idle, it uses about 45 MB of memory, or about 70 MB with 1,000 repositories.
I'm tired of cleaning up spam sign-ups.
No sign-up, no accounts. OwnGit has no registration page and no user accounts, so bots have nothing to register. Repositories are either open or protected by one shared password, and a separate administrator password protects security settings.
I want to reach it from my laptop without opening a port.
HTTPS on your tailnet. By default OwnGit accepts connections only from its own computer. Turn on Tailscale Serve in Settings or with owngit tailscale on, or put your own reverse proxy in front.
My coding agent needs tools it can call with exact arguments.
owngit mcp and a JSON command line. The MCP tools cover repositories, pull requests, diffs and checks. Each one states what it changes and returns the same JSON as the matching command, so an agent that prefers the shell can run owngit pr diff directly.
When a push replaces a branch or someone deletes one, OwnGit keeps the old commits in kept history. Open the repository in the browser, review every change a restore would make, then restore the whole tree or only the files you choose. A push from a coding agent is restored the same way.
Kept history is not a backup. It also keeps anything pushed by mistake, such as a secret, so replace a leaked secret instead of trying to remove it with a force-push.
Stop OwnGit and run one command. The backup contains every ref and object, kept history included, plus pull request, check and import records and portable settings, with SHA-256 hashes to detect corruption. owngit restore restores it into a new state directory.
$ owngit backup --output ~/Backups/owngit-backup Offline backup written to ~/Backups/owngit-backup. SHA-256 hashes detect corruption but do not authenticate a replaced backup. $ owngit restore --input ~/Backups/owngit-backup --state-dir ~/restored- state --repository-root ~/restored-repositories Offline backup restored to ~/restored-state with repositories at ~/resto red-repositories. Previous sessions, trusted hosts, and network settings were not restored.
OwnGit is one Go executable of about 30 MB plus a SQLite file, with no database service to run. These figures were measured on Linux x64, a Raspberry Pi 5, Windows 11 and macOS.
Idle memory, no repositories
Linux x64, Raspberry Pi 5 and Windows 11
Idle memory, 1,000 repositories
About 50 MB with 100 repositories. 67 MB on macOS, measured as footprint.
Start to first page
Median of fresh starts on Linux x64. 0.2 s on a Raspberry Pi 5.
Idle CPU (share of one core), 1,000 repositories
Measured 0.15 to 0.64%. Usually 0.1% or less with up to 100 repositories.
Measured with OwnGit 1.1.0 after setup, once memory had settled and nobody was using it, as resident memory (RSS or working set). A clone or push also runs Git, whose memory comes on top and depends on the repository.
| Server | Idle, no repositories | Idle, 100 repositories |
|---|---|---|
| A | 171.0 MB | 178.0 MB |
| B | 190.9 MB | 196.4 MB |
| OwnGit 1.1.0 | 45.4 MB | 50.7 MB |
Default installs with SQLite in the same Debian 13 container (2 cores, 2 GB), measured as the server process's RSS after a 6-minute settle. A and B do much more out of the box, such as an issue tracker, wiki, packages and CI, so this compares default installs, not equal work.
OwnGit has no registration page and no user accounts. Repositories are open to your network or protected by one shared password, and a separate administrator password protects security settings.
To use it from your laptop or phone, turn on sharing in Settings or run owngit tailscale on, and OwnGit is served over HTTPS on your tailnet. Before it turns on, OwnGit tells you that the computer and tailnet names will appear in a public certificate log. A reverse proxy also works, and the operations guide has examples for Caddy, nginx and Traefik.
$ owngit network show Saved settings (used at the next start; a serve flag overrides one for t hat run): Listen address: 127.0.0.1:18432 Base URL: not saved, addresses follow the address each client us es Allowed Hosts: none localhost, 127.0.0.1 and ::1 are always accepted. Trusted proxies: none Running server (process 70198, started 2026-09-26T14:43:26Z): Listen address: 127.0.0.1:18432 (saved), listening on 127.0.0.1:18432 Base URL: none, addresses follow the address each client uses (d efault) Accepted Hosts: 127.0.0.1, ::1, localhost Trusted proxies: none (default) The running server uses the saved settings. $ owngit tailscale status Sharing on the tailnet over HTTPS: off. Tailscale: ~/demo/bin/tailscale Ready to share as https://sample-host.example-tailnet.ts.net/. Turn it on with "owngit tailscale on", or in Settings. $ owngit tailscale on When Tailscale issues the certificate for this address, the names of thi s computer and your tailnet, as in sample-host.example-tailnet.ts.net, a re recorded in a public certificate log. Only the fact that the address was opened is recorded, not your code, repositories, passwords or other content. To use another name, change it in the Tailscale admin console b efore turning sharing on. Names that already got a certificate stay in t he log, even after a rename. Tailscale now answers HTTPS for sample-host.example-tailnet.ts.net and p asses it to OwnGit at http://127.0.0.1:18432. Saved: base URL https://sample-host.example-tailnet.ts.net, allowed name sample-host.example-tailnet.ts.net, trusted proxy 127.0.0.1. Sharing on the tailnet over HTTPS: on, but not ready yet. Address: https://sample-host.example-tailnet.ts.net/ (encrypted by T ailscale on this computer) Clone URL: https://sample-host.example-tailnet.ts.net/git/REPOSITORY.g it Tailscale: ~/demo/bin/tailscale Restart OwnGit to finish. The running server does not use the new sett ings yet. This command cannot change a running OwnGit, so the change applies after a restart. Turning sharing on or off in Settings applies at once.
Open a pull request, read the changes and merge exactly the commits you reviewed. The dashboard and owngit pr take the same steps on the same data. Review is optional.
Checks you run on your own machine are recorded for the exact commit they tested. They are advisory and never block a merge.
$ owngit pr create --source feature/sitemap --target main --title "Add s itemap" --accept-insecure-http | jq '.pull_request | {number, title, sta te}' owngit: using server http://127.0.0.1:18432 and repository website from the origin remote { "number": 1, "title": "Add sitemap", "state": "open" } $ owngit pr diff --number 1 --stat --accept-insecure-http | jq -c '.sour ce, .target, .files[]' owngit: using server http://127.0.0.1:18432 and repository website from the origin remote {"branch":"feature/sitemap","oid":"c89e0e2aefe2cfcc798829cbc10bcdb38bda1 574"} {"branch":"main","oid":"f744962ea89f44bf26b7342f9dc271f33acee085"} {"path":"sitemap.xml","status":"added","additions":2,"deletions":0,"bina ry":false} $ owngit pr merge --number 1 --source-oid c89e0e2aefe2cfcc798829cbc10bcd b38bda1574 --target-oid f744962ea89f44bf26b7342f9dc271f33acee085 --accep t-insecure-http | jq -c '.pull_request | {state, merge: .merge.mode}' owngit: using server http://127.0.0.1:18432 and repository website from the origin remote {"state":"merged","merge":"fast_forward"}
owngit mcp is a local MCP server that talks over standard input and output and opens no network port. Its tools read repositories, pull requests, diffs and checks, create and review pull requests, and run the checks committed in your clone. Each returns the same JSON as the matching command. Inside a clone, owngit pr and owngit repo find the server from origin.
▐▛███▛█ Claude Code v2.1.283 ▝▜██████▀ Sonnet 5 · Claude Max ▝▝ ▝▝ ~/project ❯ List the repositories on OwnGit. Open a pull request from feature/sitemap into main titled "Add sitemap" and show its diff stat. Create a check task and run the checks. If they pass, approve the pull request as reviewer "claude-code" and merge it. Reply in two short sentences. Called owngit 3 times (ctrl+o to expand) ⏺ PR #1 diff stat: .owngit/checks.json (+12), sitemap.xml (+2) — 2 files, 14 insertions. Called owngit 2 times (ctrl+o to expand) ⏺ Checks passed (clean worktree, tested commit e0e3ec7). Proceeding to approve and merge. Called owngit 2 times (ctrl+o to expand) ⏺ OwnGit hosts one repository, "website"; PR #1 "Add sitemap" changed 2 files (+14 lines), passed its check (xmllint --noout sitemap.xml), was approved by "claude-code", and merged into main via fast-forward. ✻ Cogitated for 53s · done 2:46 PM ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ❯ delete the feature/sitemap branch ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ⏵⏵ auto mode on (shift+tab to cycle) · ← for agents
$ cat ~/.codex/config.toml [mcp_servers.owngit] command = "owngit" args = ["mcp", "--workdir", "~/website", "--credential-file", "~/helper- token", "--accept-insecure-http"] tool_timeout_sec = 1800 $ codex exec --ephemeral --skip-git-repo-check -m gpt-5.6-luna -c 'model _reasoning_effort="low"' -c 'mcp_servers.owngit.default_tools_approval_m ode="approve"' 'Use the owngit tools. List the repositories. Open a pull request from feature/sitemap into main titled "Add sitemap" and show it s diff stat. Create a check task and run the checks. If they pass, appro ve the pull request with the reviewer label "codex" and merge it. Answer in English in two short sentences.' OpenAI Codex v0.157.0 -------- workdir: ~/project model: gpt-5.6-luna provider: openai approval: never sandbox: read-only reasoning effort: low reasoning summaries: none session id: 01a0dbaf-11a2-7d83-b1e8-42cccbdf4ef6 -------- user Use the owngit tools. List the repositories. Open a pull request from fe ature/sitemap into main titled "Add sitemap" and show its diff stat. Cre ate a check task and run the checks. If they pass, approve the pull requ est with the reviewer label "codex" and merge it. Answer in English in t wo short sentences. codex I’m using the OwnGit repository tools to list repositories, open the pul l request, run its checks, and merge it if everything passes. mcp: owngit/repository_list started mcp: owngit/repository_list (completed) mcp: owngit/pull_request_create started mcp: owngit/pull_request_create (completed) mcp: owngit/check_task_create started mcp: owngit/check_task_create (completed) mcp: owngit/pull_request_diff started mcp: owngit/pull_request_diff (completed) mcp: owngit/check_run started mcp: owngit/check_run (completed) mcp: owngit/pull_request_review started mcp: owngit/pull_request_review (completed) mcp: owngit/pull_request_merge started mcp: owngit/pull_request_merge (completed) codex Listed the `website` repository; PR #1 “Add sitemap” has a 2-file, 14-li ne diff. Checks passed, it was approved by `codex`, and merged into `mai n`. tokens used 20,918
Took 0.0s Now run the checks with the task id. owngit_check_run { "task": "7658d0a0c6ddf98fead860d5ad… → {"ok":true,"register… … (Ctrl+O to expand) Checks passed. Now approve as reviewer "pi" and merge. I need source_oid and target_oid from the PR show. Checks passed. I'll approve the pull request as reviewer "pi" and merge it. owngit_pull_request_review { "number": 1, "source_oid"… → {"ok":true,"pull_req… … (Ctrl+O to expand) Now merge. owngit_pull_request_merge { "number": 1, "source_oid":… → {"ok":true,"pull_req… … (Ctrl+O to expand) The user asked for two short sentences. I need to include: OwnGit has one repository, website, and pull request #1 “Add sitemap” changes .owngit/checks.json (+12) and sitemap.xml (+2), 14 insertions total. The sitemap check passed, so I approved it as pi and fast-forward merged it into main. ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ~/project (main) ↑26k ↓1.4k R52k CH93.5% $0.087 (sub) 2.5%/500k (auto) (xai) grok-4.7 • medium 🔌 MCP: 1 server enabled (1 connected)
Every method needs Git with git-http-backend on the host. Homebrew and the Arch package install Git for you.
brew install juliankang4/tap/owngit
macOS (Apple silicon) and Linux (x64, ARM64).
npm install -g owngit
macOS (Apple silicon), Linux (x64, ARM64) and Windows (x64). Node.js is needed to install and to start OwnGit.
curl -fLO https://github.com/juliankang4/owngit/releases/latest/download/PKGBUILD && makepkg -si
Builds a package from the PKGBUILD attached to each release. makepkg checks the archive's SHA-256 and installs it with pacman.
Download the archive for your platform from GitHub Releases and check it against SHA256SUMS. The binaries are not signed.
The first time you start OwnGit in a terminal, setup runs right there: pick a language, then continue in the terminal or in the browser. After that, create repositories in the dashboard or with owngit repo.
$ owngit serve 2026/09/26 14:44:40 using git version 2.54.0 (Apple Git-157) at /Applica tions/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/libexec/git-core/git (found on PA TH; the Git behind the macOS /usr/bin/git shim, same version) 2026/09/26 14:44:40 OwnGit listening on 127.0.0.1:18432 ___ ___ _ _ / _ \ __ __ __ _ _ / __|(_)| |_ | (_) |\ V V / | ' \ | (_ || || _| \___/ \_/\_/ |_||_| \___||_| \__| First-run setup http://127.0.0.1:18432/ +- Language / 언어 ---------------------------------------------------- | [1] English | [2] 한국어 | | Press Enter for the default. You can switch later with L. | Enter만 누르면 기본값을 씁니다. 나중에 L 키로 바꿀 수 있습니다. +---------------------------------------------------------------------- Choice / 선택 [1]: 1 +- Set up OwnGit ------------------------------------------------------ | OwnGit is running but has not been set up yet. Choose where to | answer the setup questions. | | [1] Continue in this terminal | Answer a few questions here. Passwords stay hidden as you | type. | | [2] Open the web dashboard | Approve your browser here, then continue setup in the | browser. | | [L] 한국어 +---------------------------------------------------------------------- Choice [1]: 1 +- Repository folder ------------------------------------------- 1/5 -- | OwnGit creates repositories inside this folder and leaves | existing files alone. | | Type a full path, or press Enter to use the suggested folder. +---------------------------------------------------------------------- Suggested: ~/OwnGit-Repositories Folder: [ok] OwnGit can use this folder. +- Who can read and write repositories ------------------------- 2/5 -- | This covers everyday repository use on your network. Security | settings always need the administrator password. | | [1] Anyone on this network | No password for reading or pushing. Suitable for a private | LAN or a Tailscale network you control. | | [2] People with the shared password | One shared password for everyone. There are no individual | accounts. | | [L] 한국어 +---------------------------------------------------------------------- Choice [1]: 1 +- Administrator password -------------------------------------- 3/5 -- | Required to change security settings from any browser. Keep it | separate from the shared password. | | Use 8 to 1024 characters. What you type stays hidden. +---------------------------------------------------------------------- Administrator password: Type it again: [ok] Administrator password entered. +- Other devices ----------------------------------------------- 4/5 -- | [ok] Tailscale is running on this computer. | | Tailscale address 100.64.0.10 | MagicDNS name sample-host.example-tailnet.ts.net | | To use OwnGit from your other Tailscale devices, save these | network settings with the command below, then restart OwnGit | after setup. You can change them later in Settings, under | Network. | | Tailscale encrypts the connection between devices, but OwnGit | still reports plain HTTP because it cannot see that protection. +---------------------------------------------------------------------- Command that saves the settings (one line, copy all of it): owngit network set --listen 100.64.0.10:18432 --base-url http://sample-h ost.example-tailnet.ts.net:18432 Saved settings also apply when OwnGit runs as a background service. Leave --listen and --base-url out of the service definition, because an option there replaces the saved value. See "Options for a background service" in the OwnGit docs. Press Enter to continue: +- Review ------------------------------------------------------ 5/5 -- | Nothing is saved until you choose Finish setup. | | Repository folder ~/OwnGit-Repositories | Access Anyone on this network | Administrator password entered | Connection this computer only | | [1] Finish setup | [2] Start over | | [L] 한국어 +---------------------------------------------------------------------- Choice [1]: 1 +- [ok] Setup complete ------------------------------------------------ | Dashboard http://127.0.0.1:18432/ | | Create your first repository when you are ready. +---------------------------------------------------------------------- OwnGit keeps running. The server log continues below. 2026/09/26 14:44:43 setup completed 2026/09/26 14:44:43 OwnGit ready at http://127.0.0.1:18432/
$ owngit repo create --name website --description "Sample website" \ > --server http://127.0.0.1:18432 --accept-insecure-http \ > | jq .repository { "id": "website", "name": "website", "description": "Sample website", "created_at": "2026-09-26T14:44:47Z", "clone_url": "http://127.0.0.1:18432/git/website.git" } $ owngit repo list --server http://127.0.0.1:18432 \ > --accept-insecure-http | jq -c '.repositories[] | {name, clone_url}' {"name":"website","clone_url":"http://127.0.0.1:18432/git/website.git"}