README.md

   1 libgit2 - the Git linkable library
   2 ======================
   3
   4 libgit2 is a portable, pure C implementation of the Git core methods provided as a
   5 re-entrant linkable library with a solid API, allowing you to write native
   6 speed custom Git applications in any language with bindings.
   7
   8 * Website: <http://libgit2.github.com>
   9 * API documentation: <http://libgit2.github.com/libgit2/modules.html>
  10 * Usage guide: <http://libgit2.github.com/api.html>
  11
  12 What It Can Do
  13 ==================================
  14
  15 libgit2 is already very usable.
  16
  17 * raw <-> hex SHA conversions
  18 * raw object reading (loose and packed)
  19 * raw object writing (loose)
  20 * revlist walker
  21 * commit, tag and tree object parsing and write-back
  22 * tree traversal
  23 * basic index file (staging area) operations
  24
  25 Building libgit2 - External dependencies
  26 ========================================
  27
  28 The following libraries are required to manually build the libgit2 library:
  29
  30 * zlib 1.2+ <http://www.zlib.net/>
  31
  32 When building in Windows using MSVC, make sure you compile ZLib using the MSVC solution that ships in its source distribution.
  33 Alternatively, you may download precompiled binaries from: <http://www.winimage.com/zLibDll/>
  34
  35 * LibSSL **(optional)** <http://www.openssl.org/>
  36
  37 libgit2 can be built using the SHA1 implementation of LibSSL-Crypto, instead of the built-in custom implementations. Performance wise, they are quite similar.
  38
  39 * pthreads-w32 **(required on MinGW)** <http://sourceware.org/pthreads-win32/>
  40
  41 Building libgit2 - Using waf
  42 ======================
  43
  44 Waf is a minimalist build system which only requires a Python 2.5+ interpreter to run. This is the default build system for libgit2.
  45
  46 To build libgit2 using waf, first configure the build system by running:
  47
  48     $ ./waf configure
  49
  50 Then build the library, either in its shared (libgit2.so) or static form (libgit2.a):
  51
  52     $ ./waf build-static
  53     $ ./waf build-shared
  54
  55 You can then run the full test suite with:
  56
  57     $ ./waf test
  58
  59 And finally you can install the library with (you may need to sudo):
  60
  61     $ sudo ./waf install
  62
  63 The waf build system for libgit2 accepts the following flags:
  64
  65         --debug
  66                 build the library with debug symbols.
  67                 Defaults to off.
  68
  69         --sha1=[builtin|ppc|openssl]
  70                 use the builtin SHA1 functions, the optimized PPC versions
  71                 or the SHA1 functions from LibCrypto (OpenSSL).
  72                 Defaults to 'builtin'.
  73
  74         --msvc=[7.1|8.0|9.0|10.0]
  75                 Force a specific version of the MSVC compiler, if more than
  76                 one version is installed.
  77
  78         --arch=[ia64|x64|x86|x86_amd64|x86_ia64]
  79                 Force a specific architecture for compilers that support it.
  80
  81 You can run `./waf --help` to see a full list of install options and
  82 targets.
  83
  84
  85 Building libgit2 - Using CMake
  86 ==============================
  87
  88 The libgit2 library can also be built using CMake 2.6+ (<http://www.cmake.org>) on all platforms.
  89
  90 On most systems you can build the library using the following commands
  91
  92         $ mkdir build && cd build
  93         $ cmake ..
  94         $ cmake --build .
  95
  96 Alternatively you can point the CMake GUI tool to the CMakeLists.txt file and generate platform specific build project or IDE workspace.
  97
  98 To install the library you can specify the install prefix by setting:
  99
 100         $ cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/install/prefix
 101         $ cmake --build . --target install
 102
 103 For more advanced use or questions about CMake please read <http://www.cmake.org/Wiki/CMake_FAQ>.
 104
 105
 106 Language Bindings
 107 ==================================
 108
 109 Here are the bindings to libgit2 that are currently available:
 110
 111 * Rugged (Ruby bindings) <https://github.com/libgit2/rugged>
 112 * pygit2 (Python bindings) <https://github.com/libgit2/pygit2>
 113 * libgit2sharp (.NET bindings) <https://github.com/nulltoken/libgit2sharp>
 114 * Geef (Erlang bindings) <https://github.com/schacon/geef>
 115
 116 If you start another language binding to libgit2, please let us know so
 117 we can add it to the list.
 118
 119 How Can I Contribute
 120 ==================================
 121
 122 Fork libgit2/libgit2 on GitHub, add your improvement, push it to a branch
 123 in your fork named for the topic, send a pull request.
 124
 125 You can also file bugs or feature requests under the libgit2 project on
 126 GitHub, or join us on the mailing list by sending an email to:
 127
 128 libgit2@librelist.com
 129
 130
 131 License
 132 ==================================
 133 libgit2 is under GPL2 **with linking exemption**. This means you
 134 can link to the library with any program, commercial, open source or
 135 other.  However, you cannot modify libgit2 and distribute it without
 136 supplying the source.
 137
 138 See the COPYING file for the full license text.