svn update with php and ssl

Question

I want to do SVN update easier - with calling PHP script.

I created PHP script:

$cmd = "svn update  https://___/svn/website /var/www/html/website/ 2>&1";
exec($cmd, $out);

As the user running the script is apache (not root), I get some permission errors.

If I change the owner of every directory to apache (or chrown everything to 777) I have another problem. Because I use https protocol user apache should permanently accept certificate of the svn server. I tried to do "su - apache" and accept certificate but OS says that "apache" is not valid user. I also dont know how could I accept certificate with exec() function.

Any idea? How can I make svn update-ing easier?

ldg · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-12 00:03:36Z

3

Is the error telling you that the user isn't a valid svn user? If apache is the user running httpd, you should be able to su to it. This is the script I use:

/usr/bin/svn --config-dir=/home/user/.subversion --username=svnuser --password=svnpass update

once the password is saved you can remove it from the command. Again, make sure the user/pass above is a valid SVN user.

Lately I've actually migrated to using Hudson for svn updates as you can schedule it as well as run manually and do a bunch of other tasks, plus you can view the svn logs for each commit as well as any console errors.

answered Jun 12, 2011 at 0:03

ldg

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1 Comment

knagode Over a year ago

I manually changed /etc/passwd file for apache user (changing /sbin/nologin to /bin/bash). Than I was able to do "su - apache" and store certificates on the server. The only thing to do then is to use --config-dir option like ldg mentions above .. Thanks!

Stephane Gosselin · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-12 00:23:31Z

2

Why not use php svn functions instead of (insecure) exec?

http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.svn-auth-set-parameter.php has good examples for authentification options.

answered Jun 12, 2011 at 0:23

Stephane Gosselin

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3 Comments

knagode Over a year ago

I will also try this option! Tnx

nimph Over a year ago

@stefgosselin How would you go about displaying error messages encountered after executing svn_update, svn_commit, etc.? With exec() I don't have an issue getting and displaying exactly what went wrong. Any suggestions?

Stephane Gosselin Over a year ago

@nimph Unfortunately as you probably already saw, the svn_ functions return rev. number on success, false on failure. I don't know if you are religious, these functionsare to be used on 'faith' that svn is quite robust. if setup properly it should work fine, as long as your script has a proper connexion and proper credentials to the server.

Chandranshu · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-11 23:37:05Z

1

Use getent apache on the shell. This will return the shell of apache. Most likely, it is /bin/nologin or /bin/false. Change this to /bin/bash. You'll also need to specify the home directory and create it on the file system.

UPDATE: getent apache will actually return the entry in the /etc/passwd file for the apache user. The last token in this string is the shell.

edited Jun 11, 2011 at 23:37

answered Jun 11, 2011 at 23:24

Chandranshu

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4 Comments

knagode Over a year ago

getent returned nothing. I manually changed /etc/passwd file for apache user.

knagode Over a year ago

I manually changed /etc/passwd file for apache user (for changing /sbin/nologin to /bin/bash). How do I specify home directory? Now I can do "su - apache" and update through svn but certificate is not stored even if I choose "permanently save certificate" ..

ldg Over a year ago

pass the --config-dir=/path/to/svnconfig argument both when you do it manually and in your script.

Chandranshu Over a year ago

I didn't know about the --config-dir option. I would have actually created /home/apache and put it in the /etc/passwd file. But the config-dir option is definitely better.

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