Setting up Subversion Version control in Ubuntu

When developing a project, you may want to keep a version control of all your files so that you can easily revert to an earlier page (or the previous revision) to fix any bugs or in the event that someone accidentally deleted your files.

In Ubuntu, the easiest way to do version control is to set up a Subversion (SVN) server.

sudo apt-get install subversion libapache2-svn

Next, we are going to create a directory to hold your repository.

sudo svnadmin create /var/lib/svn

Give apache the access right to the repository

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/lib/svn
sudo chmod 770 -R /var/lib/svn

Configure Apache for SVN access

gksu gedit /etc/apache2/mods-available/dav_svn.conf

Uncomment the codes by removing the ‘#’ in front of the following lines:

<Location /svn>
...
DAV svn
...
AuthType Basic
AuthName "Subversion Repository"
AuthUserFile /etc/apache2/dav_svn.passwd
...
<LimitExcept GET PROPFIND OPTIONS REPORT>
Require valid-user
</LimitExcept>
</Location>

If you have only one repository for your SVN, uncomment the following line

SVNPath /var/lib/svn

Else if you are setting up multiple repositories, uncomment this line

SVNParentPath /var/lib/svn

Remember that at any time, only SVNPath or SVNParentPath is uncommented. Do not uncomment both at the same time.

Create a password for your username

sudo htpasswd -cm /etc/apache2/dav_svn.passwd yourusername

Restart apache

sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Now open your browser and go to http://localhost/svn. If you see the following, the your installation is successful.

Importing your project into SVN

You have successfully installed and configured SVN, now we need to import our project files to the SVN.

sudo apt-get install rapidsvn

Go to Applications->Programming->RapidSVN

In the RapidSVN, go to Repository->Import

In the window, enter the following:

Click OK. Enter your username and password. Your project should be in the SVN now.

Damien

Damien Oh started writing tech articles since 2007 and has over 10 years of experience in the tech industry. He is proficient in Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iOS, and worked as a part time WordPress Developer. He is currently the owner and Editor-in-Chief of Make Tech Easier.