How to Self-Host Gitea and Access Your Git Server from Anywhere

What Is Gitea?

Gitea is an open-source Git hosting platform written in Go. It runs as a single binary with minimal resource requirements, making it practical on a home server, a Raspberry Pi, or a small VPS. The web interface covers everything you would expect from a modern Git platform: repository browsing, pull requests, code review, issue tracking, milestones, wikis, release management, and webhooks.

The main reason people self-host Gitea instead of using GitHub or GitLab is control. Your repositories live on your hardware. You set the storage limits. You decide who has access. There are no account suspensions, no policy changes, and no subscription required to keep private repositories private.

Install Gitea with Docker Compose

Docker Compose is the simplest and most portable way to run Gitea. The setup below uses SQLite as the database, which is perfectly fine for personal use and small teams. If you expect many concurrent users or heavy repository traffic, replace SQLite with PostgreSQL an example is included at the end of this section.

mkdir gitea && cd gitea

networks:
  gitea:
    external: false

services:
  server:
    image: docker.gitea.com/gitea:latest
    container_name: gitea
    environment:
      - USER_UID=1000
      - USER_GID=1000
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - gitea
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
      - "2222:22"

docker compose up -d
docker compose ps

Gitea is now running at http://localhost:3000. Open that address in your browser to continue with the setup wizard.

networks:
  gitea:
    external: false

services:
  server:
    image: docker.gitea.com/gitea:latest
    container_name: gitea
    environment:
      - USER_UID=1000
      - USER_GID=1000
      - GITEA__database__DB_TYPE=postgres
      - GITEA__database__HOST=db:5432
      - GITEA__database__NAME=gitea
      - GITEA__database__USER=gitea
      - GITEA__database__PASSWD=changeme
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - gitea
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
      - "2222:22"
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:16
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=gitea
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=changeme
      - POSTGRES_DB=gitea
    networks:
      - gitea
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  postgres_data:

Complete the Setup Wizard

The first time you open Gitea in your browser, it runs an installation wizard. Most settings can stay at their defaults, but a few need attention.

Access the Gitea Web Interface from Anywhere

Gitea's web interface runs on port 3000. To reach it from outside your local network, create an HTTP tunnel in Localtonet. The tunnel gives you a public HTTPS URL and handles TLS automatically. Gitea itself requires no changes.

curl -fsSL https://localtonet.com/install.sh | sh
localtonet --authtoken <YOUR_TOKEN>

# The app.ini is stored inside the data volume
nano ./data/gitea/conf/app.ini

Find the [server] section and update these two values:

[server]
DOMAIN           = abc123.localto.net
ROOT_URL         = https://abc123.localto.net/

Restart Gitea to apply the change:

docker compose restart server

Your Gitea web interface is now reachable at the HTTPS URL from any browser, anywhere in the world.

SSH Git Cloning from Anywhere

The web interface handles browsing and management, but developers also need to push and pull over SSH. Gitea's SSH server runs on port 2222 on the host. Create a second Localtonet TCP tunnel for this port.

[server]
DOMAIN           = abc123.localto.net
ROOT_URL         = https://abc123.localto.net/
SSH_DOMAIN       = example.localto.net
SSH_PORT         = 33221

docker compose restart server

Now when you open any repository in Gitea and click the SSH clone button, the URL shown already contains the relay address and port. Clone a repository from any machine:

git clone ssh://git@example.localto.net:33221/youruser/yourrepo.git

Keep Everything Running After a Reboot

The Docker Compose file already has restart: unless-stopped on the Gitea container, so it comes back automatically when Docker starts. To also bring the Localtonet tunnels back after a reboot, register Localtonet as a systemd service on the host machine:

sudo localtonet --install-service --authtoken <YOUR_TOKEN>
sudo localtonet --start-service --authtoken <YOUR_TOKEN>

Confirm both services are running:

docker compose ps
systemctl status localtonet

After this, a full power cycle brings Gitea and both tunnels back without any manual steps. Your Git server and its public URLs are available again within seconds of the machine booting.

Security Recommendations

Frequently Asked Questions