What is legit?

legit is a small web UI for Git repositories, implemented in Go, aimed at people who keep their repos on their own server and want a clean way to browse them. It scans a directory of repositories, renders each repo's readme with a selectable chroma syntax theme, supports cloning over HTTP(S), and lets you fully override the shipped templates and static styling. Entries in the ignore or unlisted config lists stay hidden from the site. Install it by cloning the source and building with go, or pull the ghcr.io/icyphox/legit container image; configure it with a yaml file (config.yaml in the working directory, or a path given via --config) and run it behind a TLS-terminating proxy such as nginx or relayd. Notable limits: cloning works only for bare repositories, HTTPS push is implemented but switched off by default since authentication is fiddly (SSH is recommended), and subdirectories under the scan path are not traversed.

Should you self-host legit?

legit scores 45/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #12 of 14 in Code Hosting. It has 467 GitHub stars.

There was no stable release in the past 12 months, so check the repository's recent activity before you rely on it.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is MIT-licensed and written mostly in Go.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Gitea (89/100, 58 745 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See legit vs Gitea side by side.

Features

Customizable templates and stylesheets
Git clone over HTTP(S)Cloning only works in bare repos, a limitation inherent to git.
Git push over HTTPSPushing over https is supported in code but disabled because auth is a pain; use ssh.
Hiding unlisted repos
Readme Rendering
Syntax highlighting