Table of Contents (3.3.22)

# Running a smart server

Breezy does not require a specialised server because it operates over HTTP, FTP or SFTP. There is an optional smart server that can be invoked over SSH, from inetd, or in a dedicated mode.

## Dumb servers

We describe HTTP, FTP, SFTP and HTTP-WebDAV as “dumb” servers because they do not offer any assistance to Breezy. If you make a Breezy repository available over any of these protocols, Breezy will allow you to read it remotely. Just enter the URL to the branch in the Breezy command you are running.:

    brz log http://example.com/path/to/branch

Breezy supports writing over FTP, SFTP and (via a plugin) over HTTP-WebDAV.

## High-performance smart server

The high-performance smart server (hpss) performs certain operations much faster than dumb servers are capable of. In future releases, the range of operations that are improved by using the smart server will increase as we continue to tune performance.

To maintain the highest security possible, the current smart server provides read-only access by default. To enable read-write access, run it with `--allow-writes`. When using the SSH access method, brz automatically runs with the `--allow-writes` option.

The alternative ways of configuring a smart server are explained below.

### SSH

Using Breezy over SSH requires no special configuration on the server; so long as Breezy is installed on the server you can use `bzr+ssh` URLs, e.g.:

    brz log bzr+ssh://host/path/to/branch

If brz is not installed system-wide on the server you may need to explicitly tell the local brz where to find the remote brz:

    BZR_REMOTE_PATH=~/bin/brz brz log bzr+ssh://host/path/to/branch

The `BZR_REMOTE_PATH` environment variable adjusts how brz will be invoked on the remote system. By default, just brz will be invoked, which requires the brz executable to be on the default search path. You can also set this permanently per-location in `locations.conf`.

Like SFTP, paths starting with `~` are relative to your home directory, e.g. `bzr+ssh://example.com/~/code/proj`. Additionally, paths starting with `~user` will be relative to that user’s home directory.

### inetd

This example shows how to run brz with a dedicated user brzuser for a shared repository in `/srv/brz/repo` which has a branch at `/srv/brz/repo/branchname`.

Running a Breezy server from inetd requires an inetd.conf entry:

    4155  stream  TCP  nowait  brzuser  /usr/bin/brz /usr/bin/brz serve --inet --directory=/srv/brz/repo

When running client commands, the URL you supply is a bzr:// URL relative to the `--directory` option given in inetd.conf:

    brz log bzr://host/branchname

If possible, paths starting with `~` and `~user` will be expanded as for `bzr+ssh`. Home directories outside the `--directory` specified to `brz serve` will not be accessible.

### Dedicated

This mode has the same path and URL behaviour as the inetd mode. To run as a specific user, you should use `su` or login as that user.

This example runs brz on its official port number of 4155 and listens on all interfaces. This allows connections from anywhere in the world that can reach your machine on port 4155.

server:

    brz serve --directory=/srv/brz/repo

client:

    brz log bzr://host/branchname

This example runs `brz serve` on localhost port 1234.

server:

    brz serve --listen=localhost --port=1234 --directory=/srv/brz/repo

client:

    brz log bzr://localhost:1234/branchname