Setup Bitbucket Repository in cPanel

Bitbucket is a git based source code management (SCM) platform built for team collaboration to make code development simple and easy. Learn how to set up Bitbucket private repository in cPanel instead of traditional file uploads via file manager clients.

Git repository in cPanel has its benefits like it provides a centralized source for changes in code. Pulling changes in the cPanel repository is way easier and faster than manual file uploads. This post explains step by step how to configure the git repository in cPanel. Before you start, make sure you have:

Git Version Control support in cPanel.
Terminal enabled in the cPanel. Required for creating SSH keys, etc.

How to Clone Git Repository in cPanel

It is easy and simple to clone a repository in cPanel. Following are the main steps to clone git private repository in cPanel:

Create a Bitbucket repository.
Create SSH Keys in the cPanel.
Assign SSH Keys to the Bitbucket repository.
Clone the Bitbucket repository in cPanel.

Step 1: Create a Bitbucket Repository

Login to your Bitbucket account.
Navigate to the correct workspace. If you need to select a different work space, click the user avatar icon on top right. Then click "All Workspaces".
Click the "Create" button in the top menu and then click "Repository" in the dropdown.
Select a project or create a new one.
Enter a name for the repository.
Check Access Level to Private Repository.
Click "Create repository".

Step 2: Create SSH Keys in cPanel

Now that we have created our repository, we need SSH keys to generate before cloning the repository.

Login to your hosting server's client area and navigate to cPanel.
Open "Terminal" and run this command to generate the SSH key:
```
ssh-keygen -t rsa -f ~/.ssh/bitbucket-cpanel -b 4096 -C "bitbucket-cpanel"
```
-t rsa: indicates the algorithm of SSH key.
-f ~/.ssh/bitbucket-cpanel: indicates the name of the SSH key, including the path where key will be stored.
-b 4096: indicates the size of the SSH key.
-C "bitbucket-cpanel" indicates a comment for the SSH key. Useful in case you have multiple keys for different repositories. This comment will help to identify the key.
After you have run this command, it will ask for passphrase leave it empty and press enter twice.
Run this command to create a SSH configuration file
```
touch ~/.ssh/config
```
Run this command to change permissions of SSH config file.
```
chmod 0600 ~/.ssh/config
```
Run this command to change the user of SSH config file.
```
chown user:user ~/.ssh/config
```
Replace user in "user:user" with your cPanel username.

Now open ~/.ssh/config file in file manager and add the following to file.

Host bitbucket.org
AddKeysToAgent yes
Hostname bitbucket.org
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/bitbucket-cpanel

Step 3: Assign SSH Key to Bitbucket Repository

Now that we have created our SSH keys, we need to add them to our Bitbucket repository. So head back to the Bitbucket repository.

Click "Repository Settings" in the left side menu.
Click "Access Keys" in the left side menu.
Click the "Add Key" button.
Enter a nice descriptive label for the key.
Copy and paste the contents of "~/.ssh/bitbucket-cpanel.pub" either by opening it in cpanel or running the command "cat ~/.ssh/bitbucket-cpanel.pub" which will output the content of the key file in terminal. You can copy it from the terminal.
Finally, click "Add SSH Key".

Step 4: Clone Bitbucket Repository in cPanel

Now that we have added our key in Bitbucket, we can clone the repository in cPanel in two different ways: one is cloning it via Terminal command and the other is using the Git Version Control tool of cPanel.

4.1: Clone Repository via Terminal:

Go to repository home in Bitbucket.
Clone the SSH URL of the repository from clone modal.
Head back to the cPanel terminal.
Navigate to the directory where you want to clone this repository.
Paste the clone command you copied from Bitbucket.
Wait for cloning to complete, and that is it.

4.2: Clone Repository via Git Version Control:

I personally recommend this way to create/clone repository via Git Version Control Tool, as it will also create logs of commits and pulls. To clone repository via Git Version Control Tool:

Go to Git Version Control under "Files" section of your cPanel Tools.
Click the "Create" button.
Turn the option "Clone Repository" on if it is not on by default.
Enter the clone URL of your repository in the URL field. The URL should be in this format "[email protected]:username/bitbucket-cpanel.git" where username is your Bitbucket username.
Once the repository is detected, the "Repository Path" and "Repository Name" will be automatically filled. You can still change it as per your directory structure.
Click "Create", and that is it.

You can now pull changes in the cPanel repository manually accessing the Terminal or via SSH Agent from your local machine. In next the post, we will implement auto deployment for this repository so whenever changes are pushed to this repository, they will be updated in cPanel as well.

References:

Guide to Git™ - Set Up Access to Private Repositories