forgejo-autohebergement/docs/QUICKSTART.md

Quick Start Guide - 15 Minutes to Forgejo

Get your Forgejo instance running in 15 minutes.

Prerequisites Check (2 minutes)

# Install required tools (if not installed)
# macOS:
brew install terraform terragrunt ansible

# Ubuntu/Debian:
sudo apt-get install terraform ansible # (or look for instructions to do this using a virtualenv for ansible)
curl -L https://github.com/gruntwork-io/terragrunt/releases/download/v0.50.0/terragrunt_linux_amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/terragrunt
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/terragrunt

# Verify installations
make check-deps

Step 1: Cloud Provider Setup (3 minutes)

Option A: Scaleway

1. Create account at https://console.scaleway.com
2. Generate API credentials: Console → IAM → API Keys
3. Export credentials:

export SCW_ACCESS_KEY="SCW..."
export SCW_SECRET_KEY="..."
export SCW_DEFAULT_PROJECT_ID="..." #bear in mind, you might want a project ID other than the default

Option B: Hetzner

1. Create account at https://console.hetzner.cloud
2. Generate API token: Security → API Tokens
3. Export token:

export HCLOUD_TOKEN="..."

Step 2: Configuration (5 minutes)

Configure Domain

# terraform/scaleway/compute/terraform.tfvars (or hetzner)
domain_name = "git.yourdomain.com"

Generate Secrets

# Generate strong passwords
openssl rand -base64 32  # Database password
openssl rand -base64 32  # Admin password
openssl rand -base64 48  # Secret key
openssl rand -base64 48  # Internal token
openssl rand -base64 48  # JWT secret

Configure Secrets

cd ansible/playbooks/vars
cp secrets.yml.example secrets.yml

# Edit with generated passwords
$EDITOR secrets.yml

# Encrypt
ansible-vault encrypt secrets.yml
# Enter vault password (remember this!)

Update Inventory

$EDITOR ansible/inventory/production/hosts.yml

Change:

• forgejo_domain: git.yourdomain.com
• letsencrypt_email: your@email.com

Step 3: Deploy (5 minutes)

# Create infrastructure
make terraform-apply PROVIDER=scaleway  # or hetzner

# Get server IP
make terraform-output PROVIDER=scaleway

# Create DNS A record
# git.yourdomain.com → <server-ip>

# Wait 2 minutes for DNS propagation

# Update inventory with server IP
$EDITOR ansible/inventory/production/hosts.yml
# Change: ansible_host: <your-server-ip>

# Deploy Forgejo
make deploy
# Enter vault password when prompted

Step 4: Access (1 minute)

Visit: https://git.yourdomain.com

First Login:

1. Complete installation wizard
2. Login with admin credentials from vault
3. Create your first repository!

Next Steps

• Configure SSH key: Settings → SSH Keys
• Create organization
• Import repositories
• Set up webhooks
• Configure CI/CD with Forgejo Actions
• Invite team members

Troubleshooting

Can't connect to server?

make ansible-ping

SSL certificate not working?

• Wait 5 minutes for Let's Encrypt
• Check DNS: dig git.yourdomain.com

Service not starting?

make logs
make status

Need to start over?

make terraform-destroy PROVIDER=scaleway
# Then start from Step 3

Daily Operations

# Create backup
make backup

# Update Forgejo
make update

# View logs
make logs

# SSH into server
make ssh

# Check health
make health

Cost Per Month (in January 2026)

• Scaleway: ~€9/month
• Hetzner: ~€8/month

vs GitHub Enterprise: €19/user/month

Support

• Check logs: make logs
• View status: make status
• Full docs: README.md
• Troubleshooting: README.md#troubleshooting

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That's it! You now have a production-ready Forgejo instance running on European infrastructure. 🎉