Git is one of the most popular version control systems currently available, and several thousands of projects, new and old, have started using it in the past few years. You might have also used it, and shortly after, realized that Git does not do much for Access Control by itself. You need an access control system that is simple and quick to install and get running, yet flexible and powerful enough for your future needs.

This chapter will describe what Gitolite is, and why you might need it. It shows a few examples of the basic features, and also shows you how you can try out Gitolite safely. It assumes that you have some basic knowledge of Git, and have used Git both locally and with a remote repository.