Using a git bundle to fetch the I2P source code
===============================================

Cloning large software repositories over I2P can be difficult, and using
git can sometimes make this harder. Fortunately, it can also sometimes
make it easier. Git has a ``git bundle`` command which can be used to
turn a git repository into a file which git can then clone, fetch, or
import from a location on your local disk. By combining this capability
with bittorrent downloads, we can solve our remaining problems with
``git clone``.

Before you Start
----------------

If you intend to generate a git bundle, you **must** already possess a
full copy of the **git** repository, not the mtn repository. You can get
it from github or from git.idk.i2p, but a shallow clone(a clone done to
–depth=1) *will not* *work*. It will fail silently, creating what looks
like a bundle, but when you try to clone it it will fail. If you are
just retrieving a pre-generated git bundle, then this section does not
apply to you.

Fetching I2P Source via Bittorrent
----------------------------------

Someone will need to supply you with a torrent file or a magnet link
corresponding to an existing ``git bundle`` that they have already
generated for you. A recent, correctly-generated bundle of the mainline
i2p.i2p source code as-of Wednesday, March 18, 2020, can be found inside
of I2P at my pastebin
`paste.idk.i2p/f/4hq37i <http://paste.idk.i2p/f/4h137i>`__.

Once you have a bundle, you will need to use git to create a working
repository from it. If you’re using GNU/Linux and i2psnark, the git
bundle should be located in $HOME/.i2p/i2psnark or, as a service on
Debian, /var/lib/i2p/i2p-config/i2psnark. If you are using BiglyBT on
GNU/Linux, it is probably at “$HOME/BiglyBT Downloads/” instead. The
examples here assume I2PSnark on GNU/Linux, if you use something else,
replace the path to the bundle with the download directory preferred by
your client and platform.

Using ``git clone``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cloning from a git bundle is easy, just:

::

       git clone $HOME/.i2p/i2psnark/i2p.i2p.bundle

If you get the following error, try using git init and git fetch
manually instead.

::

       fatal: multiple updates for ref 'refs/remotes/origin/master' not allowed

Using ``git init`` and ``git fetch``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, create an i2p.i2p directory to turn into a git repository.

::

       mkdir i2p.i2p && cd i2p.i2p

Next, initialize an empty git repository to fetch changes back into.

::

       git init

Finally, fetch the repository from the bundle.

::

       git fetch $HOME/.i2p/i2psnark/i2p.i2p.bundle

Replace the bundle remote with the upstream remote
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now that you have a bundle, you can keep up with changes by setting the
remote to the upstream repository source.

::

       git remote set-url origin git@127.0.0.1:i2p-hackers/i2p.i2p

Generating a Bundle
-------------------

First, follow the `Git guide for Users <GIT.md>`__ until you have a
successfully ``--unshallow``\ ed clone of clone of the i2p.i2p
repository. If you already have a clone, make sure you run
``git fetch --unshallow`` before you generate a torrent bundle.

Once you have that, simply run the corresponding ant target:

::

       ant bundle

and copy the resulting bundle into your I2PSnark downloads directory.
For instance:

::

       cp i2p.i2p.bundle* $HOME/.i2p/i2psnark/

In a minute or two, I2PSnark will pick up on the torrent. Click on the
“Start” button to begin seeding the torrent.