Using Private Git Submodules¶
Warning
This guide is for Read the Docs for Business.
Read the Docs uses SSH keys (with read only permissions) in order to clone private repositories. A SSH key is automatically generated and added to your main repository, but not to your submodules. In order to give Read the Docs access to clone your submodules you’ll need to add the public SSH key to each repository of your submodules.
Note
You can manage which submodules Read the Docs should clone using a configuration file. See submodules.
Note
Make sure you are using SSH
URLs for your submodules
(git@github.com:readthedocs/readthedocs.org.git
for example)
in your .gitmodules
file, not http
URLs.
Table of contents
Copy your project’s SSH Key¶
You can find the public SSH key of your Read the Docs project by
Going to the Admin tab of your project
Click on SSH Keys
Click on the fingerprint of the SSH key (it looks like
6d:ca:6d:ca:6d:ca:6d:ca
)Copy the text from the
Public key
section
Note
The private part of the SSH key is kept secret.
Add the SSH key to your submodules¶
GitHub¶
For GitHub, Read the Docs uses deploy keys with read only access. Since GitHub doesn’t allow you to reuse a deploy key across different repositories, you’ll need to use machine users to give read access to several repositories using only one SSH key.
Remove the SSH deploy key that was added to the main repository on GitHub
Go to your project on GitHub
Click on Settings
Click on Deploy Keys
Delete the key added by
Read the Docs Commercial (readthedocs.com)
Create a GitHub user and give it read only permissions to all the necessary repositories. You can do this by adding the account as:
Attach the public SSH key from your project on Read the Docs to the GitHub user you just created
Go to the user’s settings
Click on SSH and GPG keys
Click on New SSH key
Put a descriptive title and paste the
Click on Add SSH key
GitLab¶
For GitLab, Read the Docs uses deploy keys with read only access, which allows you to reuse a SSH key across different repositories. Since Read the Docs already added the public SSH key on your main repository, you only need to add it to each repository of your submodules.
Go to the project of your submodule on GitLab
Click on Settings
Click on Repository
Expand the Deploy Keys section
Put a descriptive title and paste the
Click on Add key
Repeat the previous steps for each submodule
Bitbucket¶
For Bitbucket, Read the Docs uses access keys with read only access, which allows you to reuse a SSH key across different repositories. Since Read the Docs already set the public SSH key on your main repository, you only need to add it to each repository of your submodules.
Go to the project of your submodule on Bitbucket
Click on Settings
Click on Access keys
Click on Add key
Put a descriptive label and paste the
Click on Add key
Repeat the previous steps for each submodule
Others¶
If you are not using any of the above providers. Read the Docs will still generate a pair of SSH keys. You’ll need to add the public SSH key from your Read the Docs project to the main repository and each of its submodules. Refer to your provider’s documentation for the steps required to do this.