How to Self-Host Gitea on Hong Kong VPS: Private Git Server (2026)

August 9, 2026

Gitea is the most lightweight self-hosted Git platform — a single Go binary that provides GitHub-compatible repositories, pull requests, issue tracking, CI/CD (Gitea Actions, compatible with GitHub Actions syntax), and a web UI, all running on minimal hardware. Deployed on a Hong Kong VPS, it gives Asia-Pacific engineering teams a private code host with fast Git operations via CN2 GIA routing from mainland China, without GitHub’s per-seat pricing or data sovereignty concerns.

Why Self-Host Git?

Data sovereignty — source code stays on your infrastructure, not on GitHub’s US servers
China accessibility — GitHub is accessible from mainland China but slow and unreliable; Gitea on a Hong Kong VPS with CN2 GIA delivers fast git push/git pull for developers in China
Cost — GitHub Teams costs $4/user/month; Gitea on a VPS you already have costs nothing per user
Compliance — regulated industries requiring code to remain in controlled infrastructure
Full control — custom branch protection rules, webhook integrations, and mirror configurations

VPS Requirements

Gitea is remarkably efficient — 1 GB RAM handles dozens of active developers with hundreds of repositories. A 2 GB VPS comfortably serves most engineering teams.

Step 1: Install Gitea via Docker

apt update && apt upgrade -y
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
systemctl enable --now docker

mkdir -p /opt/gitea/{data,config}
chown -R 1000:1000 /opt/gitea

cat > /opt/gitea/docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
version: '3.8'

services:
  gitea:
    image: gitea/gitea:latest
    container_name: gitea
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"   # Web interface (proxied via Nginx)
      - "0.0.0.0:2222:22"       # Git SSH (direct — needed for git clone over SSH)
    environment:
      - USER_UID=1000
      - USER_GID=1000
      - GITEA__database__DB_TYPE=sqlite3
      - GITEA__server__DOMAIN=git.yourdomain.com
      - GITEA__server__ROOT_URL=https://git.yourdomain.com
      - GITEA__server__SSH_DOMAIN=git.yourdomain.com
      - GITEA__server__SSH_PORT=2222
      - GITEA__service__DISABLE_REGISTRATION=false
      - GITEA__service__REQUIRE_SIGNIN_VIEW=false
      - GITEA__mailer__ENABLED=true
      - GITEA__mailer__FROM=gitea@yourdomain.com
      - GITEA__mailer__PROTOCOL=smtp
      - GITEA__mailer__SMTP_ADDR=smtp.yourprovider.com
      - GITEA__mailer__SMTP_PORT=587
      - GITEA__mailer__USER=gitea@yourdomain.com
      - GITEA__mailer__PASSWD=YOUR_SMTP_PASSWORD
    volumes:
      - /opt/gitea/data:/data
      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
EOF

cd /opt/gitea && docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f gitea

Step 2: Configure Nginx with SSL

apt install -y nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

cat > /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitea << 'EOF'
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name git.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name git.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/git.yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/git.yourdomain.com/privkey.pem;

    # Allow large repository pushes
    client_max_body_size 512m;
    client_body_timeout 300s;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:3000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
        proxy_read_timeout 300s;
        proxy_buffering off;
    }
}
EOF

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitea /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
certbot --nginx -d git.yourdomain.com
nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

ufw allow 80/tcp && ufw allow 443/tcp && ufw allow 2222/tcp
ufw enable

Step 3: Initial Setup

Visit https://git.yourdomain.com — the first-time setup wizard appears:

Database: SQLite3 (suitable for teams under 50; use PostgreSQL for larger teams)
Repository root path: /data/gitea/repositories
Site title: Your organisation name
Administrator account: create your first admin user

After initial setup, configure in Site Administration → Settings:

Disable open registration if this is a private internal instance
Configure email confirmation for new accounts
Set default repository visibility to Private

Step 4: SSH Key Setup for Developers

<code"># Developer adds SSH key in Gitea: Settings → SSH/GPG Keys → Add Key
# Then clones via SSH on the custom port:
git clone ssh://git@git.yourdomain.com:2222/org/repo.git

# Or configure SSH client to use port 2222 automatically:
# In ~/.ssh/config on developer's machine:
Host git.yourdomain.com
    HostName git.yourdomain.com
    Port 2222
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

# With this config, standard git clone works:
git clone git@git.yourdomain.com:org/repo.git

Step 5: Mirror from GitHub

Gitea can mirror public or private GitHub repositories — useful for creating a local cache of dependencies or migrating from GitHub:

In Gitea: + New Repository → Migrate
Migration Source: GitHub
Enter repository URL and optionally a GitHub personal access token
Enable This repository will be a mirror
Mirror interval: every 8 hours

Gitea periodically syncs from GitHub, giving your team a local cache with fast access via CN2 GIA routing — git clone from your Gitea mirror in Hong Kong is dramatically faster for mainland Chinese developers than cloning directly from GitHub.com.

Step 6: Gitea Actions (CI/CD)

Gitea Actions is compatible with GitHub Actions workflow syntax — the same YAML, same on: push triggers, and many of the same actions.

<code"># Install Gitea Actions runner on your VPS or a separate machine
curl -L https://gitea.com/gitea/act_runner/releases/latest/download/act_runner-linux-amd64 \
  -o /usr/local/bin/act_runner
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/act_runner

# Register runner with your Gitea instance
act_runner register \
  --instance https://git.yourdomain.com \
  --token RUNNER_TOKEN_FROM_GITEA_ADMIN \
  --name hk-vps-runner \
  --labels ubuntu-latest

# Start runner as systemd service
cat > /etc/systemd/system/gitea-runner.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=Gitea Actions Runner
After=network.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/act_runner daemon
WorkingDirectory=/opt/gitea-runner
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

mkdir -p /opt/gitea-runner
systemctl enable --now gitea-runner

Example Workflow

<code"># .gitea/workflows/deploy.yml (GitHub Actions compatible syntax)
name: Deploy to Production

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - name: Deploy via SSH
        uses: appleboy/ssh-action@v1.0.3
        with:
          host: ${{ secrets.VPS_HOST }}
          username: ${{ secrets.VPS_USER }}
          key: ${{ secrets.VPS_SSH_KEY }}
          script: |
            cd /var/www/myapp
            git pull origin main
            npm install && npm run build
            pm2 reload myapp

Step 7: Migrate from GitHub

<code"># Migrate all repositories from a GitHub organisation
# Gitea admin: Site Administration → Git Repositories → Migrate → GitHub
# Or via Gitea API:

ORG="your-github-org"
GITEA_TOKEN="your-gitea-admin-token"
GITHUB_TOKEN="your-github-token"

# List GitHub repos and create mirrors in Gitea
curl -s "https://api.github.com/orgs/$ORG/repos?per_page=100" \
  -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_TOKEN" | \
  python3 -c "
import sys, json
repos = json.load(sys.stdin)
for r in repos:
    print(r['name'], r['clone_url'])
  " | while read NAME URL; do
  curl -s -X POST "https://git.yourdomain.com/api/v1/repos/migrate" \
    -H "Authorization: token $GITEA_TOKEN" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{\"clone_addr\":\"$URL\",\"repo_name\":\"$NAME\",\"mirror\":true,\"auth_token\":\"$GITHUB_TOKEN\"}"
done

Updating Gitea

<code">cd /opt/gitea
docker compose pull gitea
docker compose up -d
docker compose logs gitea | tail -20

Conclusion

Gitea on a Hong Kong VPS gives Asia-Pacific engineering teams a fast, private Git platform — git push and git clone over CN2 GIA routing completes in seconds for developers in mainland China, a significant improvement over direct GitHub access. Gitea Actions provides GitHub Actions-compatible CI/CD pipelines running on your own runner infrastructure, and the SQLite backend means zero database administration overhead for teams up to 50 developers.

Host your code privately: Browse Server.HK Hong Kong VPS plans — a 2 GB plan runs Gitea for a full engineering team alongside other services.

Why Self-Host Git?

VPS Requirements

Step 1: Install Gitea via Docker

Step 2: Configure Nginx with SSL

Step 3: Initial Setup

Step 4: SSH Key Setup for Developers

Step 5: Mirror from GitHub

Step 6: Gitea Actions (CI/CD)

Example Workflow

Step 7: Migrate from GitHub

Updating Gitea

Conclusion

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