Subversion FAQ - Read this first

QUESTION
I CANNOT COMMIT. IS YOUR SUBVERSION BROKEN?

99% of the time when this happens, you are behind a proxy firewall that does not correctly pass subversion commit messages. Often you will get a “propfind error”.

The solution is simple. You can bypass the proxy by using “https” with your subversion URL, instead of using http.

QUESTION:
When I select the import links on my Trac/SVN page, I get “No Admin Pages Available”. How can I fix this?

You get this message if you are not logged in to Trac, which we use to administer Subversion. This is a problem with our authentication system. Please select the “login” link on the top of the Trac page, and log in with your Assembla username and password. Then you will be able to go to the admin pages.

QUESTION
How can I import or export a subversion repository? Trac tickets?

You can find forms for importing and exporting svn repositories in Trac. Go to your Trac and log in as a space owner. You will see an Admin tab on the top right. Select Admin, and select “Data Import/Export” from the left menu. There is a link to export the svn repository, and a form to upload a zipped Subversion repository dump. There are also forms for uploading and exporting trac directories. We currently use trac 0.10.4.

QUESTION
Can I back up my Trac instance or Subversion repository?

• We backup internally every day.
• Subversion, on the new servers, is backed up in real-time after every commit.
• You can back up your trac and svn data from the Trac admin menu. Go to trac and log in as a space owner. Select the Admin tab in the top right. Select “Data Import/Export”. You will find options to export your subversion repository and trac database.
• If you subscribe to commercial spaces (for a low monthly fee) we will automatically send your subversion repository to your Amazon S3 account every night.

We have never had an instance of data loss.

QUESTION
Can I edit my Subversion repository to remove a version, or remove old files from old versions?

No. Subversion does not support an “obliterate” command that removes old versions. This is a subject of some controversy in the Subversion community.

To get rid of your old versions, you will need to create an empty subversion repository, commit the current version of the code to it, and then import it over the old repository. You can do this locally, or you can make a new space on Assembla with a blank repository.