Before configuring your Windows Server as a Git host, ensure you have:

• Administrative access to the Windows Server (2012 R2 or newer recommended)
• Git for Windows installed (latest version of msysgit or Git for Windows)
• Proper network/firewall configuration for remote access (SSH or HTTPS)
• Basic familiarity with command-line Git operations

For a centralized repository structure similar to SVN trunk, create bare repositories for each project:

# SSH into your Windows server or use RDP
mkdir C:\GitRepos
cd C:\GitRepos

# Create main repository container
git init --bare AllProjects.git

# Create individual project repositories
git init --bare ProjectA.git
git init --bare ProjectB.git

Set proper NTFS permissions for your repository directory:

1. Right-click C:\GitRepos → Properties → Security
2. Add your developer group/users with Modify permissions
3. Ensure SYSTEM and Administrators have Full Control

Developers can clone these repositories using either SSH or file protocol:

# Using SSH (requires SSH server setup)
git clone ssh://username@serverIP/C:/GitRepos/ProjectA.git

# Using file protocol (for local network)
git clone file:////serverIP/GitRepos/ProjectA.git

For those preferring GUI tools:

• GitExtensions: Provides repository management through Windows Explorer context menu
• TortoiseGit: Integrates with Windows Shell for easy repository creation
• GitHub Desktop: Can connect to local repositories

Create a PowerShell script for batch repository setup:

# CreateGitRepos.ps1
param (
    [string]$repoPath = "C:\GitRepos",
    [string[]]$projectNames = @("WebApp", "MobileApp", "API")
)

foreach ($project in $projectNames) {
    $fullPath = Join-Path -Path $repoPath -ChildPath "$project.git"
    git init --bare $fullPath
    Write-Host "Created repository at $fullPath"
}

For internet-accessible repositories:

1. Configure Windows Firewall to allow Git port (default 9418 for Git protocol)
2. Consider using Git over SSH (port 22) for encrypted communication
3. Implement certificate-based authentication for additional security

• Regularly run git gc on repositories to optimize storage
• Set up automated backups of the GitRepos directory
• Monitor repository growth using git count-objects -v

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When setting up Git on a Windows server for team collaboration, you typically need two components:

• A central repository server (analogous to SVN's trunk)
• Multiple project repositories under this central structure

While MSYSGit works for local operations, for server setup I recommend:

1. Git for Windows (modern replacement for MSYSGit)
2. Bonobo Git Server (lightweight IIS-based Git server with GUI)

1. Install Git for Windows on your server:

choco install git -y

2. Install Bonobo via Web Platform Installer or manually:

Install-Package Bonobo-Git-Server

Create your root directory structure:

mkdir C:\GitRepos
cd C:\GitRepos
mkdir ProjectA.git
mkdir ProjectB.git
cd ProjectA.git
git init --bare

Configure proper NTFS permissions for your team:

icacls "C:\GitRepos" /grant "DOMAIN\Developers:(OI)(CI)(M)"

Team members can clone using:

git clone http://yourserver/Bonobo.Git.Server/ProjectA.git

For developers using Visual Studio:

1. Add the remote in Team Explorer
2. Use the built-in Git tools for commits
3. Push to your central server

Create a PowerShell script for new projects:

param($projectName)
$repoPath = "C:\GitRepos\$projectName.git"
mkdir $repoPath
cd $repoPath
git init --bare
Write-Host "Created new repository at $repoPath"