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diff --git a/doc/development/shared_files.md b/doc/development/shared_files.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..fcd905b54a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/development/shared_files.md @@ -0,0 +1,33 @@ +# Shared files + +Historically, GitLab has been storing shared files in many different +directories: `public/uploads`, `builds`, `tmp/repositories`, `tmp/rebase` (EE), +etc. Having so many shared directories makes it difficult to deploy GitLab on +shared storage (e.g. NFS). Working towards GitLab 9.0 we are consolidating +these different directories under the `shared` directory. + +This means that if GitLab will start storing puppies in some future version +then we should put them in `shared/puppies`. Temporary puppy files should be +stored in `shared/tmp`. + +In the GitLab application code you can get the full path to the `shared` +directory with `Gitlab.config.shared.path`. + +## What is not a 'shared file' + +Files that belong to only one process, or on only one server, should not go in +`shared`. Examples include PID files and sockets. + +## Temporary files and shared storage + +Sometimes you create a temporary file on disk with the intention of it becoming +'official'. For example you might be first streaming an upload from a user to +disk in a temporary file so you can perform some checks on it. When the checks +pass, you make the file official. In scenarios like this please follow these +rules: + +- Store the temporary file under `shared/tmp`, i.e. on the same filesystem you + want the official file to be on. +- Use move/rename operations when operating on the file instead of copy + operations where possible, because renaming a file is much faster than + copying it. |