svnserve

Start as daemon serving repositories

$ svnserve -d -r [/path/to/repos]

$ svnserve -d --foreground -r [/path/to/repos]

$ svnserve -d -r [/path/to/repos] --listen-port [3690]

$ svnserve -d -r [/path/to/repos] --listen-host [192.168.1.1]

$ svnserve -i

$ svnserve -t

$ svnserve -d -r [/path/to/repos] --config-file [/etc/svnserve.conf]

svnserve [options]

svnserve is a lightweight server for Subversion repositories using Subversion's custom network protocol. It provides access to repositories via the svn:// and svn+ssh:// URL schemes.
The server supports multiple operating modes: as a standalone daemon listening on TCP port 3690, as an inetd/xinetd service, or as a tunnel process spawned by SSH. The tunnel mode allows secure access without exposing the svn port.
The -r option sets a virtual root, restricting client access to repositories under that path and simplifying URLs. Authentication can be configured per-repository or globally using a shared configuration file.
For high-traffic environments, svnserve supports thread pools instead of fork-per-connection.

-d, --daemon

Run as daemon, accepting TCP connections on svn port (3690).

Run in inetd mode using stdin/stdout.

Run in tunnel mode for SSH access, pre-authenticated.

Accept one connection, serve it, and exit.

Set virtual root for served repositories.

Listen on specified port (default 3690).

Listen on specified interface or hostname.

Stay in foreground (with -d), for debugging.

Override authenticated username in tunnel mode.

Use specified configuration file.

Write process ID to file.

Write logs to specified file.

Use threads instead of forking.

Minimum number of threads in pool.

Maximum number of threads in pool.

Display usage information.

Display version information.

Uses plain text authentication by default unless tunneled through SSH or configured for SASL. No built-in SSL support; use SSH tunneling or svn+ssh:// for encryption. Access control is less granular than Apache-based serving. Firewall must allow port 3690 for daemon mode.

svnserve was included in Subversion from early versions as a lightweight alternative to Apache-based repository serving. It provides faster setup and lower overhead for smaller deployments. The svn:// protocol was designed for simplicity while svn+ssh:// leverages SSH for authentication and encryption.

svnadmin(1), svn(1), xinetd(8), sshd(8)