Repositories

Finding repositories

The home page lists the repositories seeded by this Radish instance. Each card shows the name, description, recent activity, and totals for commits, issues, and patches. Clicking a card opens the repository.

To open a repo by RID directly, navigate to /<rid> — Radicle Identifiers are the canonical way to reference a project across the network.

Reading the source

• README. The repository home page renders the README at the root of the default branch as Markdown, with relative links and images rewritten to point at the right blob/raw routes.
• Tree. Click any directory to drill into it. The sidebar shows siblings of the file you're currently viewing for quick switching.
• Blob. Files are syntax-highlighted. Markdown files render as prose by default, with a tab to toggle to source.
• Raw. The /raw/ route serves the underlying bytes — useful for downloads or direct embedding.

Switching branch and peer

Radicle repositories aren't a single tree; every peer who has worked on them publishes their own view. The branch dropdown at the top of any tree page lets you:

• Pick the canonical branch — the version agreed on by the repo's delegates.
• Browse a peer's branches — useful for reviewing in-progress work that hasn't merged yet.
• Filter the list by typing in the search box at the top.

The branch you're on is encoded in the URL as a ?branch= query parameter, so a link to a specific peer's view of a file is shareable as-is.

Commits

The Commits tab shows the linear history of the current branch. Click any commit to see its message, author, and a full diff. From inside a tree page, the Last commit indicator links to the most recent commit that touched the directory or file you're looking at.

Cloning

Every public repository page has a Clone button in the header. The options shown depend on your sign-in status:

• rad clone <rid> — uses the Radicle CLI to fetch from the peer-to-peer network. Requires a local Radicle install. Always shown.
• Git (SSH) — if you are signed in, have at least one SSH public key registered, and the instance has the SSH bridge configured, the clone dialog shows the SSH URL (git@<radish-host>:<rid>) instead of the anonymous HTTP URL. This is the push-capable transport.
• Git (anonymous pull) — shown when you are not signed in, or when you have no SSH keys. Uses git clone <radish-url>/git/<rid>.git over HTTP. No sign-in or Radicle install needed; private repos are not exposed.

If the SSH bridge is configured but you don't yet have an SSH key, the clone dialog shows a link to add one. If you are not signed in, it shows a link to log in.

Pushing commits

To push commits as a delegate via the Radish bridge:

1. Add an SSH public key under Profile → Identity & Keys → Git SSH Keys. The key authenticates the connection — Radish never sees your SSH private key.
2. Clone with the SSH URL from the Clone popover. Make commits as you would on any Git host.
3. git push. Radish accepts the pack into your peer's namespace inside Radicle storage and signs the resulting refs with your Radicle key (loaded server-side or fetched from your .radish repo on GitHub). Radish then announces the change to the network.

Pushes are only accepted from delegates of the repo. If you're not a delegate, ask one to add you under Settings → Delegates.

Creating a new repository

1. Click New repository in the top bar (you must be signed in).
2. Pick a name (letters, numbers, hyphens, dots, underscores) and an optional description.
3. Set the default branch if you want something other than main.
4. Toggle Private if only delegates should be able to see the repo. Public is the default.
5. Submit. Radish initialises the repository, signs the identity document with your key, and registers you as the sole delegate.

The new repo appears immediately on the home page (or only to you, if private). You can clone it locally, push commits via Radicle or Git, or start filing issues right away.

Public vs. private

A private repository is only visible to its delegates — the same key set that's allowed to mutate the identity document. Anyone else who tries to load it gets a 404, even if they happen to know the RID.

Privacy is enforced on read, but Radicle is a peer-to-peer system: copies of the data may exist on peers who saw it before it was marked private. Treat private repos as access-controlled, not as secret-storage.