hgweb

hgweb is the web interface distributed with Mercurial that provides browser-based access to Mercurial repositories. It renders repository data as HTML, allowing users to browse changesets, view diffs, inspect file contents, and explore history and branches without using the command line.

hgweb is implemented in Python and can be served by standard web servers either as a CGI script for individual repositories (hgweb) or as a CGI server handling a directory of repositories (hgwebdir). It can also be run via a WSGI server in modern deployments. The configuration is managed with a configuration file, commonly hgweb.config, which maps URLs to repository paths and sets display and access options.

Features include per-repository navigation of changesets, diffs, and files; viewing of file history, annotations, and tags; search capabilities and cross-linked pages for related changesets. The interface aims to provide a convenient alternative to the Mercurial command line for readers and collaborators.

Access is typically read-only for public repositories, though administrators can configure authentication and authorization to restrict or allow pushes in some setups. Security considerations usually favor HTTPS and external authentication mechanisms, or serving via SSH and a non-HTTP push flow.

Usage: Administrators point a web server to the appropriate hgweb or hgwebdir script and supply hgweb.config; users access the repository via a browser URL and browse its history and contents. hgweb complements other Mercurial workflows by offering a straightforward, browsable repository overview.