git-annex/doc/special_remotes/tahoe.mdwn

This special remote stores file contents using
[Tahoe-LAFS](http://tahoe-lafs.org/). There are a number of commercial
providers, or you can build your own tahoe storage grid.

Since Tahoe-LAFS encrypts all data stored in it, git-annex does not do any
additional encryption of its own.

Note that data stored in a tahoe remote cannot be dropped from it, as 
Tahoe-LAFS does not support removing data once it is stored in the Tahoe grid.
This, along with Tahoe's ability to recover data when some nodes fail,
makes a tahoe special remote an excellent choice for storing backups.

Typically you will have an account on a Tahoe-LAFS storage grid, which
is represented by an "introducer furl". You need to supply this to
git-annex in the `TAHOE_FURL` environment variable when initializing the
remote. git-annex will then generate a tahoe configuration directory for
the remote under `~/.tahoe/git-annex/`, and automatically start the tahoe
daemon as needed.

## configuration

These parameters can be passed to `git annex initremote` to configure
the tahoe remote.

* `embedcreds` - Optional. Set to "yes" embed the tahoe credentials 
  (specifically the introducer furl and shared-convergence-secret)
  inside the git repository, which allows other clones to also use them
  in order to access the tahoe grid.

  Think carefully about who can access your git repository, and
  whether you want to give them access to your tahoe system before
  using embedcreds!

Setup example:

	# TAHOE_FURL=... git annex initremote tahoe type=tahoe embedcreds=yes

## old version of tahoe special remote

An older implementation of tahoe for git-annex used
the hook special remote. It is not compatible with this newer
implementation. See
[[tahoe-lafs|forum/tips:_special__95__remotes__47__hook_with_tahoe-lafs]].