Connecting to an SVN Server

This section describes how to connect to an SVN server without using a tunneling protocol. For information on connecting through SSH (or a custom tunnel) see Connecting to an SVN Server via a Tunnel.

  1. Select File > Add Repository… (or click the button located at the bottom of the source list and select Add Repository…)

  2. Select the SVN Server button at the top of the displayed sheet:

    SVN Server

  3. Select None to access a server without tunneling.
  4. Use the Server field to enter the name or IP address of the SVN server. Do not include the scheme (i.e. svn://) in this field.
  5. If your server is listening on a non-standard port (3690 for svn://) then enter the port number into the Port field. Leave this field blank if your server is using the standard port.
  6. Enter the relative path of the repository into the Repository Path field. You may also specify the path to a folder in the repository.
  7. For example, for the URL 
    svn://svn.myserver.org:3792/repos/project/trunk
    enter svn.myserver.org into the Server field, 3792 into the Port field and repos/project/trunk into the Repository Path field.
    The path entered into the Repository Path field should not be URL-encoded.
  8. Use the Nickname field to specify the name used to represent the repository in the source list.
  9. Specify the account name and password you use to access the repository.
  10. You can leave the Name field blank if you only require anonymous access.
    The value entered into the Name field should not be URL-encoded.
  11. Click the Add button to connect to the repository.

Cornerstone will attempt to contact the server and query information about the repository. The server must be reachable to successfully add a repository.

The sheet will autofill if the pasteboard contains an svn:// URL when the sheet is opened. You can click the Reset button to clear the autofilled contents if required.

Your account information is stored in your login keychain.

Starting with 1.1, Cornerstone does not share keychain items with the Subversion command-line tools. Users upgrading from 1.0 will be prompted for their password when they connect to the repository for the first time.

Security Considerations

You can use a tunnel such as SSH to connect to an SVN server. This practice is generally recommended when connecting to a repository via a public network such as the Internet. See Connecting to an SVN Server via a Tunnel for more information.

What about SASL?

SASL is an extensible service used by Subversion to add security to the SVN protocol. SASL can be used to add both authentication and encryption to SVN.

No client-side configuration is necessary to enable SASL services when connecting to an SVN server—the server defines the level of security required. The client will attempt meet these requirements, with the server refusing access if the client is unable to do so.