## Pre-Flight

-   Running SubVersion 1.4.2 on CentOS 5.5 (x64)
-   For this guide, my repository is located at `/home/svn/repository`
-   I'll be using `mailer.py` instead of `commit-email.pl`
    -   The former is more configurable and can be used on a
        per-directory basis. This is useful if you have many projects in
        a single repo.

## Setup

### Copy over the sample `post-commit` hook

**Permissions and ownership** are vitally important here!

    cp hooks/post-commit.tmpl hooks/post-commit
    chmod 770 hooks/post-commit
    chown apache:apache hooks/post-commit

Now edit `hooks/post-commit` and add this line:

    /usr/share/doc/subversion-1.4.2/tools/hook-scripts/mailer/mailer.py commit "$REPOS" "$REV"

Comment out these lines:

    commit-email.pl "$REPOS" "$REV" commit-watchers@example.org
    log-commit.py --repository "$REPOS" --revision "$REV"

### Configure email alerts for a repository

First copy over the sample mailer config:

    cp /usr/share/doc/subversion-1.4.2/tools/hook-scripts/mailer/mailer.conf.example conf/mailer.conf

A general file looks like this:

    [general]
    mail_command = /usr/sbin/sendmail
    smtp_hostname = localhost

    [defaults]
    diff = /usr/bin/diff -u -L %(label_from)s -L %(label_to)s %(from)s %(to)s
    commit_subject_prefix = "[SVN - IT Scripts]"
    propchange_subject_prefix =
    lock_subject_prefix =
    unlock_subject_prefix =
    from_addr = donotreply@svn.eng.uiowa.edu
    to_addr = foo@uiowa.edu bar@gmail.com
    reply_to = donotreply@svn.eng.uiowa.edu
    generate_diffs = add copy modify
    show_nonmatching_paths = yes
    suppress_deletes = yes

    [maps]

The various options should be self-explanatory. A test commit should work at this point.

### Configuring alerts for specific folders

Let's say that a specific group of people is to know if commits are made to the `firewall_scripts` folder. In that case:

    [firewall_scripts]
    for_paths = ^firewall_scripts($|/)
    commit_subject_prefix = "[SVN - Firewall Scripts]"
    from_addr = donotreply@svn.eng.uiowa.edu
    to_addr = it-admins@genome.uiowa.edu

### Testing things out

You don't necessarily need to commit things to test out the config.

    sh hooks/post-commit /home/svn/repository 195

Where the last two arguments are the path to the repo and the revision number.

## Tip of the Iceberg

There are *tons* of things you can do with `mailer.conf` in a large and/or complicated setting. The best way to get acquainted with its features is to essentially read the default file to figure out what it's capable of. Reading others' config files also helps :)