3rd-party binaries in Windows Git Bash

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<h1 class="title">3rd-party binaries in Windows Git Bash</h1>

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<h1 id="the-claim">The Claim</h1>

<p>“Git for Windows provides a BASH emulation used to run Git from the command line. <strong>*NIX users should feel right at home</strong>, as the BASH emulation behaves just like the”git" command in LINUX and UNIX environments." <a href="https://gitforwindows.org/">Git For Windows</a></p>

</blockquote>

<p>“..<strong>Linux users should feel right at home</strong>..” - Running <code>git</code> commands is quite straight forward, but what about running 3rd-party Windows binaries, and make them available in Windows Git Bash?</p>

<p>To make sure we’re on the same page - when I refer to binary files, I mean Windows executable (*.exe) files.</p>

<p>A possible solution to that is adding the binary file to PATH, but what if there’s a simpler solution?</p>

<h1 id="the-demand">The Demand</h1>

<p>Sometimes I work from home on my Desktop machine which has Windows installed on it. I need the ability to run <a href="https://github.com/99designs/aws-vault">aws-vault</a> in <a href="https://gitforwindows.org/">Git Bash</a> terminal, while using <a href="https://code.visualstudio.com/">Visual Studio Code</a>. Since aws-vault doesn’t come out-of-the-box with Git Bash, I am seeking for a simple solution.</p>

<p>I’m going to show you how we can supply the demand by presenting two examples.</p>

<h2 id="st-example-one-binary-file">1st Example: One Binary File</h2>

<p>And of course, let’s take <code>aws-vault</code> for this example, a binary file that doesn’t have any dependencies on other data.</p>

<li>Download <strong>Windows</strong> release of the binary

<ul>

<li>In our case, <a href="https://github.com/99designs/aws-vault/releases">aws-vault/releases</a></li>

</ul></li>

<li>Rename the binary file to a name that would make sense

<ul>

<li>In our case, <code>aws-vault-windows-386.exe</code> to <code>aws-vault.exe</code></li>

</ul></li>

<li>Copy the file you renamed to <code>C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin\</code>

<ul>

<li>In our case, <code>aws-vault.exe</code> to <code>C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin\</code></li>

</ul></li>

<li>Open a new Git Bash terminal, and execute <code>aws-vault</code></li>

</ol>

<h3 id="what-just-happened">What just happened?</h3>

<p>We’ve made the command <code>aws-vault</code> available because we copied the file <code>aws-vault.exe</code> to the <code>/usr/bin/</code> folder. All binary files that reside in this folder are available in Windows Git Bash, from any <em>current working directory</em>.</p>

<p>And of course, you can do the same thing with <a href="https://www.terraform.io">Terraform</a>. Download <a href="https://www.terraform.io/downloads.html">Terraform for Windows</a> (I’m using 64bit). Extract <code>terraform.exe</code> from Zip file and copy to <code>C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin\</code>. Voila! You can now use <code>terraform</code> in Git Bash. As long as you run Terraform in Git Bash, there’s no need to add anything to PATH, since we’re using Git Bash <code>/usr/bin</code> executables instead of using Windows’s environment variables.</p>

<h2 id="nd-example-library-of-binaries">2nd Example: Library of binaries</h2>

<p>It’s going to be a bit trickier, but once you truly understand how it works, you’ll be able to implement this method with any library of binaries.</p>

<p>Let’s take <code>apache2</code> for this example. First of all, we need to <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=apache%20windows">Google for Apache’s Windows release</a> Clicking the first search result got me here <a href="https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/platform/windows.html">Apache for Windows</a></p>

<p><strong>Important</strong>! I chose to download <a href="https://www.apachehaus.com/cgi-bin/download.plx">ApacheHaus</a> 2.4.41 x64, no need to install Bitnami WAMP Stack or WampServer, we only need the binaries. Another alternative would be <a href="https://www.apachelounge.com/download/">Apache Lounge</a></p>

<p>And now for the recipe</p>

<li>Extract zip file to a folder, give the folder a meaningful name

<ul>

<li>In our case, <code>httpd-2.4.41-o102s-x64-vc14-r2.zip</code> to <code>apache2</code></li>

</ul></li>

<li>Copy the folder to <code>C:\Program Files\Git\usr\lib\</code>

<ul>

<li><p>In our case, <code>C:\Program Files\Git\usr\lib\apache2</code></p>

</ul></li>

<li>Apply required configuration (if necessary), and test the execution of the relevant binary file

<ul>

<li><p>In our case, run Notepad/<a href="https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/">Notepad++</a> in elevated mode (Run as Administrator)</p></li>

<li><p>Edit the file <code>C:\Program Files\Git\usr\lib\apache2\conf\httpd.conf</code></p></li>

<li><p>Replace <code>Define SRVROOT "/Apache24"</code> With <code>Define SRVROOT "C:\Program Files\Git\usr\lib\apache2"</code> If you wonder how I know that - <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/a/49740137/5285732">Stackoverflow answer</a></p></li>

<li><p>The file we need to execute is <code>C:\Program Files\Git\usr\lib\apache2\bin\httpd.exe</code> Execute in Git Bash (must be with elevated permissions):</p>

<div class="sourceCode" id="cb1"><pre class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb1-1"><a href="#cb1-1"></a>$ <span class="ex">/usr/lib/apache2/bin/httpd.exe</span></span></code></pre></div>

<p>If all goes according to plan (fingers crossed), Windows Firewall will prompt to <em>Allow Access</em>, and then the Apache server will start running. To verify that it works, open your browser and navigate to <a href="http://localhost:80">localhost</a> To shutdown Apache server, click on the Git Bash window, hit ESC and then CTRL+C</p></li>

</ul></li>

<li>Create a script in <code>/usr/bin/</code> that will execute the relevant binary file (sort of a shortcut)

<ul>

<li><p>In our case, execute in Git Bash:</p>

<div class="sourceCode" id="cb2"><pre class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb2-1"><a href="#cb2-1"></a>$ <span class="bu">echo</span> <span class="st">"/usr/lib/apache2/bin/httpd.exe"</span> <span class="op">></span> apache2</span></code></pre></div>

<p>Now each time that we execute <code>apache2</code>, it will run <code>httpd.exe</code></p></li>

</ul></li>

<li>Execute the script to make sure everything works as expected

<ul>

<li><p>In our case, execute in Git Bash</p>

<div class="sourceCode" id="cb3"><pre class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb3-1"><a href="#cb3-1"></a>$ <span class="ex">apache2</span></span></code></pre></div>

<p>Apache is up and running. To shutdown Apache server, click on the Git Bash window, hit ESC and then CTRL+C</p></li>

</ul></li>

</ol>

<h1 id="tips-tricks">Tips & Tricks</h1>

<ul>

<li><p><a href="https://linux.die.net/man/1/ln">Symlinks</a> doesn’t work well in Git Bash, so avoid using them. Instead, use the methods described above</p></li>

<li><p>Avoid using this method with binary folders that have multi-configuration steps. Instead, use <a href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-win10">Windows Subsystem for Linux</a> or run a Virtual Machine with Linux installed, for example <a href="https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads">Oracle VirtualBox for Linux Hosts</a></p></li>

<li><p>Create a shortcut to Git Bash as an administrator; it’s especially useful if you use Git Bash in Visual Studio Code. Here’s how you can do it in 6 clicks</p>

<table>

<thead>

<th>Mouse Button</th>

<th>Color</th>

</tr>

</thead>

<tbody>

<td>Right</td>

<td>Yellow</td>

</tr>

<td>Green</td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>

<li><p>To run Apache in the background (or any other process), add an ampersand (&) after the command</p>

<div class="sourceCode" id="cb4"><pre class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb4-1"><a href="#cb4-1"></a>$ <span class="ex">apache2</span> <span class="kw">&</span></span>

<li><p>Shutdown apache2 process</p>

<div class="sourceCode" id="cb5"><pre class="sourceCode bash"><code class="sourceCode bash"><span id="cb5-1"><a href="#cb5-1"></a>$ <span class="fu">ps</span> <span class="co"># report a snapshot of the current processes</span></span>

<span id="cb5-2"><a href="#cb5-2"></a> <span class="ex">PID</span> PPID PGID WINPID TTY UID STIME COMMAND</span>

<span id="cb5-6"><a href="#cb5-6"></a><span class="ex">7132</span> 1 7132 7132 ? 197609 18:56:36 /usr/bin/ssh-agent</span>

<span id="cb5-8"><a href="#cb5-8"></a><span class="ex">11520</span> 19852 19852 10000 cons1 197609 19:05:46 /usr/lib/apache2/bin/httpd</span>

<span id="cb5-10"><a href="#cb5-10"></a>[<span class="ex">1</span>]+ Terminated apache2</span></code></pre></div></li>

<li><p>Now it really feels like home</p></li>

</ul>

<p>Did you like this tutorial? Clap/heart/unicorn and share it with your friends and colleagues.</p>

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‍

Meir Gabay

Operations Engineer

Meir is an experienced automation engineer and a certified AWS solutions architect. He has four years of experience as Operations and Automation at NICE's training department. With knowledge in web development, both server-side and front-end. The critical thing that motivates him while working with customers - "To continue evolving and improving independently, a customer needs to know how the solution works." While Meir is not helping customers, you'll find him studying new technologies and writing a blog post of what he had learned.

3rd-party binaries in Windows Git Bash

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