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+.. _intro_toplevel:
+
+==================
+Overview / Install
+==================
+
+GitPython is a python library used to interact with git repositories, high-level like git-porcelain, or low-level like git-plumbing.
+
+It provides abstractions of git objects for easy access of repository data, and additionally allows you to access the git repository more directly using either a pure python implementation, or the faster, but more resource intensive git command implementation.
+
+The object database implementation is optimized for handling large quantities of objects and large datasets, which is achieved by using low-level structures and data streaming.
+
+Requirements
+============
+
+* `Git`_ 1.7.0 or newer
+    It should also work with older versions, but it may be that some operations
+    involving remotes will not work as expected.
+* `GitDB`_ - a pure python git database implementation
+
+ * `async`_ - asynchronous task scheduling
+ 
+* `Python Nose`_ - used for running the tests
+* `Mock by Michael Foord`_ used for tests. Requires version 0.5
+
+.. _Git: http://git-scm.com/
+.. _Python Nose: http://code.google.com/p/python-nose/
+.. _Mock by Michael Foord: http://www.voidspace.org.uk/python/mock.html
+.. _GitDB: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/gitdb
+.. _async: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/async
+
+Installing GitPython
+====================
+
+Installing GitPython is easily done using
+`setuptools`_. Assuming it is
+installed, just run the following from the command-line:
+
+.. sourcecode:: none
+
+    # easy_install GitPython
+
+This command will download the latest version of GitPython from the
+`Python Package Index <http://pypi.python.org/pypi/GitPython>`_ and install it
+to your system. More information about ``easy_install`` and pypi can be found
+here:
+
+* `setuptools`_
+* `install setuptools <http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/EasyInstall#installation-instructions>`_
+* `pypi <http://pypi.python.org/pypi/SQLAlchemy>`_
+
+.. _setuptools: http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/setuptools
+
+Alternatively, you can install from the distribution using the ``setup.py``
+script:
+
+.. sourcecode:: none
+
+    # python setup.py install
+    
+.. note:: In this case, you have to manually install `GitDB`_ and `async`_ as well. It would be recommended to use the :ref:`git source repository <source-code-label>` in that case.
+
+Getting Started
+===============
+
+* :ref:`tutorial-label` - This tutorial provides a walk-through of some of
+  the basic functionality and concepts used in GitPython. It, however, is not
+  exhaustive so you are encouraged to spend some time in the
+  :ref:`api_reference_toplevel`.
+
+API Reference
+=============
+
+An organized section of the GitPthon API is at :ref:`api_reference_toplevel`.
+
+.. _source-code-label:
+
+Source Code
+===========
+
+GitPython's git repo is available on Gitorious and GitHub, which can be browsed at:
+
+ * http://gitorious.org/projects/git-python/
+ * http://github.com/Byron/GitPython
+
+and cloned using::
+
+	$ git clone git://gitorious.org/git-python/mainline.git git-python
+	$ git clone git://github.com/Byron/GitPython.git git-python
+	
+Initialize all submodules to obtain the required dependencies with::
+    
+    $ cd git-python
+    $ git submodule update --init --recursive
+    
+Finally verify the installation by running the `nose powered <http://code.google.com/p/python-nose/>`_ unit tests::
+    
+    $ nosetests
+    
+Mailing List
+============
+http://groups.google.com/group/git-python
+
+Issue Tracker
+=============
+http://byronimo.lighthouseapp.com/projects/51787-gitpython/milestones
+	
+License Information
+===================
+GitPython is licensed under the New BSD License.  See the LICENSE file for
+more information.
+