Refactor path & config system (#25330)

# The problem

There were many "path tricks":

* By default, Gitea uses its program directory as its work path
* Gitea tries to use the "work path" to guess its "custom path" and
"custom conf (app.ini)"
* Users might want to use other directories as work path
* The non-default work path should be passed to Gitea by GITEA_WORK_DIR
or "--work-path"
* But some Gitea processes are started without these values
    * The "serv" process started by OpenSSH server
    * The CLI sub-commands started by site admin
* The paths are guessed by SetCustomPathAndConf again and again
* The default values of "work path / custom path / custom conf" can be
changed when compiling

# The solution

* Use `InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig` to handle these path tricks, and use
test code to cover its behaviors.
* When Gitea's web server runs, write the WORK_PATH to "app.ini", this
value must be the most correct one, because if this value is not right,
users would find that the web UI doesn't work and then they should be
able to fix it.
* Then all other sub-commands can use the WORK_PATH in app.ini to
initialize their paths.
* By the way, when Gitea starts for git protocol, it shouldn't output
any log, otherwise the git protocol gets broken and client blocks
forever.

The "work path" priority is: WORK_PATH in app.ini > cmd arg --work-path
> env var GITEA_WORK_DIR > builtin default

The "app.ini" searching order is: cmd arg --config > cmd arg "work path
/ custom path" > env var "work path / custom path" > builtin default


## ⚠️ BREAKING

If your instance's "work path / custom path / custom conf" doesn't meet
the requirements (eg: work path must be absolute), Gitea will report a
fatal error and exit. You need to set these values according to the
error log.



----

Close #24818
Close #24222
Close #21606
Close #21498
Close #25107
Close #24981
Maybe close #24503

Replace #23301
Replace #22754

And maybe more

12 files changed, 407 insertions, 178 deletions

diff --git a/modules/doctor/doctor.go b/modules/doctor/doctor.go
index 10838a7512..ceee322852 100644
--- a/modules/doctor/doctor.go
+++ b/modules/doctor/doctor.go
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ type Check struct {
 }
 
 func initDBSkipLogger(ctx context.Context) error {
-	setting.Init(&setting.Options{})
+	setting.MustInstalled()
 	setting.LoadDBSetting()
 	if err := db.InitEngine(ctx); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("db.InitEngine: %w", err)
diff --git a/modules/doctor/paths.go b/modules/doctor/paths.go
index 957152349c..3f62d587ab 100644
--- a/modules/doctor/paths.go
+++ b/modules/doctor/paths.go
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ func checkConfigurationFiles(ctx context.Context, logger log.Logger, autofix boo
 		return err
 	}
 
-	setting.Init(&setting.Options{})
+	setting.MustInstalled()
 
 	configurationFiles := []configurationFile{
 		{"Configuration File Path", setting.CustomConf, false, true, false},
diff --git a/modules/markup/html_test.go b/modules/markup/html_test.go
index 5e5e4fecbb..a8d7ba7948 100644
--- a/modules/markup/html_test.go
+++ b/modules/markup/html_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/models/unittest"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/emoji"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/git"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/log"
@@ -28,9 +29,7 @@ var localMetas = map[string]string{
 }
 
 func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
-	setting.Init(&setting.Options{
-		AllowEmpty: true,
-	})
+	unittest.InitSettings()
 	if err := git.InitSimple(context.Background()); err != nil {
 		log.Fatal("git init failed, err: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/modules/markup/markdown/markdown_test.go b/modules/markup/markdown/markdown_test.go
index 4bd2ca8d41..f2322b2554 100644
--- a/modules/markup/markdown/markdown_test.go
+++ b/modules/markup/markdown/markdown_test.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/models/unittest"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/git"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/log"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/markup"
@@ -33,9 +34,7 @@ var localMetas = map[string]string{
 }
 
 func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
-	setting.Init(&setting.Options{
-		AllowEmpty: true,
-	})
+	unittest.InitSettings()
 	if err := git.InitSimple(context.Background()); err != nil {
 		log.Fatal("git init failed, err: %v", err)
 	}
diff --git a/modules/setting/config_provider.go b/modules/setting/config_provider.go
index deec5cc586..94dd989850 100644
--- a/modules/setting/config_provider.go
+++ b/modules/setting/config_provider.go
@@ -55,15 +55,15 @@ type ConfigProvider interface {
 
 	DisableSaving()
 	PrepareSaving() (ConfigProvider, error)
+	IsLoadedFromEmpty() bool
 }
 
 type iniConfigProvider struct {
-	opts *Options
+	file string
 	ini  *ini.File
 
-	disableSaving bool
-
-	newFile bool // whether the file has not existed previously
+	disableSaving   bool // disable the "Save" method because the config options could be polluted
+	loadedFromEmpty bool // whether the file has not existed previously
 }
 
 type iniConfigSection struct {
@@ -182,53 +182,43 @@ func NewConfigProviderFromData(configContent string) (ConfigProvider, error) {
 	}
 	cfg.NameMapper = ini.SnackCase
 	return &iniConfigProvider{
-		ini:     cfg,
-		newFile: true,
+		ini:             cfg,
+		loadedFromEmpty: true,
 	}, nil
 }
 
-type Options struct {
-	CustomConf  string // the ini file path
-	AllowEmpty  bool   // whether not finding configuration files is allowed
-	ExtraConfig string
-
-	DisableLoadCommonSettings bool // only used by "Init()", not used by "NewConfigProvider()"
-}
-
 // NewConfigProviderFromFile load configuration from file.
 // NOTE: do not print any log except error.
-func NewConfigProviderFromFile(opts *Options) (ConfigProvider, error) {
+func NewConfigProviderFromFile(file string, extraConfigs ...string) (ConfigProvider, error) {
 	cfg := ini.Empty(ini.LoadOptions{KeyValueDelimiterOnWrite: " = "})
-	newFile := true
+	loadedFromEmpty := true
 
-	if opts.CustomConf != "" {
-		isFile, err := util.IsFile(opts.CustomConf)
+	if file != "" {
+		isFile, err := util.IsFile(file)
 		if err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to check if %s is a file. Error: %v", opts.CustomConf, err)
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to check if %q is a file. Error: %v", file, err)
 		}
 		if isFile {
-			if err := cfg.Append(opts.CustomConf); err != nil {
-				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to load custom conf '%s': %v", opts.CustomConf, err)
+			if err = cfg.Append(file); err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to load config file %q: %v", file, err)
 			}
-			newFile = false
+			loadedFromEmpty = false
 		}
 	}
 
-	if newFile && !opts.AllowEmpty {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to find configuration file: %q, please ensure you are running in the correct environment or set the correct configuration file with -c", CustomConf)
-	}
-
-	if opts.ExtraConfig != "" {
-		if err := cfg.Append([]byte(opts.ExtraConfig)); err != nil {
-			return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to append more config: %v", err)
+	if len(extraConfigs) > 0 {
+		for _, s := range extraConfigs {
+			if err := cfg.Append([]byte(s)); err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to append more config: %v", err)
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
 	cfg.NameMapper = ini.SnackCase
 	return &iniConfigProvider{
-		opts:    opts,
-		ini:     cfg,
-		newFile: newFile,
+		file:            file,
+		ini:             cfg,
+		loadedFromEmpty: loadedFromEmpty,
 	}, nil
 }
 
@@ -266,20 +256,17 @@ func (p *iniConfigProvider) Save() error {
 	if p.disableSaving {
 		return errDisableSaving
 	}
-	filename := p.opts.CustomConf
+	filename := p.file
 	if filename == "" {
-		if !p.opts.AllowEmpty {
-			return fmt.Errorf("custom config path must not be empty")
-		}
-		return nil
+		return fmt.Errorf("config file path must not be empty")
 	}
-	if p.newFile {
+	if p.loadedFromEmpty {
 		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(filename), os.ModePerm); err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("failed to create '%s': %v", filename, err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to create %q: %v", filename, err)
 		}
 	}
 	if err := p.ini.SaveTo(filename); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("failed to save '%s': %v", filename, err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("failed to save %q: %v", filename, err)
 	}
 
 	// Change permissions to be more restrictive
@@ -313,11 +300,14 @@ func (p *iniConfigProvider) DisableSaving() {
 // it makes the "Save" outputs a lot of garbage options
 // After the INI package gets refactored, no "MustXxx" pollution, this workaround can be dropped.
 func (p *iniConfigProvider) PrepareSaving() (ConfigProvider, error) {
-	cfgFile := p.opts.CustomConf
-	if cfgFile == "" {
+	if p.file == "" {
 		return nil, errors.New("no config file to save")
 	}
-	return NewConfigProviderFromFile(p.opts)
+	return NewConfigProviderFromFile(p.file)
+}
+
+func (p *iniConfigProvider) IsLoadedFromEmpty() bool {
+	return p.loadedFromEmpty
 }
 
 func mustMapSetting(rootCfg ConfigProvider, sectionName string, setting any) {
@@ -356,8 +346,8 @@ func NewConfigProviderForLocale(source any, others ...any) (ConfigProvider, erro
 	}
 	iniFile.BlockMode = false
 	return &iniConfigProvider{
-		ini:     iniFile,
-		newFile: true,
+		ini:             iniFile,
+		loadedFromEmpty: true,
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/modules/setting/config_provider_test.go b/modules/setting/config_provider_test.go
index c5c5196e04..7e7c6be2bb 100644
--- a/modules/setting/config_provider_test.go
+++ b/modules/setting/config_provider_test.go
@@ -67,13 +67,14 @@ key = 123
 }
 
 func TestNewConfigProviderFromFile(t *testing.T) {
-	_, err := NewConfigProviderFromFile(&Options{CustomConf: "no-such.ini", AllowEmpty: false})
-	assert.ErrorContains(t, err, "unable to find configuration file")
+	cfg, err := NewConfigProviderFromFile("no-such.ini")
+	assert.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.True(t, cfg.IsLoadedFromEmpty())
 
 	// load non-existing file and save
 	testFile := t.TempDir() + "/test.ini"
 	testFile1 := t.TempDir() + "/test1.ini"
-	cfg, err := NewConfigProviderFromFile(&Options{CustomConf: testFile, AllowEmpty: true})
+	cfg, err = NewConfigProviderFromFile(testFile)
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	sec, _ := cfg.NewSection("foo")
@@ -91,7 +92,7 @@ func TestNewConfigProviderFromFile(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, "[foo]\nk1 = a\nk2 = b\n", string(bs))
 
 	// load existing file and save
-	cfg, err = NewConfigProviderFromFile(&Options{CustomConf: testFile, AllowEmpty: true})
+	cfg, err = NewConfigProviderFromFile(testFile)
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 	assert.Equal(t, "a", cfg.Section("foo").Key("k1").String())
 	sec, _ = cfg.NewSection("bar")
@@ -123,7 +124,7 @@ func TestNewConfigProviderForLocale(t *testing.T) {
 func TestDisableSaving(t *testing.T) {
 	testFile := t.TempDir() + "/test.ini"
 	_ = os.WriteFile(testFile, []byte("k1=a\nk2=b"), 0o644)
-	cfg, err := NewConfigProviderFromFile(&Options{CustomConf: testFile, AllowEmpty: true})
+	cfg, err := NewConfigProviderFromFile(testFile)
 	assert.NoError(t, err)
 
 	cfg.DisableSaving()
diff --git a/modules/setting/path.go b/modules/setting/path.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..91bb2e9bb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/setting/path.go
@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+// Copyright 2023 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package setting
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/log"
+)
+
+var (
+	// AppPath represents the path to the gitea binary
+	AppPath string
+
+	// AppWorkPath is the "working directory" of Gitea. It maps to the environment variable GITEA_WORK_DIR.
+	// If that is not set it is the default set here by the linker or failing that the directory of AppPath.
+	// It is used as the base path for several other paths.
+	AppWorkPath string
+	CustomPath  string // Custom directory path. Env: GITEA_CUSTOM
+	CustomConf  string
+
+	appWorkPathBuiltin string
+	customPathBuiltin  string
+	customConfBuiltin  string
+
+	AppWorkPathMismatch bool
+)
+
+func getAppPath() (string, error) {
+	var appPath string
+	var err error
+	if IsWindows && filepath.IsAbs(os.Args[0]) {
+		appPath = filepath.Clean(os.Args[0])
+	} else {
+		appPath, err = exec.LookPath(os.Args[0])
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		if !errors.Is(err, exec.ErrDot) {
+			return "", err
+		}
+		appPath, err = filepath.Abs(os.Args[0])
+	}
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	appPath, err = filepath.Abs(appPath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	// Note: (legacy code) we don't use path.Dir here because it does not handle case which path starts with two "/" in Windows: "//psf/Home/..."
+	return strings.ReplaceAll(appPath, "\\", "/"), err
+}
+
+func init() {
+	var err error
+	if AppPath, err = getAppPath(); err != nil {
+		log.Fatal("Failed to get app path: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	if AppWorkPath == "" {
+		AppWorkPath = filepath.Dir(AppPath)
+	}
+
+	appWorkPathBuiltin = AppWorkPath
+	customPathBuiltin = CustomPath
+	customConfBuiltin = CustomConf
+}
+
+type ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf struct {
+	WorkPath   string
+	CustomPath string
+	CustomConf string
+}
+
+type stringWithDefault struct {
+	Value string
+	IsSet bool
+}
+
+func (s *stringWithDefault) Set(v string) {
+	s.Value = v
+	s.IsSet = true
+}
+
+// InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig will set AppWorkPath, CustomPath and CustomConf, init default config provider by CustomConf and load common settings,
+func InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(getEnvFn func(name string) string, args ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf) {
+	tryAbsPath := func(paths ...string) string {
+		s := paths[len(paths)-1]
+		for i := len(paths) - 2; i >= 0; i-- {
+			if filepath.IsAbs(s) {
+				break
+			}
+			s = filepath.Join(paths[i], s)
+		}
+		return s
+	}
+
+	var err error
+	tmpWorkPath := stringWithDefault{Value: appWorkPathBuiltin}
+	if tmpWorkPath.Value == "" {
+		tmpWorkPath.Value = filepath.Dir(AppPath)
+	}
+	tmpCustomPath := stringWithDefault{Value: customPathBuiltin}
+	if tmpCustomPath.Value == "" {
+		tmpCustomPath.Value = "custom"
+	}
+	tmpCustomConf := stringWithDefault{Value: customConfBuiltin}
+	if tmpCustomConf.Value == "" {
+		tmpCustomConf.Value = "conf/app.ini"
+	}
+
+	readFromEnv := func() {
+		envWorkPath := getEnvFn("GITEA_WORK_DIR")
+		if envWorkPath != "" {
+			tmpWorkPath.Set(envWorkPath)
+			if !filepath.IsAbs(tmpWorkPath.Value) {
+				log.Fatal("GITEA_WORK_DIR (work path) must be absolute path")
+			}
+		}
+
+		envCustomPath := getEnvFn("GITEA_CUSTOM")
+		if envCustomPath != "" {
+			tmpCustomPath.Set(envCustomPath)
+			if !filepath.IsAbs(tmpCustomPath.Value) {
+				log.Fatal("GITEA_CUSTOM (custom path) must be absolute path")
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	readFromArgs := func() {
+		if args.WorkPath != "" {
+			tmpWorkPath.Set(args.WorkPath)
+			if !filepath.IsAbs(tmpWorkPath.Value) {
+				log.Fatal("--work-path must be absolute path")
+			}
+		}
+		if args.CustomPath != "" {
+			tmpCustomPath.Set(args.CustomPath) // if it is not abs, it will be based on work-path, it shouldn't happen
+			if !filepath.IsAbs(tmpCustomPath.Value) {
+				log.Error("--custom-path must be absolute path")
+			}
+		}
+		if args.CustomConf != "" {
+			tmpCustomConf.Set(args.CustomConf)
+			if !filepath.IsAbs(tmpCustomConf.Value) {
+				// the config path can be relative to the real current working path
+				if tmpCustomConf.Value, err = filepath.Abs(tmpCustomConf.Value); err != nil {
+					log.Fatal("Failed to get absolute path of config %q: %v", tmpCustomConf.Value, err)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	readFromEnv()
+	readFromArgs()
+
+	if !tmpCustomConf.IsSet {
+		tmpCustomConf.Set(tryAbsPath(tmpWorkPath.Value, tmpCustomPath.Value, tmpCustomConf.Value))
+	}
+
+	// only read the config but do not load/init anything more, because the AppWorkPath and CustomPath are not ready
+	InitCfgProvider(tmpCustomConf.Value)
+	configWorkPath := ConfigSectionKeyString(CfgProvider.Section(""), "WORK_PATH")
+	if configWorkPath != "" {
+		if !filepath.IsAbs(configWorkPath) {
+			log.Fatal("WORK_PATH in %q must be absolute path", configWorkPath)
+		}
+		configWorkPath = filepath.Clean(configWorkPath)
+		if tmpWorkPath.Value != "" && (getEnvFn("GITEA_WORK_DIR") != "" || args.WorkPath != "") {
+			fi1, err1 := os.Stat(tmpWorkPath.Value)
+			fi2, err2 := os.Stat(configWorkPath)
+			if err1 != nil || err2 != nil || !os.SameFile(fi1, fi2) {
+				AppWorkPathMismatch = true
+			}
+		}
+		tmpWorkPath.Set(configWorkPath)
+	}
+
+	tmpCustomPath.Set(tryAbsPath(tmpWorkPath.Value, tmpCustomPath.Value))
+
+	AppWorkPath = tmpWorkPath.Value
+	CustomPath = tmpCustomPath.Value
+	CustomConf = tmpCustomConf.Value
+
+	LoadCommonSettings()
+}
diff --git a/modules/setting/path_test.go b/modules/setting/path_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fc6a2116dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/modules/setting/path_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+// Copyright 2023 The Gitea Authors. All rights reserved.
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+package setting
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+type envVars map[string]string
+
+func (e envVars) Getenv(key string) string {
+	return e[key]
+}
+
+func TestInitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(t *testing.T) {
+	testInit := func(defaultWorkPath, defaultCustomPath, defaultCustomConf string) {
+		AppWorkPathMismatch = false
+		AppWorkPath = defaultWorkPath
+		appWorkPathBuiltin = defaultWorkPath
+		CustomPath = defaultCustomPath
+		customPathBuiltin = defaultCustomPath
+		CustomConf = defaultCustomConf
+		customConfBuiltin = defaultCustomConf
+	}
+
+	fp := filepath.Join
+
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	dirFoo := fp(tmpDir, "foo")
+	dirBar := fp(tmpDir, "bar")
+	dirXxx := fp(tmpDir, "xxx")
+	dirYyy := fp(tmpDir, "yyy")
+
+	t.Run("Default", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirFoo, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirFoo, "custom"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirFoo, "custom/conf/app.ini"), CustomConf)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("WorkDir(env)", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{"GITEA_WORK_DIR": dirBar}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirBar, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirBar, "custom"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirBar, "custom/conf/app.ini"), CustomConf)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("WorkDir(env,arg)", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{"GITEA_WORK_DIR": dirBar}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{WorkPath: dirXxx})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirXxx, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirXxx, "custom"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirXxx, "custom/conf/app.ini"), CustomConf)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("CustomPath(env)", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{"GITEA_CUSTOM": fp(dirBar, "custom1")}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirFoo, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirBar, "custom1"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirBar, "custom1/conf/app.ini"), CustomConf)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("CustomPath(env,arg)", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{"GITEA_CUSTOM": fp(dirBar, "custom1")}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{CustomPath: "custom2"})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirFoo, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirFoo, "custom2"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirFoo, "custom2/conf/app.ini"), CustomConf)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("CustomConf", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{CustomConf: "app1.ini"})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirFoo, AppWorkPath)
+		cwd, _ := os.Getwd()
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(cwd, "app1.ini"), CustomConf)
+
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{CustomConf: fp(dirBar, "app1.ini")})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirFoo, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirBar, "app1.ini"), CustomConf)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("CustomConfOverrideWorkPath", func(t *testing.T) {
+		iniWorkPath := fp(tmpDir, "app-workpath.ini")
+		_ = os.WriteFile(iniWorkPath, []byte("WORK_PATH="+dirXxx), 0o644)
+
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{CustomConf: iniWorkPath})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirXxx, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirXxx, "custom"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, iniWorkPath, CustomConf)
+		assert.False(t, AppWorkPathMismatch)
+
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{"GITEA_WORK_DIR": dirBar}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{CustomConf: iniWorkPath})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirXxx, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirXxx, "custom"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, iniWorkPath, CustomConf)
+		assert.True(t, AppWorkPathMismatch)
+
+		testInit(dirFoo, "", "")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{WorkPath: dirBar, CustomConf: iniWorkPath})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirXxx, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirXxx, "custom"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, iniWorkPath, CustomConf)
+		assert.True(t, AppWorkPathMismatch)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("Builtin", func(t *testing.T) {
+		testInit(dirFoo, dirBar, dirXxx)
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirFoo, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, dirBar, CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, dirXxx, CustomConf)
+
+		testInit(dirFoo, "custom1", "cfg.ini")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirFoo, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirFoo, "custom1"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirFoo, "custom1/cfg.ini"), CustomConf)
+
+		testInit(dirFoo, "custom1", "cfg.ini")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{"GITEA_WORK_DIR": dirYyy}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirYyy, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirYyy, "custom1"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirYyy, "custom1/cfg.ini"), CustomConf)
+
+		testInit(dirFoo, "custom1", "cfg.ini")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{"GITEA_CUSTOM": dirYyy}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirFoo, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, dirYyy, CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirYyy, "cfg.ini"), CustomConf)
+
+		iniWorkPath := fp(tmpDir, "app-workpath.ini")
+		_ = os.WriteFile(iniWorkPath, []byte("WORK_PATH="+dirXxx), 0o644)
+		testInit(dirFoo, "custom1", "cfg.ini")
+		InitWorkPathAndCommonConfig(envVars{}.Getenv, ArgWorkPathAndCustomConf{CustomConf: iniWorkPath})
+		assert.Equal(t, dirXxx, AppWorkPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, fp(dirXxx, "custom1"), CustomPath)
+		assert.Equal(t, iniWorkPath, CustomConf)
+	})
+}
diff --git a/modules/setting/server.go b/modules/setting/server.go
index d937faca10..7c033bcc6b 100644
--- a/modules/setting/server.go
+++ b/modules/setting/server.go
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ var (
 	AssetVersion string
 
 	// Server settings
+
 	Protocol                   Scheme
 	UseProxyProtocol           bool // `ini:"USE_PROXY_PROTOCOL"`
 	ProxyProtocolTLSBridging   bool //`ini:"PROXY_PROTOCOL_TLS_BRIDGING"`
@@ -324,7 +325,6 @@ func loadServerFrom(rootCfg ConfigProvider) {
 	StaticCacheTime = sec.Key("STATIC_CACHE_TIME").MustDuration(6 * time.Hour)
 	AppDataPath = sec.Key("APP_DATA_PATH").MustString(path.Join(AppWorkPath, "data"))
 	if !filepath.IsAbs(AppDataPath) {
-		log.Info("The provided APP_DATA_PATH: %s is not absolute - it will be made absolute against the work path: %s", AppDataPath, AppWorkPath)
 		AppDataPath = filepath.ToSlash(filepath.Join(AppWorkPath, AppDataPath))
 	}
 
diff --git a/modules/setting/setting.go b/modules/setting/setting.go
index 6eaddbe2b5..0d69847dbe 100644
--- a/modules/setting/setting.go
+++ b/modules/setting/setting.go
@@ -5,12 +5,8 @@
 package setting
 
 import (
-	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
-	"os/exec"
-	"path"
-	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -28,19 +24,9 @@ var (
 	// AppStartTime store time gitea has started
 	AppStartTime time.Time
 
-	// AppPath represents the path to the gitea binary
-	AppPath string
-	// AppWorkPath is the "working directory" of Gitea. It maps to the environment variable GITEA_WORK_DIR.
-	// If that is not set it is the default set here by the linker or failing that the directory of AppPath.
-	//
-	// AppWorkPath is used as the base path for several other paths.
-	AppWorkPath string
-
 	// Other global setting objects
 
 	CfgProvider ConfigProvider
-	CustomPath  string // Custom directory path
-	CustomConf  string
 	RunMode     string
 	RunUser     string
 	IsProd      bool
@@ -51,62 +37,6 @@ var (
 	IsInTesting = false
 )
 
-func getAppPath() (string, error) {
-	var appPath string
-	var err error
-	if IsWindows && filepath.IsAbs(os.Args[0]) {
-		appPath = filepath.Clean(os.Args[0])
-	} else {
-		appPath, err = exec.LookPath(os.Args[0])
-	}
-
-	if err != nil {
-		if !errors.Is(err, exec.ErrDot) {
-			return "", err
-		}
-		appPath, err = filepath.Abs(os.Args[0])
-	}
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	appPath, err = filepath.Abs(appPath)
-	if err != nil {
-		return "", err
-	}
-	// Note: we don't use path.Dir here because it does not handle case
-	//	which path starts with two "/" in Windows: "//psf/Home/..."
-	return strings.ReplaceAll(appPath, "\\", "/"), err
-}
-
-func getWorkPath(appPath string) string {
-	workPath := AppWorkPath
-
-	if giteaWorkPath, ok := os.LookupEnv("GITEA_WORK_DIR"); ok {
-		workPath = giteaWorkPath
-	}
-	if len(workPath) == 0 {
-		i := strings.LastIndex(appPath, "/")
-		if i == -1 {
-			workPath = appPath
-		} else {
-			workPath = appPath[:i]
-		}
-	}
-	workPath = strings.ReplaceAll(workPath, "\\", "/")
-	if !filepath.IsAbs(workPath) {
-		log.Info("Provided work path %s is not absolute - will be made absolute against the current working directory", workPath)
-
-		absPath, err := filepath.Abs(workPath)
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Error("Unable to absolute %s against the current working directory %v. Will absolute against the AppPath %s", workPath, err, appPath)
-			workPath = filepath.Join(appPath, workPath)
-		} else {
-			workPath = absPath
-		}
-	}
-	return strings.ReplaceAll(workPath, "\\", "/")
-}
-
 func init() {
 	IsWindows = runtime.GOOS == "windows"
 	if AppVer == "" {
@@ -116,12 +46,6 @@ func init() {
 	// We can rely on log.CanColorStdout being set properly because modules/log/console_windows.go comes before modules/setting/setting.go lexicographically
 	// By default set this logger at Info - we'll change it later, but we need to start with something.
 	log.SetConsoleLogger(log.DEFAULT, "console", log.INFO)
-
-	var err error
-	if AppPath, err = getAppPath(); err != nil {
-		log.Fatal("Failed to get app path: %v", err)
-	}
-	AppWorkPath = getWorkPath(AppPath)
 }
 
 // IsRunUserMatchCurrentUser returns false if configured run user does not match
@@ -137,36 +61,6 @@ func IsRunUserMatchCurrentUser(runUser string) (string, bool) {
 	return currentUser, runUser == currentUser
 }
 
-// SetCustomPathAndConf will set CustomPath and CustomConf with reference to the
-// GITEA_CUSTOM environment variable and with provided overrides before stepping
-// back to the default
-func SetCustomPathAndConf(providedCustom, providedConf, providedWorkPath string) {
-	if len(providedWorkPath) != 0 {
-		AppWorkPath = filepath.ToSlash(providedWorkPath)
-	}
-	if giteaCustom, ok := os.LookupEnv("GITEA_CUSTOM"); ok {
-		CustomPath = giteaCustom
-	}
-	if len(providedCustom) != 0 {
-		CustomPath = providedCustom
-	}
-	if len(CustomPath) == 0 {
-		CustomPath = path.Join(AppWorkPath, "custom")
-	} else if !filepath.IsAbs(CustomPath) {
-		CustomPath = path.Join(AppWorkPath, CustomPath)
-	}
-
-	if len(providedConf) != 0 {
-		CustomConf = providedConf
-	}
-	if len(CustomConf) == 0 {
-		CustomConf = path.Join(CustomPath, "conf/app.ini")
-	} else if !filepath.IsAbs(CustomConf) {
-		CustomConf = path.Join(CustomPath, CustomConf)
-		log.Warn("Using 'custom' directory as relative origin for configuration file: '%s'", CustomConf)
-	}
-}
-
 // PrepareAppDataPath creates app data directory if necessary
 func PrepareAppDataPath() error {
 	// FIXME: There are too many calls to MkdirAll in old code. It is incorrect.
@@ -196,20 +90,23 @@ func PrepareAppDataPath() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func Init(opts *Options) {
-	if opts.CustomConf == "" {
-		opts.CustomConf = CustomConf
-	}
+func InitCfgProvider(file string, extraConfigs ...string) {
 	var err error
-	CfgProvider, err = NewConfigProviderFromFile(opts)
+	if CfgProvider, err = NewConfigProviderFromFile(file, extraConfigs...); err != nil {
+		log.Fatal("Unable to init config provider from %q: %v", file, err)
+	}
 	CfgProvider.DisableSaving() // do not allow saving the CfgProvider into file, it will be polluted by the "MustXxx" calls
-	if err != nil {
-		log.Fatal("newConfigProviderFromFile[%v]: %v", opts, err)
+}
+
+func MustInstalled() {
+	if !InstallLock {
+		log.Fatal(`Unable to load config file for a installed Gitea instance, you should either use "--config" to set your config file (app.ini), or run "gitea web" command to install Gitea.`)
 	}
-	if !opts.DisableLoadCommonSettings {
-		if err := loadCommonSettingsFrom(CfgProvider); err != nil {
-			log.Fatal("loadCommonSettingsFrom[%v]: %v", opts, err)
-		}
+}
+
+func LoadCommonSettings() {
+	if err := loadCommonSettingsFrom(CfgProvider); err != nil {
+		log.Fatal("Unable to load settings from config: %v", err)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/modules/ssh/ssh.go b/modules/ssh/ssh.go
index 4bf57eafb7..923fa51d22 100644
--- a/modules/ssh/ssh.go
+++ b/modules/ssh/ssh.go
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func sessionHandler(session ssh.Session) {
 
 	log.Trace("SSH: Payload: %v", command)
 
-	args := []string{"serv", "key-" + keyID, "--config=" + setting.CustomConf}
+	args := []string{"--config=" + setting.CustomConf, "serv", "key-" + keyID}
 	log.Trace("SSH: Arguments: %v", args)
 
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(session.Context())
diff --git a/modules/testlogger/testlogger.go b/modules/testlogger/testlogger.go
index b4275e6005..6a0cee4a29 100644
--- a/modules/testlogger/testlogger.go
+++ b/modules/testlogger/testlogger.go
@@ -90,10 +90,11 @@ func (w *testLoggerWriterCloser) Reset() {
 
 // PrintCurrentTest prints the current test to os.Stdout
 func PrintCurrentTest(t testing.TB, skip ...int) func() {
+	t.Helper()
 	start := time.Now()
 	actualSkip := 1
 	if len(skip) > 0 {
-		actualSkip = skip[0]
+		actualSkip = skip[0] + 1
 	}
 	_, filename, line, _ := runtime.Caller(actualSkip)