Turns out it was a documentation problem. The page at http://sparkleshare.org/set-up-a-host/ states :
Select “On my own server”, enter your server address in the Address field and “/home/git/MyProject” in the Remote Path field. Actually you have to enter ssh://username@host/ ** Changed in: sparkleshare (Ubuntu) Status: New => Invalid -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1037064 Title: Sparkleshare failed to load git backend when connecting to repository on own server To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/sparkleshare/+bug/1037064/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs