4.8 Git on the Server - GitLab

GitLab is a database-backed web application, so its installation is more involved than some other Git servers. Fortunately, this process is well-documented and supported. GitLab strongly recommends installing GitLab on your server via the official Omnibus GitLab package.

The other installation options are:

For more information read the GitLab Community Edition (CE) readme.

GitLab’s administration interface is accessed over the web. Simply point your browser to the hostname or IP address where GitLab is installed, and log in as the root user. The password will depend on your installation type but by default, Omnibus GitLab automatically generates a password for and stores it to /etc/gitlab/initial_root_password for at least 24 hours. Follow the documentation for more details. After you’ve logged in, click the “Admin area” icon in the menu at the top right.

The first thing you’ll want to do with GitLab is create a new project. You can do this by clicking on the “+” icon on the toolbar. You’ll be asked for the project’s name, which namespace it should belong to, and what its visibility level should be. Most of what you specify here isn’t permanent, and can be changed later through the settings interface. Click “Create Project”, and you’re done.

Once the project exists, you’ll probably want to connect it with a local Git repository. Each project is accessible over HTTPS or SSH, either of which can be used to configure a Git remote. The URLs are visible at the top of the project’s home page. For an existing local repository, this command will create a remote named gitlab to the hosted location:

If you don’t have a local copy of the repository, you can simply do this:

The web UI provides access to several useful views of the repository itself. Each project’s home page shows recent activity, and links along the top will lead you to views of the project’s files and commit log.

The simplest way of working together on a GitLab project is by giving each user direct push access to the Git repository. You can add a user to a project by going to the “Members” section of that project’s settings, and associating the new user with an access level (the different access levels are discussed a bit in Groups). By giving a user an access level of “Developer” or above, that user can push commits and branches directly to the repository.

Another, more decoupled way of collaboration is by using merge requests. This feature enables any user that can see a project to contribute to it in a controlled way. Users with direct access can simply create a branch, push commits to it, and open a merge request from their branch back into master or any other branch. Users who don’t have push permissions for a repository can “fork” it to create their own copy, push commits to their copy, and open a merge request from their fork back to the main project. This model allows the owner to be in full control of what goes into the repository and when, while allowing contributions from untrusted users.

Merge requests and issues are the main units of long-lived discussion in GitLab. Each merge request allows a line-by-line discussion of the proposed change (which supports a lightweight kind of code review), as well as a general overall discussion thread. Both can be assigned to users, or organized into milestones.

This section is focused mainly on the Git-related features of GitLab, but as a mature project, it provides many other features to help your team work together, such as project wikis and system maintenance tools. One benefit to GitLab is that, once the server is set up and running, you’ll rarely need to tweak a configuration file or access the server via SSH; most administration and general usage can be done through the in-browser interface.