GitLab

What is GitLab, and Why Do We Need It?

GitLab is a web-based DevOps platform that provides a complete toolchain for software development, including Git version control, continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD), and project management features. It allows developers to manage their code, collaborate, and automate workflows.

Why We Need GitLab

  1. Version Control: GitLab helps you keep track of all changes to your code, much like GitHub. It stores the history of your project’s development, enabling you to roll back to previous versions if necessary.

  2. Collaboration: Multiple developers can work simultaneously on the same project using branches and merge requests. GitLab makes it easy to track contributions and code reviews, helping teams work together effectively.

  3. CI/CD Integration: GitLab includes built-in CI/CD pipelines to automatically test, build, and deploy your projects. This feature speeds up the software development lifecycle and ensures code quality with automated testing.

  4. Issue Tracking and Project Management: GitLab provides robust issue tracking, including the ability to create boards, milestones, and labels. This helps teams organize work and track the progress of features and bug fixes.

  5. Security Features: GitLab offers features such as static and dynamic application security testing, secret management, and vulnerability monitoring to help secure your code and projects.

  6. Self-Hosted Option: Unlike GitHub, GitLab offers the option to self-host the platform on your own servers. This provides complete control over your data, making it suitable for organizations with stricter security and compliance requirements.

  7. Open Source Community: GitLab offers an open-source version for users who want to run the software on their own infrastructure. This provides a flexible option for organizations or developers who prefer complete control over their DevOps platform.

  8. Documentation and Code Review: GitLab supports Markdown for documentation, and its built-in merge request system allows for peer code reviews, improving the quality of contributions through feedback and discussion.

Overall, GitLab is a comprehensive platform that integrates source code management, project planning, and CI/CD into a single, unified tool, making it an ideal solution for modern DevOps workflows.

How to Create a GitLab Account

Creating a GitLab account is easy. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to GitLab’s Website:

    Open your web browser and navigate to the GitLab homepage.

  2. Sign Up:

    Click on the “Register” button, usually located in the upper-right corner of the page.

  3. Enter Your Information:

    • Email Address: Use a personal email address, as your data in GitLab may be purged after you graduate if using an institutional account.

    • Username: Choose a professional or personal username, as it will be your public identifier.

    • Password: Choose a strong password.

    • Verification: You may need to solve a CAPTCHA to verify you’re not a bot.

  4. Choose a Plan:

    GitLab offers free and paid plans. The Free plan is sufficient for most users, providing unlimited public and private repositories.

  5. Verify Your Email:

    GitLab will send a verification email to your registered address. Open the email and click the verification link.

  6. Set Up Your Profile:

    After verifying your email, you can set up your GitLab profile with a profile picture, bio, and other details.

  7. Explore GitLab:

    After setting up your profile, you can start creating projects, using CI/CD pipelines, and collaborating with others.

Congratulations! You now have a GitLab account and are ready to manage your projects and collaborate with your team.

How to Create a New Project, Set it as Private, and Invite a Collaborator

Follow these steps to create a new project on GitLab, set it as private, and invite Chen (cchen5891@gmail.com) as a collaborator:

  1. Log in to GitLab:

    Open your web browser, go to GitLab, and log in to your account.

  2. Create a New Project:

    • Click on the “New Project” button on the GitLab dashboard.

    • Select “Create blank project.”

  3. Fill in Project Details:

    • Project Name: Enter a name for your project, for example my-awesome-project.

    • Project Slug: This will be the URL path to your project. It usually matches your project name but can be customized.

    • Visibility Level: Choose Private to ensure the project is not visible to others outside your collaborators.

  4. Initialize the Repository (optional):

    • Check the box to Initialize repository with a README if you want to start with a basic README file.

  5. Create Project:

    • Click the Create project button.

  6. Invite Chen (cchen5891@gmail.com) as a Collaborator:

    • Go to the Members section from your project’s left-hand sidebar.

    • Enter Chen’s GitLab username or email: cchen5891@gmail.com.

    • Select the role you want to assign (e.g., “Developer” or “Maintainer”).

    • Click Invite.

You have now created a new private project and invited Chen as a collaborator!

How to Upload a Folder to GitLab via the Web Interface

While GitLab’s web interface does not support direct folder uploads, you can upload files from a folder by following these steps:

Note

Like GitHub, using the GitLab web interface for uploads is not recommended for large projects or frequent updates. If you’re just getting started, this method might suffice. For larger projects, it’s best to use Git or a Git client.

  1. Log in to GitLab:

    Go to GitLab and log in to your account.

  2. Navigate to Your Project:

    Go to the project where you want to upload your files. If you don’t have a project yet, create a new one by clicking “New Project.”

  3. Upload Files:

    • From the main page of your project, click on the Repository tab and select Upload file.

  4. Drag and Drop Files:

    • Open your folder on your computer.

    • Drag and drop files from your local folder into the upload area on GitLab’s page.

    • Alternatively, use the Choose your file button to select files from your computer.

    Note

    You can upload multiple files at once by holding the Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) key while selecting files.

  5. Add a Commit Message:

    • After uploading the files, add a descriptive commit message to explain what files you are uploading or why.

  6. Commit the Changes:

    • Click the Commit changes button to save the uploaded files to the repository.

Important Note:

If you need to upload an entire folder or maintain folder structure, consider using Git to push your folder from the command line or Git client. The web interface is not suited for frequent or large uploads.

How to Set Up a Local Repository and Push to GitLab

To set up a local Git repository and push it to GitLab, follow these steps:

  1. Install Git:

    Make sure Git is installed on your machine. If not, download it from the Git website.

  2. Create a New Local Repository:

    Open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the folder where you want to create the repository:

    # Navigate to your directory
cd /path/to/your/directory

# Create a new directory and initialize it as a Git repository
mkdir my-repo
cd my-repo
git init

  3. Add Files to the Repository:

    Add the files you want to track in Git:

    # Add all files to staging
git add .

# Commit the files with a message
git commit -m "Initial commit"

  4. Create a Remote Repository on GitLab:

    • Go to your GitLab dashboard and create a new project.

    • Copy the remote URL for your new project (e.g., https://gitlab.com/username/my-repo.git).

  5. Link the Local Repository to the Remote Repository:

    In your terminal, link your local Git repository to the new remote repository on GitLab:

    git remote add origin <URL>

  6. Push Local Repository to GitLab:

    Push your local changes to GitLab:

    git push -u origin master

  7. Verify the Push:

    Go back to your GitLab project and check that your files are listed in the repository.

Congratulations! You have successfully set up a local Git repository and pushed it to GitLab.

Resources and Further Reading

If you want to learn more about Git and GitHub, here are some resources to help you get started: