What is GitLab? Features, Benefits, and How to Get Started

Core Features of GitLab

GitLab offers a wide range of features that cater to developers and organizations looking to streamline their development and operations workflows. Let’s explore some of the platform’s key capabilities.

GitLab repositories

GitLab repositories serve as the foundation for managing Git-based source code. Developers can create, clone, and manage repositories that support key version control features (e.g., branching, commit histories, and merge requests), which helps teams collaborate on code.

Example of GitLab repositories | Source: Mirror a GitLab Repository

CI/CD integration

One of GitLab’s standout features is its built-in CI/CD pipelines. These CI/CD pipelines automate the processes of testing, building, and deploying code using simple YAML configuration files that define pipelines to automate these tasks. 

Moreover, GitLab’s pipelines are flexible and integrate with popular tools like Kubernetes and Docker - simplifying the process of managing cloud-based and on-premise deployments.

Where CI/CD fit into your development workflow | Source: Get started with GitLab CI/CD

GitLab Auto DevOps

Auto DevOps simplifies the CI/CD process by offering pre-configured templates for building, testing, and deploying applications. Essentially, developers can automate tasks with minimal setup required. 

Issue tracking and project management

GitLab also excels in project management, providing tools like issue boards, milestones, labels, and burndown charts to support agile workflows. These features allow teams to track issues' progress from ideation to deployment, thus offering a comprehensive view of the project’s health and timeline.

An example GitLab Issue Board | Source: 4 Ways to Use GitLab Issue Boards

GitLab Pages

For developers needing a quick and easy solution for hosting static websites, GitLab Pages provides just that. You can directly deploy documentation, portfolio sites, or any other static web content from their GitLab repository. 

Resources to learn GitLab Pages | Source: Get Started with GitLab Pages

Advantages of Using GitLab

So, what makes GitLab a compelling choice for development teams? Let’s find out! 

All-in-one platform

One of GitLab’s primary benefits is its integrated nature. You don’t need to switch between multiple tools to conduct version control, CI/CD, project management, and monitoring for your software projects – everything is combined into a single cohesive platform. 

Collaboration and team management

GitLab was designed with collaboration at its core. It aimed to facilitate seamless communication and teamwork throughout the software development process. From the outset, GitLab sought to enable developers and teams to work together more effectively by providing tools that streamline collaboration and minimize potential bottlenecks.

Scalability and flexibility

GitLab is built to scale with your team, regardless of whether you’re a small development group working on a side project or a large enterprise. The platform supports cloud-based and self-hosted deployments, which means teams can adapt GitLab to meet their specific security and performance needs. 

Security and compliance

Features like static and dynamic code analysis, container scanning, and vulnerability management help GitLab users ensure their applications are secure from the start. Note that GitLab also integrates DevOps best practices into its ecosystem to ensure that security is a significant aspect of the development process rather than an afterthought. 

GitLab vs GitHub vs Bitbucket

Alternative solutions to GitLab include GitHub and Bitbucket.  Which one should you use? I’ll answer in typical developer fashion: “It depends.” It’s essential to consider the requirements you need from your SDLC management tool. With that said, here’s how GitLab stacks up against its competitors.

GitLab vs GitHub

GitHub is a web-based platform for version control and collaboration built on top of Git, a popular distributed version control system. Created in 2008 by Tom Preston-Werner, Chris Wanstrath, and PJ Hyett, GitHub's primary goal was to provide a user-friendly interface for Git to help developers collaborate more efficiently on projects. 

Initially popular within the open-source community, GitHub has become the go-to platform for hosting both public and private repositories. Millions of developers use it to share and contribute to codebases globally.

Regarding age, GitHub launched in 2008, three years before GitLab, which was created in 2011 by Dmitriy Zaporozhets and Valery Sizov. In terms of popularity, GitHub has traditionally enjoyed a larger user base, in part because of its early entry into the market and its widespread adoption by the open-source community. GitHub's vast ecosystem of public repositories and its significant role in open-source projects like Linux, Node.js, and React have further cemented its popularity.

While GitLab has a smaller user base than GitHub, it has gained significant traction, particularly among DevOps teams and enterprises looking for an integrated development and deployment solution. GitLab has carved out its niche by focusing on providing an all-in-one DevSecOps platform, which includes CI/CD, project management, and security features within the same ecosystem. In contrast, GitHub relies on third-party integrations to achieve similar functionality, which can increase the complexity of projects. 

If you’d like to learn more about GitHub, I recommend starting with the GitHub Foundations course. 

GitLab vs Bitbucket

Bitbucket is also a web-based version control repository hosting service, but it was originally created to support the Mercurial version control system before fully transitioning to Git. 

Like GitHub, Bitbucket was launched in 2008 by Jesper Nøhr and was later acquired by Atlassian in 2010. Initially, Bitbucket was designed to provide a collaborative environment for small and large teams, offering deep integration with Atlassian’s suite of tools like Jira and Confluence. Thus, the platform is commonly used by development teams within organizations that rely on the Atlassian ecosystem for project management and issue tracking.

Consequently, GitLab has gained a broader user base due to its all-in-one DevOps capabilities. Bitbucket may not have the same public-facing popularity as GitHub or GitLab, mainly because it focuses more on private repositories and enterprise users. And despite integrating well with Jira for project tracking, Bitbucket lacks GitLab’s depth in automating the software development lifecycle.

GitLab vs GitHub vs Bitbucket: Comparison overview

How to Get Started with GitLab

The platform provides a straightforward onboarding process for those looking to explore GitLab. Here’s how you can get started.

Setting up a GitLab account

To get started, sign up for a free GitLab account. 

GitLab signup page

After signing up:

• Set up SSH keys for authentication (recommended for secure Git operations).
• Create your first repository by navigating to New Project → Create Blank Project.
• Clone your repository using:

git clone git@gitlab.com:your-username/your-repo.git

Use Git to add and commit changes:

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git push origin main

Managing your project

GitLab isn't just for version control—it also provides built-in project management tools:

• Issues and Boards: Track tasks and bugs using GitLab Issues.
• Milestones: Organize work into sprints or project phases.
• Merge requests: Review and collaborate on code changes before merging.

Feel free to explore these features!

Using GitLab for CI/CD

The first step in setting up a CI/CD pipeline in GitLab is creating a ` .gitlab-ci.yml' file. Here’s a simple example:

stages:
  - build
  - test
  - deploy

build-job:
  stage: build
  script:
    - echo "Building the application..."

test-job:
  stage: test
  script:
    - echo "Running tests..."

deploy-job:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - echo "Deploying to production..."

This file defines the stages of the pipeline, and it automates the build, testing, and deployment of code. You can configure these pipelines to suit your specific development workflow.

Commit and push this file to trigger an automatic pipeline.

GitLab Runners

To execute pipelines, GitLab uses GitLab Runners – agents that run the CI/CD jobs. 

These can be set up on local infrastructure or in the cloud, thus allowing teams to manage their development and testing environments as they wish.

• Shared Runners: Provided by GitLab for public projects.
• Self-hosted Runners: Installed on your servers or cloud instances.

To register a self-hosted runner:

gitlab-runner register

The architecture of hosted runners | Source: GitLab-hosted Runners

Security and access control

Ensuring proper security and access control in GitLab is crucial for protecting your code, managing collaboration, and enforcing best practices for secure development.

• Add team members under Settings > Members.
• Set repository permissions (Guest, Reporter, Developer, Maintainer, Owner).
• Use GitLab’s security features like Static Application Security Testing (SAST).

Deploying a static website with GitLab Pages

GitLab Pages allows you to deploy static websites for free. To set it up:

• Create a public/ folder with an index.html file.
• Add a .gitlab-ci.yml file:

pages:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - mkdir -p public
    - echo "Hello, GitLab Pages!" > public/index.html
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - public

• Push the changes, and your website will be live at: https://yourusername.gitlab.io/repository-name.

Conclusion

GitLab is a powerful, all-in-one solution for managing the entire software development process. Namely, it’s a comprehensive platform that supports modern development and DevOps practices. In this article, we covered GitLab's key features, advantages, differences from competitors, and how to get started.

If you're new to Git or want to sharpen your skills, check out these courses:

• Introduction to Git – Learn the fundamentals of Git, including version control, branching, and merging.
• Intermediate Git – Take your Git skills further with advanced concepts like rebasing, resolving merge conflicts, and interactive rebasing.

By mastering Git and GitLab, you'll be well-equipped to work efficiently in modern development environments!