Git GitLab Introduction
In this page:
What is GitLab?
GitLab is a web-based Git repository host built around integrated DevOps tooling, most notably its own CI/CD pipelines, issue tracking, and container registry, all in one product. You connect a local repository to it with the same git remote add workflow you'd use for any other host, so nothing about your day-to-day Git commands changes.
Example: What is GitLab?
git remote add origin https://gitlab.com/user/repo.gitCloning from GitLab
Cloning a GitLab project works over either HTTPS (prompts for a username/password or personal access token) or SSH (uses a key pair registered on your account, no password prompt). Once cloned, the project behaves like any local Git repository — GitLab only matters again when you push, pull, or open a merge request.
Example: Cloning from GitLab
git clone https://gitlab.com/user/repo.git
git clone [email protected]:user/repo.gitGitLab CI/CD Basics
A .gitlab-ci.yml file at your project root defines one or more pipeline stages (build, test, deploy) that GitLab runs automatically on every push. This is what lets a team catch a broken build or failing test within minutes of a commit, rather than discovering it later during a manual release.
Example: GitLab CI/CD Basics
echo "stages:\n - build\n - test\n - deploy" > .gitlab-ci.ymlWorking with Merge Requests
GitLab's Merge Request is functionally the same idea as GitHub's Pull Request: push a feature branch, then open a request asking for it to be merged into a target branch, with room for review comments and approval rules before merging. The renamed term trips up people switching between the two platforms.
Example: Working with Merge Requests
git checkout -b add-search-bar
git push -u origin add-search-barForking on GitLab
Forking on GitLab copies a project (including its full history) into your own namespace, so you can make changes without needing write access to the original. You then push commits to your fork and open a merge request back to the source project, which is the standard workflow for contributing to a repository you don't own.
Example: Forking on GitLab
git clone https://gitlab.com/yourname/repo.git
git push origin mainChapter Quiz — Complete all 11 topics to unlock
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