Summary and Setup

GitLab is a web application for managing Git repositories. Since it is build around Git, it is suitable to manage any project that works primarily with plain text files, for example software source code, TeX based documents, or meeting notes in Markdown. With its built-in issue and wiki systems, it can, in certain cases, even be the right tool for managing a project without any files.

This lesson will give you a foundational understanding of GitLab’s features, so you can make informed decisions on how to use it as a tool.

Since GitLab interprets many of its text fields’ values as Markdown, more specifically GitLab flavored Markdown, this lesson contains a rudimentary introduction to Markdown syntax, following the CommonMark specification on which the GitLab flavor is based.

Depending on previous knowledge of learners, the material can either be taught using solely the GitLab web interface or it can involve parts that teach the interaction with a local Git repository, using the Git command-line interface.

Required Previous Knowledge

The material can be taught solely in the GitLab web interface. In that case no previous knowledge is required.

Optionally, the interaction of local Git repositories with GitLab can be taught. In that case a basic familiarity with the Git command-line interface is required.

To understand the material on GitLab’s continuous integration (CI) feature, basic knowledge of Bash and how Docker works is required.

Setup

To follow the lesson, you need access to GitLab.

If the taught version of this course introduces the interaction between local repositories and GitLab, you also need to have a text editor and Git installed.

The following sections provide information on how to install the required software, if necessary, and how you get access to GitLab.

Software Setup

See https://carpentries.github.io/workshop-template/#editor for how to install or find a text editor on your machine.

See https://carpentries.github.io/workshop-template/#git for how to install or find Git on your machine.

GitLab

You can create a free GitLab account. If you already have an account, please make sure that you know your account credentials and can sign in.

Note that for a specific course, you might work on another GitLab instance. In that case you should follow the instructions given by the organizers.