gitlab-org / gitlab-ce-

This documentation provides a step-by-step guide on how to build and start the GitLab Community Edition (CE) project. Note that this guide assumes familiarity with GitLab and its general structure.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding with the build process, ensure you have the following prerequisites installed on your system:

  • Git: Used for cloning repositories.
  • Ruby: The version specified in the .ruby-version file.
  • Node.js and Yarn: Used for managing JavaScript dependencies.
  • PostgreSQL: Required database for the application.
  • Redis: In-memory data structure store used as a database cache.
  • Docker: Optional, for running GitLab in a containerized environment.

Cloning the Repository

Start by cloning the GitLab CE repository:

git clone https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce.git
cd gitlab-ce

Installing Dependencies

Ruby Dependencies

Install the Ruby dependencies using Bundler:

bundle install --deployment --without development test

JavaScript Dependencies

Install JavaScript dependencies using Yarn:

yarn install --check-files

Database Setup

Configure and set up the PostgreSQL database. Create the database and run the necessary migrations:

# Setup the database
bundle exec rake db:create db:migrate

If you need to load sample data, run:

bundle exec rake db:seed

Configuration

Before starting the application, you may need to configure various settings in the config directory. Ensure that the required files are properly configured, particularly:

  • gitlab.yml: General GitLab configuration file.
  • database.yml: Database configuration file.

Example: database.yml

development:
  adapter: postgresql
  encoding: unicode
  database: gitlab_development
  username: gitlab
  password: <%= ENV['GITLAB_DATABASE_PASSWORD'] %>
  host: localhost

Starting the Application

You can start the application using the following command:

bundle exec rails s

This starts the Rails server, and the application will be available at http://localhost:3000.

Alternative: Using Docker

If you prefer to run the application within Docker containers, you can use the provided docker-compose.yml file to set up the environment.

docker-compose up

This command will start all necessary services defined in the docker-compose file.

Accessing the Application

Once the application is running, access it in your web browser at:

http://localhost:3000

You can log in using the default admin credentials:

  • Username: root
  • Password: 5iveL!fe

Conclusion

Following these steps will allow you to successfully build and start the GitLab CE project. For further customization and configuration, refer to the project’s documentation.

Source: gitlab-org/gitlab-ce