GitLab CE

Key Features

• Complete Git repository management with advanced branching strategies and merge request workflows
• Built-in CI/CD pipelines with Docker executor support and Auto DevOps capabilities
• Integrated container registry for storing and managing Docker images within the same platform
• Security scanning including Static Application Security Testing (SAST) and Dependency Scanning
• Issue tracking with Kanban boards, milestones, and sprint planning tools
• Wiki documentation system with Markdown support and version control
• Code review system with inline comments, approval workflows, and merge request templates
• Package registry supporting npm, Maven, NuGet, and other package formats

Common Use Cases

• 1Software development teams migrating from GitHub or Bitbucket seeking integrated CI/CD without third-party tools
• 2Startups building their first DevOps pipeline who need everything from code hosting to deployment automation
• 3Educational institutions teaching modern software development practices in a controlled environment
• 4Open source projects requiring robust issue tracking, documentation, and contributor management
• 5Small to medium enterprises needing security scanning and compliance reporting for internal applications
• 6Development agencies managing multiple client projects with separate repositories and deployment pipelines
• 7Research organizations requiring complete audit trails and data sovereignty for sensitive code projects

Prerequisites

• Minimum 4GB RAM with 8GB+ recommended for smooth GitLab omnibus operation and CI/CD execution
• Docker Engine 20.10+ with compose plugin for proper container orchestration and volume management
• Available ports 80, 443, and 2224 for web interface and SSH Git operations
• Understanding of Git workflows, merge requests, and basic CI/CD pipeline concepts
• Administrative access to modify /etc/hosts file or DNS records for hostname resolution
• At least 20GB available disk space for GitLab data, repositories, and CI/CD artifacts

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  gitlab: 
3    image: gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest
4    container_name: gitlab
5    restart: unless-stopped
6    hostname: gitlab.local
7    environment: 
8      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
9        external_url 'http: //gitlab.local'
10        gitlab_rails['gitlab_shell_ssh_port'] = 2224
11    volumes: 
12      - gitlab_config:/etc/gitlab
13      - gitlab_logs:/var/log/gitlab
14      - gitlab_data:/var/opt/gitlab
15    ports: 
16      - "80:80"
17      - "443:443"
18      - "2224:22"
19    shm_size: '256m'
20
21volumes: 
22  gitlab_config: 
23  gitlab_logs: 
24  gitlab_data: 

.env Template

1# Access with root user, check initial password:
2# docker exec -it gitlab grep 'Password:' /etc/gitlab/initial_root_password

Usage Notes

Quick Start

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  gitlab:
5    image: gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest
6    container_name: gitlab
7    restart: unless-stopped
8    hostname: gitlab.local
9    environment:
10      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
11        external_url 'http://gitlab.local'
12        gitlab_rails['gitlab_shell_ssh_port'] = 2224
13    volumes:
14      - gitlab_config:/etc/gitlab
15      - gitlab_logs:/var/log/gitlab
16      - gitlab_data:/var/opt/gitlab
17    ports:
18      - "80:80"
19      - "443:443"
20      - "2224:22"
21    shm_size: '256m'
22
23volumes:
24  gitlab_config:
25  gitlab_logs:
26  gitlab_data:
27EOF
28
29# 2. Create the .env file
30cat > .env << 'EOF'
31# Access with root user, check initial password:
32# docker exec -it gitlab grep 'Password:' /etc/gitlab/initial_root_password
33EOF
34
35# 3. Start the services
36docker compose up -d
37
38# 4. View logs
39docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/gitlab-ce/run | bash

Troubleshooting