GitLab installation and configuration

In this video I explain how to install and configure GitLab in Debian 11 however below you can read the tutorial for other Linux distributions.

GitLab is an open source end-to-end software development platform with built-in version control, issue tracking, code review, CI/CD, and more. Self-host GitLab on your own servers, in a container, or on a cloud provider. Source: GitLab CE

GitLab FOSS is a read-only mirror of GitLab, with all proprietary code removed. This project was previously used to host GitLab Community Edition, but all development has now moved to GitLab CE Source: GitLab CE / Gitlab FOSS

Tutorial

Basic requirements for a a virtual machine

8 GB RAM
4 vCPUs
40 GB disk space
Disk space:

system disk (sda) …. 40GB
– If needed, create a separate /opt partition (~20GB) as GitLab is installed in /opt/gitlab
data disk (sdb) ….. 60GB
– mount on /data
– define the GitLab data directory /data/gitlab

If needed increase partitions size.

Add a secondary disk and create partition.

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sudo fdisk /dev/sdb

Then type enter the letters in sequence and set the parameters

n
hit Enter
p
hit Enter
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hit Enter twice
t
hit Enter
8E
hit Enter
w
hit Enter

Install parted

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sudo zypper install parted

Debian

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sudo apt install parted

Red Hat

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sudo dnf install parted

Perform the below command

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sudo parted /dev/sdb

Add a physical volume in logical volume manager

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sudo pvcreate /dev/sdb1

Create a volume group and add /dev/sdb1 to it

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sudo vgcreate gitlab-data /dev/sdb1

Create a logical volume

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sudo lvcreate -n gitlab-data -l 100%FREE gitlab-data

Create ext4 file system

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mkfs.ext4 /dev/gitlab-data/gitlab-data

Display device

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sudo ls -al /dev/mapper

Create data dir in root directory

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cd /
sudo mkdir data

Add to /etc/fstab entry for the data. Save and exit.

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vim /etc/fstab
# add the below
/dev/mapper/gitlab--data-gitlab--data /data ext4 defaults 0 2

Mount the entry from /etc/fstab

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mount -a

Check with the below command the status of the mounted resource

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sudo df -kTh

Update the system

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sudo zypper ref

Debian

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sudo apt update

Red Hat

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sudo dnf check-update

Install required packages

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sudo zypper install curl vim openssh perl postfix mailutils git

Debian

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sudo apt install curl vim openssh-server ca-certificates postfix mailutils gnupg debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https git

Red Hat

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sudo dnf curl vim openssh-server ca-certificates postfix mailutils gnupg policycoreutils python3-policycoreutils git

Install GitLab CE

SLES | openSUSE Leap 15.4

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sudo zypper install curl perl
# Check if opening the firewall is needed with: sudo systemctl status firewalld
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo systemctl reload firewalld

#Add the GitLab package repository and install the package
curl -sS https://packages.gitlab.com/install/repositories/gitlab/gitlab-ee/script.rpm.sh | sudo bash

# Install GitLab CE
sudo zypper install gitlab-ee

Debian

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id="os=debian&dist=bullseye"
curl -ssf "https://packages.gitlab.com/install/repositories/gitlab/gitlab-ce/config_file.list?$id" >/etc/apt/sources.list.d/gitlab-ce.list
curl -L https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/gpgkey | gpg --dearmor > /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/gitlab-ce.gpg
sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list.d/gitlab-ce.list
#change the gpg key to:  /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/gitlab-ce.gpg
#It should looks like below:

# this file was generated by packages.gitlab.com for
# the repository at https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce
deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/gitlab-ce.gpg] https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/debian/ bullseye main
deb-src [signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/gitlab-ce.gpg] https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/debian/ bullseye main

# Update apt
sudo apt update

# Install GitLab CE
sudo apt install gitlab-ce

Red Hat

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# Check if opening the firewall is needed with: sudo systemctl status firewalld
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo systemctl reload firewalld

# Add repositories for GitLab CE
sudo vim /etc/yum.repos.d/gitlab_gitlab-ce.repo

#Add the below lines to the file:
[gitlab_gitlab-ce]
name=gitlab_gitlab-ce
baseurl=https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/el/8/$basearch
repo_gpgcheck=1
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/gpgkey
       https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/gpgkey/gitlab-gitlab-ce-3D645A26AB9FBD22.pub.gpg
sslverify=1
sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
metadata_expire=300

[gitlab_gitlab-ce-source]
name=gitlab_gitlab-ce-source
baseurl=https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/el/8/SRPMS
repo_gpgcheck=1
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/gpgkey
       https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ce/gpgkey/gitlab-gitlab-ce-3D645A26AB9FBD22.pub.gpg
sslverify=1
sslcacert=/etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt
metadata_expire=300

# Check repositories
sudo dnf repolist

# Install GitLab CE
sudo dnf install gitlab-ce -y  

Configuration

Configure Postfix

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sudo vim /etc/postfix/main.cf

Set as below

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compatibility_level = 2
mail_owner = postfix
setgid_group = postdrop
inet_interfaces = localhost
inet_protocols = all
mydomain = gitlab.local
mydestination = $myhostname, localhost.$mydomain, localhost
relayhost = mail.gitlab.local
unknown_local_recipient_reject_code = 550
alias_maps = hash:/etc/aliases
alias_database = hash:/etc/aliases

Restart Postfix

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sudo systemctl restart postfix

Create ssl directory and generate certificates

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cd /etc/gitlab
sudo mkdir ssl
sudo openssl genrsa -out gitlab.key 2048
sudo openssl req -key gitlab.key -new -out gitlab.csr
sudo openssl x509 -signkey gitlab.key -in gitlab.csr -req -days 365 -out gitlab.crt

Edit the main config file: /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb

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sudo vim /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb

external_url ‘https://10.10.0.119’

Default data storing directory

git_data_dirs({
“default” => { “path” => “/data/git” }
})

GitLab User Settings

user[‘git_user_email’] = “ gitlab@gitlab.local ”

Email settings

gitlab_rails[‘gitlab_email_from’] = ‘ gitlab@gitlab.local ’
gitlab_rails[‘gitlab_email_display_name’] = ‘GitLab’
gitlab_rails[‘gitlab_email_reply_to’] = ’ noreply@gitlab.local ’

GitLab NGINX

nginx[’enable’] = true
nginx[‘redirect_http_to_https’] = true
nginx[‘redirect_http_to_https_port’] = 80
nginx[‘ssl_certificate’] = “/etc/gitlab/ssl/gitlab.crt”
nginx[‘ssl_certificate_key’] = “/etc/gitlab/ssl/gitlab.key”

Reconfigure the GitLab

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sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure

Enable and start GitLab

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sudo systemctl enable gitlab-runsvdir.service
sudo systemctl start gitlab-runsvdir.service

Access GitLab CE Web Interface

https://10.10.0.119
Sign in with account: root
the password is found in /etc/gitlab/initial_root_password

Reset the password for user “root”

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# sudo gitlab-rake "gitlab:password:reset"
> Enter username: root
> Enter password:

Delete the initial root password

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sudo rm -f /etc/gitlab/initial_root_password