Gitlab CE Basic Setup

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

1. Virtual Machine (VM) with minimum 4GB RAM
2. Public IP address (check yours here)
3. Domain configured in Cloudflare with DNS management access

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Gitlab Setup Walkthrough

Optional: Install Docker & Docker Compose

For Ubuntu-based systems, use these commands:

# Add Docker's official GPG key:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

# Add repository to Apt sources:
echo \
"deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
$(. /etc/os-release && echo "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}") stable" | \
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
sudo apt-get update

# Install Docker components:
sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Verify installation:

docker -v && docker compose version

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1. Configure GitLab CE

Docker Compose Configuration

Create docker-compose.yml with these settings:

services:
  gitlab:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ce:${GITLAB_IMAGE_TAG}'
    restart: unless-stopped
    hostname: ${GIT_DOMAIN}
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        external_url 'http://${GIT_DOMAIN}'
        nginx['client_max_body_size'] = '2G'
        nginx['listen_port'] = 80
        nginx['listen_https'] = false
        registry_external_url 'http://${RIGISTRY_SUB}.${DOMAIN_ADDRESS}'
        gitlab_rails['gitlab_shell_ssh_port'] = 2224
        letsencrypt['enable'] = false

        # Disable unused services
        prometheus['enable'] = false
        alertmanager['enable'] = false
        pgbouncer_exporter['enable'] = false
        puma['exporter_enabled'] = false
        gitlab_exporter['enable'] = false
        node_exporter['enable'] = false
        sidekiq['metrics_enabled'] = false
        redis_exporter['enable'] = false
        postgres_exporter['enable'] = false
    ports:
      - '80:80'
      - '2224:22'
    volumes:
      - './config:/etc/gitlab'
      - './logs:/var/log/gitlab'
      - './data:/var/opt/gitlab'
    shm_size: '256m'

Environment variables (save as .env):

# Gitlab Domain
DOMAIN_ADDRESS=example.com
GIT_SUB=gitlab
RIGISTRY_SUB=registry
GIT_DOMAIN=${GIT_SUB}.${DOMAIN_ADDRESS}

# GitLab image tag
GITLAB_IMAGE_TAG=17.8.1-ce.0

Start the container:

sudo docker compose up -d

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2. Initial GitLab Setup

1. Access web UI at http://your-vm-ip
2. Retrieve root password:

sudo docker exec -it gitlab grep 'Password:' /etc/gitlab/initial_root_password

1. Login with username root and obtained password

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3. Network Configuration

Port Forwarding

• On your router, forward TCP ports 80 and 2224 to your VM’s local IP

DNS Setup

1. In Cloudflare, create A record:
   • Name: gitlab.your-domain.com
   • Value: Your public IP
2. In Nginx Proxy Manager:
   • Create proxy host with:
   • Domain: gitlab.your-domain.com
   • Scheme: http
   • Forward to: [VM-local-IP]:80 - Apply SSL certificate in SSL tab

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4. Post-Install Configuration

1. Disable public sign-ups:
   • Admin Area > Settings > General > Sign-up restrictions
2. Create user account:
   • Admin Area > Users > New user
   • Set password via user profile
3. SSH Key Setup:
   • Profile > Preferences > SSH Keys
   • Add public SSH key

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5. Repository Management

1. Create group/project:
   • Groups > New group
   • Projects > New project
2. Clone repository:

git clone ssh://git@gitlab.your-domain.com:2224/your-group/your-project.git

1. Make changes and push:

git add .
git commit -m "First commit"
git push origin main

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Troubleshooting Tips

• Check container logs: docker logs gitlab
• Reset admin password: docker exec -it gitlab gitlab-rake "gitlab:password:reset[root]"
• Clean container data: docker compose down -v

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🎉 Congratulations! Your self-hosted GitLab instance is now ready for development!

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Useful References

• Gitlab Install Docs