Gitlab - Getting Started

Git

Git is a version control system that can be used to keep track of your files (programming code, but also other files as well).

Two of the most popular installations of git (as of 2020) are github and gitlab. When Microsoft purchased github, it became fashionable to prefer gitlab. Github allows for projects to be hosted on their servers. Gitlab allows for hosting either on their servers or to run a local installation of gitlab on ones own servers.

Of late, we have hosted projects using gitlab either on gitlab's servers or on ISU's local installation of gitlab.

Account Setup

On gitlab.com - Account setup on gitlab.com is just like any other website. You create a free account, choose your username/password, etc. The account is yours and is not tied in any particular way to ISU. You can give access to your projects in much the same way as you give access to files on google drive, onedrive, dropbox, etc.

On gitlab.indstate.edu - ISU's local installation of gitlab is at https://gitlab.indstate.edu/. For this system you use your ISU portal id and password. You do not need to create an account. The first time you login into the system, it initializes an account for you. CS courses and ISU CS projects in general tend to use ISU's local installation because we can tie access based on course rosters, etc.

Getting Around

Whether you are using gitlab.com or gitlab.indstate.edu, the functionality and "how to get around" is about the same. You have two main methods for using either.

Web browser interface - You can view project within your web browser. How to get around is fairly intuitive - as is the case with any web page, you look around and click around to see what different things do. When you have something specific you want to do but don't see how to do, you ask the internet or ask your instructor.

Terminal interface - Git allows to download/upload/etc. files in your projects from the terminal. Git