debian-mirror-gitlab/doc/user/snippets.md

---
stage: Create
group: Editor
info: "To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments"
type: reference
---

# Snippets

With GitLab Snippets you can store and share bits of code and text with other users.

![GitLab Snippet](img/gitlab_snippet_v13_0.png)

Snippets can be maintained using [snippets API](../api/snippets.md).

There are two types of snippets:

- Personal snippets.
- Project snippets.

## Personal snippets

Personal snippets are not related to any project and can be created completely
independently. There are 3 visibility levels that can be set, public, internal
and private. See [Public access](../public_access/public_access.md) for more information.

## Project snippets

Project snippets are always related to a specific project.
See [Project features](project/index.md#project-features) for more information.

## Create a snippet

To create a personal snippet, click the plus icon (**{plus-square-o}**)
on the top navigation and select **New snippet** from the dropdown menu:

![New personal snippet from non-project pages](img/new_personal_snippet_v12_10.png)

If you're on a project's page but you want to create a new personal snippet,
click the plus icon (**{plus-square-o}**) and select **New snippet** from the
lower part of the dropdown (**GitLab** on GitLab.com; **Your Instance** on
self-managed instances):

![New personal snippet from project pages](img/new_personal_snippet_from_project_v12_10.png)

To create a project snippet, navigate to your project's page and click the
plus icon (**{plus-square-o}**), then select **New snippet** from the upper
part of the dropdown (**This project**).

![New personal snippet from project pages](img/new_project_snippet_from_project_v12_10.png)

From there, add the **Title**, **Description**, and a **File** name with the
appropriate extension (for example, `example.rb`, `index.html`).

WARNING:
Make sure to add the filename to get code highlighting and to avoid this
[copy-pasting bug](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/22870).

## Versioned Snippets

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/239) in GitLab 13.0.

Starting in 13.0, snippets (both personal and project snippets)
have version control enabled by default.

This means that all snippets get their own underlying repository initialized with
a `master` branch at the moment the snippet is created. Whenever a change to the snippet is saved, a
new commit to the `master` branch is recorded. Commit messages are automatically
generated. The snippet's repository has only one branch (`master`) by default, deleting
it or creating other branches is not supported.

Existing snippets are automatically migrated in 13.0. Their current
content is saved as the initial commit to the snippets' repository.

### Filenames

Snippets support syntax highlighting based on the filename and
extension provided for them. While you can submit a snippet
without specifying a filename and extension, it needs a valid name so the
content can be created as a file in the snippet's repository.

If you don't attribute a filename and extension to a snippet,
GitLab adds a filename in the format `snippetfile<x>.txt`
where `<x>` represents a number added to the file, starting with 1. This
number increments when more snippets without an attributed
filename are added.

When upgrading from an earlier version of GitLab to 13.0, existing snippets
without a supported filename are renamed to a compatible format. For
example, if the snippet's filename is `http://a-weird-filename.me` it is
changed to `http-a-weird-filename-me` to be included in the snippet's
repository. As snippets are stored by ID, changing their filenames breaks
direct or embedded links to the snippet.

### Multiple files by Snippet

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/2829) in GitLab 13.5.

GitLab Snippets support multiple files in one single snippet. This is helpful
when your code snippet is composed of multiple parts or when they relate
to a certain context. For example:

- A snippet that includes a script and its output.
- A snippet that includes HTML, CSS, and JS code.
- A snippet with a `docker-compose.yml` file and its associated `.env` file.
- A `gulpfile.js` file coupled with a `package.json` file, which together can be
  used to bootstrap a project and manage its dependencies.

Snippets support between 1 and 10 files. They can be managed via Git (because they're [versioned](#versioned-snippets)
by a Git repository), through the [Snippets API](../api/snippets.md), or in the GitLab UI.

![Multi-file Snippet](img/gitlab_snippet_v13_5.png)

To add a new file to your snippet through the GitLab UI:

1. Go to your snippet in the GitLab UI.
1. Click **Edit** in the top right.
1. Select **Add another file**.
1. Add your content to the file in the form fields provided.
1. Click **Save changes**.

To delete a file from your snippet through the GitLab UI:

1. Go to your snippet in the GitLab UI.
1. Click **Edit** in the top right.
1. Select **Delete file** alongside the filename of each file
you wish to delete.
1. Click **Save changes**.

### Cloning snippets

Snippets can be cloned as a regular Git repository using SSH or HTTPS. Click the **Clone**
button above the snippet content to copy the URL of your choice.

![Clone Snippet](img/snippet_clone_button_v13_0.png)

This allows you to have a local copy of the snippet's repository and make
changes as needed. You can commit those changes and push them to the remote
`master` branch.

### Reduce snippets repository size

Because versioned Snippets are considered as part of the [namespace storage size](../user/admin_area/settings/account_and_limit_settings.md),
it's recommended to keep snippets' repositories as compact as possible.

For more information about tools to compact repositories,
see the documentation on [reducing repository size](../user/project/repository/reducing_the_repo_size_using_git.md).

### Limitations

- Binary files are not supported.
- Creating or deleting branches is not supported. Only a default `master` branch is used.
- Git tags are not supported in snippet repositories.
- Snippets' repositories are limited to 10 files. Attempting to push more
  than 10 files results in an error.
- Revisions are not visible to the user on the GitLab UI, but this feature is planned
  in future iterations. See the [revisions tab issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/39271)
  for updates.
- The [maximum size for a snippet](../administration/snippets/index.md#snippets-content-size-limit)
  is 50 MB, by default.
- Git LFS is not supported.

## Discover snippets

There are two main ways of how you can discover snippets in GitLab.

For exploring all snippets that are visible to you, you can go to the Snippets
dashboard of your GitLab instance via the top navigation. For GitLab.com you can
navigate to an [overview]((https://gitlab.com/dashboard/snippets)) that shows snippets
you created and allows you to explore all snippets.

To discover snippets that belong to a specific project, navigate
to the Snippets page via the left side navigation on the project page.
Project snippets are enabled and available by default. You can
disable them by navigating to your project's **Settings**, expanding
**Visibility, project features, permissions** and scrolling down to
**Snippets**. From there, you can toggle to disable them or select a
different visibility level from the dropdown menu.

## Snippet comments

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/12910) in GitLab 9.2.

With GitLab Snippets you engage in a conversation about that piece of code,
encouraging user collaboration.

## Downloading snippets

You can download the raw content of a snippet.

By default snippets are downloaded with Linux-style line endings (`LF`). If
you want to preserve the original line endings you need to add a parameter `line_ending=raw`
(For example: `https://gitlab.com/snippets/SNIPPET_ID/raw?line_ending=raw`). In case a
snippet was created using the GitLab web interface the original line ending is Windows-like (`CRLF`).

## Embedded snippets

> Introduced in GitLab 10.8.

Public snippets can not only be shared, but also embedded on any website. With
this, you can reuse a GitLab snippet in multiple places and any change to the source
is automatically reflected in the embedded snippet.

To embed a snippet, first make sure that:

- The project is public (if it's a project snippet)
- The snippet is public
- In **Project > Settings > Permissions**, the snippets permissions are
  set to **Everyone with access**

After the above conditions are met, the **Embed** section appears in your
snippet. Click the **Copy** button to copy a one-line
script that you can add to any website or blog post. For example:

```html
<script src="https://gitlab.com/namespace/project/snippets/SNIPPET_ID.js"></script>
```

Here's what an embedded snippet looks like:

<script src="https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/snippets/1717978.js"></script>

Embedded snippets are displayed with a header that shows:

- The filename, if defined.
- The snippet size.
- A link to GitLab.
- The actual snippet content.

Actions in the header enable users to see the snippet in raw format, and download it.