--- stage: Systems group: Distribution info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments --- # Installation from source **(FREE SELF)** This is the official installation guide to set up a production GitLab server using the source files. To set up a **development installation** or for many other installation options, see the [main installation page](index.md). It was created for and tested on **Debian/Ubuntu** operating systems. Read [requirements.md](requirements.md) for hardware and operating system requirements. If you want to install on RHEL/CentOS, you should use the [Omnibus packages](https://about.gitlab.com/install/). This guide is long because it covers many cases and includes all commands you need, this is [one of the few installation scripts that actually work out of the box](https://twitter.com/robinvdvleuten/status/424163226532986880). The following steps have been known to work. **Use caution when you deviate** from this guide. Make sure you don't violate any assumptions GitLab makes about its environment. For example, many people run into permission problems because they changed the location of directories or run services as the wrong user. If you find a bug/error in this guide, **submit a merge request** following the [contributing guide](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md). ## Consider the Omnibus package installation Because an installation from source is a lot of work and error prone we strongly recommend the fast and reliable [Omnibus package installation](https://about.gitlab.com/install/) (deb/rpm). One reason the Omnibus package is more reliable is its use of runit to restart any of the GitLab processes in case one crashes. On heavily used GitLab instances the memory usage of the Sidekiq background worker grows over time. Omnibus packages solve this by [letting the Sidekiq terminate gracefully](../administration/sidekiq/sidekiq_memory_killer.md) if it uses too much memory. After this termination runit detects Sidekiq is not running and starts it. Because installations from source don't use runit for process supervision, Sidekiq can't be terminated and its memory usage grows over time. ## Select a version to install Make sure you view [this installation guide](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/doc/install/installation.md) from the branch (version) of GitLab you would like to install (for example, `11-7-stable`). You can select the branch in the version dropdown list in the upper-left corner of GitLab (below the menu bar). If the highest number stable branch is unclear, check the [GitLab blog](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/) for installation guide links by version. ## Software requirements | Software | Minimum version | Notes | |:------------------------|:----------------|:---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | [Ruby](#2-ruby) | `3.0.x` | From GitLab 15.10, Ruby 3.0 is required. You must use the standard MRI implementation of Ruby. We love [JRuby](https://www.jruby.org/) and [Rubinius](https://github.com/rubinius/rubinius#the-rubinius-language-platform), but GitLab needs several Gems that have native extensions. | | [RubyGems](#3-rubygems) | `3.4.x` | A specific RubyGems version is not fully needed, but it's recommended to update so you can enjoy some known performance improvements. | | [Go](#4-go) | `1.18.x` | From GitLab 15.6, Go 1.18 or later is required. | | [Git](#git) | `2.38.x` | From GitLab 15.8, Git 2.38.x and later is required. It's highly recommended that you use the [Git version provided by Gitaly](#git). | | [Node.js](#5-node) | `16.15.0` | From GitLab 15.7, Node.js 16.15.0 or later is required. | ## GitLab directory structure When following the instructions on this page, you create this directory structure: ```plaintext |-- home | |-- git | |-- .ssh | |-- gitlab | |-- gitlab-shell | |-- repositories ``` - `/home/git/.ssh` - Contains OpenSSH settings. Specifically, the `authorized_keys` file managed by GitLab Shell. - `/home/git/gitlab` - GitLab core software. - `/home/git/gitlab-shell` - Core add-on component of GitLab. Maintains SSH cloning and other functionality. - `/home/git/repositories` - Bare repositories for all projects organized by namespace. This is where the Git repositories which are pushed/pulled are maintained for all projects. **This area contains critical data for projects. [Keep a backup](../raketasks/backup_restore.md).** The default locations for repositories can be configured in `config/gitlab.yml` of GitLab and `config.yml` of GitLab Shell. For a more in-depth overview, see the [GitLab architecture doc](../development/architecture.md). ## Overview The GitLab installation consists of setting up the following components: 1. [Packages and dependencies](#1-packages-and-dependencies). 1. [Ruby](#2-ruby). 1. [RubyGems](#3-rubygems). 1. [Go](#4-go). 1. [Node](#5-node). 1. [System users](#6-system-users). 1. [Database](#7-database). 1. [Redis](#8-redis). 1. [GitLab](#9-gitlab). 1. [NGINX](#10-nginx). ## 1. Packages and dependencies ### sudo `sudo` is not installed on Debian by default. Make sure your system is up-to-date and install it. ```shell # run as root! apt-get update -y apt-get upgrade -y apt-get install sudo -y ``` ### Build dependencies Install the required packages (needed to compile Ruby and native extensions to Ruby gems): ```shell sudo apt-get install -y build-essential zlib1g-dev libyaml-dev libssl-dev libgdbm-dev libre2-dev \ libreadline-dev libncurses5-dev libffi-dev curl openssh-server libxml2-dev libxslt-dev \ libcurl4-openssl-dev libicu-dev libkrb5-dev logrotate rsync python3-docutils pkg-config cmake \ runit-systemd ``` NOTE: GitLab requires OpenSSL version 1.1. If your Linux distribution includes a different version of OpenSSL, you might have to install 1.1 manually. ### Git From GitLab 13.6, we recommend you use the [Git version provided by Gitaly](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly/-/issues/2729) that: - Is always at the version required by GitLab. - May contain custom patches required for proper operation. 1. Install the needed dependencies: ```shell sudo apt-get install -y libcurl4-openssl-dev libexpat1-dev gettext libz-dev libssl-dev libpcre2-dev build-essential git-core ``` 1. Clone the Gitaly repository and compile Git. Replace `` with the stable branch that matches the GitLab version you want to install. For example, if you want to install GitLab 13.6, use the branch name `13-6-stable`: ```shell git clone https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitaly.git -b /tmp/gitaly cd /tmp/gitaly sudo make git GIT_PREFIX=/usr/local ``` 1. Optionally, you can remove the system Git and its dependencies: ```shell sudo apt remove -y git-core sudo apt autoremove ``` When [editing `config/gitlab.yml` later](#configure-it), remember to change the Git path: - From: ```yaml git: bin_path: /usr/bin/git ``` - To: ```yaml git: bin_path: /usr/local/bin/git ``` ### GraphicsMagick For the [Custom Favicon](../user/admin_area/appearance.md#favicon) to work, GraphicsMagick must be installed. ```shell sudo apt-get install -y graphicsmagick ``` ### Mail server To receive mail notifications, make sure to install a mail server. By default, Debian is shipped with `exim4` but this [has problems](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/12754) while Ubuntu does not ship with one. The recommended mail server is `postfix` and you can install it with: ```shell sudo apt-get install -y postfix ``` Then select 'Internet Site' and press Enter to confirm the hostname. ### ExifTool [GitLab Workhorse](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-workhorse#dependencies) requires `exiftool` to remove EXIF data from uploaded images. ```shell sudo apt-get install -y libimage-exiftool-perl ``` ## 2. Ruby The Ruby interpreter is required to run GitLab. See the [requirements section](#software-requirements) for the minimum Ruby requirements. The use of Ruby version managers such as [`RVM`](https://rvm.io/), [`rbenv`](https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv) or [`chruby`](https://github.com/postmodern/chruby) with GitLab in production, frequently leads to hard to diagnose problems. Version managers are not supported and we strongly advise everyone to follow the instructions below to use a system Ruby. Linux distributions generally have older versions of Ruby available, so these instructions are designed to install Ruby from the official source code. [Install Ruby](https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/documentation/installation/). ## 3. RubyGems Sometimes, a newer version of RubyGems is required than the one bundled with Ruby. To update to a specific version: ```shell gem update --system 3.4.12 ``` Or the latest version: ```shell gem update --system ``` ## 4. Go GitLab has several daemons written in Go. To install GitLab we need a Go compiler. The instructions below assume you use 64-bit Linux. You can find downloads for other platforms at the [Go download page](https://go.dev/dl). ```shell # Remove former Go installation folder sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go curl --remote-name --location --progress-bar "https://go.dev/dl/go1.18.8.linux-amd64.tar.gz" echo '4d854c7bad52d53470cf32f1b287a5c0c441dc6b98306dea27358e099698142a go1.18.8.linux-amd64.tar.gz' | shasum -a256 -c - && \ sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.18.8.linux-amd64.tar.gz sudo ln -sf /usr/local/go/bin/{go,gofmt} /usr/local/bin/ rm go1.18.8.linux-amd64.tar.gz ``` ## 5. Node GitLab requires the use of Node to compile JavaScript assets, and Yarn to manage JavaScript dependencies. The current minimum requirements for these are: - `node` 16.x releases (v16.15.0 or later). [Other LTS versions of Node.js](https://github.com/nodejs/release#release-schedule) might be able to build assets, but we only guarantee Node.js 16.x. - `yarn` = v1.22.x (Yarn 2 is not supported yet) In many distributions, the versions provided by the official package repositories are out of date, so we must install through the following commands: ```shell # install node v16.x curl --location "https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_16.x" | sudo bash - sudo apt-get install -y nodejs npm install --global yarn ``` Visit the official websites for [node](https://nodejs.org/en/download/package-manager/) and [yarn](https://classic.yarnpkg.com/en/docs/install/) if you have any trouble with these steps. ## 6. System users Create a `git` user for GitLab: ```shell sudo adduser --disabled-login --gecos 'GitLab' git ``` ## 7. Database NOTE: In GitLab 12.1 and later, only PostgreSQL is supported. In GitLab 16.0 and later, we [require PostgreSQL 13+](requirements.md#postgresql-requirements). 1. Install the database packages. For Ubuntu 20.04 and later: ```shell sudo apt install -y postgresql postgresql-client libpq-dev postgresql-contrib ``` For Ubuntu 18.04 and earlier, the available PostgreSQL doesn't meet the minimum version requirement. You must add PostgreSQL's repository: ```shell wget --quiet -O - https://www.postgresql.org/media/keys/ACCC4CF8.asc | sudo apt-key add - sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://apt.postgresql.org/pub/repos/apt $(lsb_release -cs)-pgdg main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list' sudo apt update sudo apt -y install postgresql-12 postgresql-client-12 libpq-dev ``` 1. Verify the PostgreSQL version you have is supported by the version of GitLab you're installing: ```shell psql --version ``` 1. Start the PostgreSQL service and confirm that the service is running: ```shell sudo service postgresql start sudo service postgresql status ``` 1. Create a database user for GitLab: ```shell sudo -u postgres psql -d template1 -c "CREATE USER git CREATEDB;" ``` 1. Create the `pg_trgm` extension: ```shell sudo -u postgres psql -d template1 -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS pg_trgm;" ``` 1. Create the `btree_gist` extension (required for GitLab 13.1+): ```shell sudo -u postgres psql -d template1 -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS btree_gist;" ``` 1. Create the `plpgsql` extension: ```shell sudo -u postgres psql -d template1 -c "CREATE EXTENSION IF NOT EXISTS plpgsql;" ``` 1. Create the GitLab production database and grant all privileges on the database: ```shell sudo -u postgres psql -d template1 -c "CREATE DATABASE gitlabhq_production OWNER git;" ``` 1. Try connecting to the new database with the new user: ```shell sudo -u git -H psql -d gitlabhq_production ``` 1. Check if the `pg_trgm` extension is enabled: ```sql SELECT true AS enabled FROM pg_available_extensions WHERE name = 'pg_trgm' AND installed_version IS NOT NULL; ``` If the extension is enabled this produces the following output: ```plaintext enabled --------- t (1 row) ``` 1. Check if the `btree_gist` extension is enabled: ```sql SELECT true AS enabled FROM pg_available_extensions WHERE name = 'btree_gist' AND installed_version IS NOT NULL; ``` If the extension is enabled this produces the following output: ```plaintext enabled --------- t (1 row) ``` 1. Check if the `plpgsql` extension is enabled: ```sql SELECT true AS enabled FROM pg_available_extensions WHERE name = 'plpgsql' AND installed_version IS NOT NULL; ``` If the extension is enabled this produces the following output: ```plaintext enabled --------- t (1 row) ``` 1. Quit the database session: ```shell gitlabhq_production> \q ``` ## 8. Redis See the [requirements page](requirements.md#redis-versions) for the minimum Redis requirements. Install Redis with: ```shell sudo apt-get install redis-server ``` Once done, you can configure Redis: ```shell # Configure redis to use sockets sudo cp /etc/redis/redis.conf /etc/redis/redis.conf.orig # Disable Redis listening on TCP by setting 'port' to 0 sudo sed 's/^port .*/port 0/' /etc/redis/redis.conf.orig | sudo tee /etc/redis/redis.conf # Enable Redis socket for default Debian / Ubuntu path echo 'unixsocket /var/run/redis/redis.sock' | sudo tee -a /etc/redis/redis.conf # Grant permission to the socket to all members of the redis group echo 'unixsocketperm 770' | sudo tee -a /etc/redis/redis.conf # Add git to the redis group sudo usermod -aG redis git ``` ### Supervise Redis with systemd If your distribution uses systemd init and the output of the following command is `notify`, you must not make any changes: ```shell systemctl show --value --property=Type redis-server.service ``` If the output is **not** `notify`, run: ```shell # Configure Redis to not daemonize, but be supervised by systemd instead and disable the pidfile sudo sed -i \ -e 's/^daemonize yes$/daemonize no/' \ -e 's/^supervised no$/supervised systemd/' \ -e 's/^pidfile/# pidfile/' /etc/redis/redis.conf sudo chown redis:redis /etc/redis/redis.conf # Make the same changes to the systemd unit file sudo mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/redis-server.service.d sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/redis-server.service.d/10fix_type.conf < gitlab ``` Clone Enterprise Edition: ```shell # Clone GitLab repository sudo -u git -H git clone https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab.git -b gitlab ``` Make sure to replace `` with the stable branch that matches the version you want to install. For example, if you want to install 11.8 you would use the branch name `11-8-stable`. WARNING: You can change `` to `master` if you want the *bleeding edge* version, but never install `master` on a production server! ### Configure It ```shell # Go to GitLab installation folder cd /home/git/gitlab # Copy the example GitLab config sudo -u git -H cp config/gitlab.yml.example config/gitlab.yml # Update GitLab config file, follow the directions at top of the file sudo -u git -H editor config/gitlab.yml # Copy the example secrets file sudo -u git -H cp config/secrets.yml.example config/secrets.yml sudo -u git -H chmod 0600 config/secrets.yml # Make sure GitLab can write to the log/ and tmp/ directories sudo chown -R git log/ sudo chown -R git tmp/ sudo chmod -R u+rwX,go-w log/ sudo chmod -R u+rwX tmp/ # Make sure GitLab can write to the tmp/pids/ and tmp/sockets/ directories sudo chmod -R u+rwX tmp/pids/ sudo chmod -R u+rwX tmp/sockets/ # Create the public/uploads/ directory sudo -u git -H mkdir -p public/uploads/ # Make sure only the GitLab user has access to the public/uploads/ directory # now that files in public/uploads are served by gitlab-workhorse sudo chmod 0700 public/uploads # Change the permissions of the directory where CI job logs are stored sudo chmod -R u+rwX builds/ # Change the permissions of the directory where CI artifacts are stored sudo chmod -R u+rwX shared/artifacts/ # Change the permissions of the directory where GitLab Pages are stored sudo chmod -R ug+rwX shared/pages/ # Copy the example Puma config sudo -u git -H cp config/puma.rb.example config/puma.rb # Refer to https://github.com/puma/puma#configuration for more information. # You should scale Puma workers and threads based on the number of CPU # cores you have available. You can get that number via the `nproc` command. sudo -u git -H editor config/puma.rb # Configure Redis connection settings sudo -u git -H cp config/resque.yml.example config/resque.yml sudo -u git -H cp config/cable.yml.example config/cable.yml # Change the Redis socket path if you are not using the default Debian / Ubuntu configuration sudo -u git -H editor config/resque.yml config/cable.yml ``` Make sure to edit both `gitlab.yml` and `puma.rb` to match your setup. If you want to use HTTPS, see [Using HTTPS](#using-https) for the additional steps. ### Configure GitLab DB Settings NOTE: From [GitLab 15.9](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/387898), `database.yml` with only a section: `main:` is deprecated. In GitLab 17.0 and later, you must have the two `main:` and `ci:` sections in your `database.yml`. ```shell sudo -u git cp config/database.yml.postgresql config/database.yml # Remove host, username, and password lines from config/database.yml. # Once modified, the `production` settings will be as follows: # # production: # main: # adapter: postgresql # encoding: unicode # database: gitlabhq_production # ci: # adapter: postgresql # encoding: unicode # database: gitlabhq_production # database_tasks: false # sudo -u git -H editor config/database.yml # Remote PostgreSQL only: # Update username/password in config/database.yml. # You only need to adapt the production settings (first part). # If you followed the database guide then please do as follows: # Change 'secure password' with the value you have given to $password # You can keep the double quotes around the password sudo -u git -H editor config/database.yml # Uncomment the `ci:` sections in config/database.yml. # Ensure the `database` value in `ci:` matches the database value in `main:`. # Make config/database.yml readable to git only sudo -u git -H chmod o-rwx config/database.yml ``` You should have two sections in your `database.yml`: `main:` and `ci:`. The `ci`: connection [must be to the same database](../administration/postgresql/multiple_databases.md). If, for any reason, you wish to remain on a single database connection, remove the `ci:` section from `config/database.yml`. ### Install Gems NOTE: As of Bundler 1.5.2, you can invoke `bundle install -jN` (where `N` is the number of your processor cores) and enjoy parallel gems installation with measurable difference in completion time (~60% faster). Check the number of your cores with `nproc`. For more information, see this [post](https://thoughtbot.com/blog/parallel-gem-installing-using-bundler). Make sure you have `bundle` (run `bundle -v`): - `>= 1.5.2`, because some [issues](https://devcenter.heroku.com/changelog-items/411) were [fixed](https://github.com/rubygems/bundler/pull/2817) in 1.5.2. - `< 2.x`. Install the gems (if you want to use Kerberos for user authentication, omit `kerberos` in the `--without` option below): ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle config set --local deployment 'true' sudo -u git -H bundle config set --local without 'development test mysql aws kerberos' sudo -u git -H bundle config path /home/git/gitlab/vendor/bundle sudo -u git -H bundle install ``` ### Install GitLab Shell GitLab Shell is an SSH access and repository management software developed specially for GitLab. ```shell # Run the installation task for gitlab-shell: sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:shell:install RAILS_ENV=production # By default, the gitlab-shell config is generated from your main GitLab config. # You can review (and modify) the gitlab-shell config as follows: sudo -u git -H editor /home/git/gitlab-shell/config.yml ``` If you want to use HTTPS, see [Using HTTPS](#using-https) for the additional steps. Make sure your hostname can be resolved on the machine itself by either a proper DNS record or an additional line in `/etc/hosts` ("127.0.0.1 hostname"). This might be necessary, for example, if you set up GitLab behind a reverse proxy. If the hostname cannot be resolved, the final installation check fails with `Check GitLab API access: FAILED. code: 401` and pushing commits are rejected with `[remote rejected] master -> master (hook declined)`. ### Install GitLab Workhorse GitLab-Workhorse uses [GNU Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/). The following command-line installs GitLab-Workhorse in `/home/git/gitlab-workhorse` which is the recommended location. ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake "gitlab:workhorse:install[/home/git/gitlab-workhorse]" RAILS_ENV=production ``` You can specify a different Git repository by providing it as an extra parameter: ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake "gitlab:workhorse:install[/home/git/gitlab-workhorse,https://example.com/gitlab-workhorse.git]" RAILS_ENV=production ``` ### Install GitLab-Elasticsearch-indexer on Enterprise Edition **(PREMIUM SELF)** GitLab-Elasticsearch-Indexer uses [GNU Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/). The following command-line installs GitLab-Elasticsearch-Indexer in `/home/git/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer` which is the recommended location. ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake "gitlab:indexer:install[/home/git/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer]" RAILS_ENV=production ``` You can specify a different Git repository by providing it as an extra parameter: ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake "gitlab:indexer:install[/home/git/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer,https://example.com/gitlab-elasticsearch-indexer.git]" RAILS_ENV=production ``` The source code first is fetched to the path specified by the first parameter. Then a binary is built under its `bin` directory. You must then update `gitlab.yml`'s `production -> elasticsearch -> indexer_path` setting to point to that binary. ### Install GitLab Pages GitLab Pages uses [GNU Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/). This step is optional and only needed if you wish to host static sites from within GitLab. The following commands install GitLab Pages in `/home/git/gitlab-pages`. For additional setup steps, consult the [administration guide](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/doc/administration/pages/source.md) for your version of GitLab as the GitLab Pages daemon can be run several different ways. ```shell cd /home/git sudo -u git -H git clone https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-pages.git cd gitlab-pages sudo -u git -H git checkout v$(.d/override.conf`, so your local configuration is not overwritten when updating the unit files later. To split up your drop-in configuration files, you can add the above snippets to `.conf` files under `/etc/systemd/system/.d/`. If you manually made changes to the unit files or added drop-in configuration files (without using `systemctl edit`), run the following command for them to take effect: ```shell sudo systemctl daemon-reload ``` Make GitLab start on boot: ```shell sudo systemctl enable gitlab.target ``` #### Install SysV init script Use these steps if you use the SysV init script. If you use systemd, follow the [systemd unit steps](#install-systemd-units). Download the init script (is `/etc/init.d/gitlab`): ```shell cd /home/git/gitlab sudo cp lib/support/init.d/gitlab /etc/init.d/gitlab ``` And if you are installing with a non-default folder or user, copy and edit the defaults file: ```shell sudo cp lib/support/init.d/gitlab.default.example /etc/default/gitlab ``` If you installed GitLab in another directory or as a user other than the default, you should change these settings in `/etc/default/gitlab`. Do not edit `/etc/init.d/gitlab` as it is changed on upgrade. Make GitLab start on boot: ```shell sudo update-rc.d gitlab defaults 21 # or if running this on a machine running systemd sudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable gitlab.service ``` ### Set up Logrotate ```shell sudo cp lib/support/logrotate/gitlab /etc/logrotate.d/gitlab ``` ### Start Gitaly Gitaly must be running for the next section. - To start Gitaly using systemd: ```shell sudo systemctl start gitlab-gitaly.service ``` - To manually start Gitaly for SysV: ```shell gitlab_path=/home/git/gitlab gitaly_path=/home/git/gitaly sudo -u git -H sh -c "$gitlab_path/bin/daemon_with_pidfile $gitlab_path/tmp/pids/gitaly.pid \ $gitaly_path/_build/bin/gitaly $gitaly_path/config.toml >> $gitlab_path/log/gitaly.log 2>&1 &" ``` ### Initialize Database and Activate Advanced Features ```shell cd /home/git/gitlab sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:setup RAILS_ENV=production # Type 'yes' to create the database tables. # or you can skip the question by adding force=yes sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:setup RAILS_ENV=production force=yes # When done, you see 'Administrator account created:' ``` You can set the Administrator/root password and email by supplying them in environmental variables, `GITLAB_ROOT_PASSWORD` and `GITLAB_ROOT_EMAIL`, as seen below. If you don't set the password (and it is set to the default one), wait to expose GitLab to the public internet until the installation is done and you've logged into the server the first time. During the first login, you are forced to change the default password. An Enterprise Edition subscription may also be activated at this time by supplying the activation code in the `GITLAB_ACTIVATION_CODE` environment variable. ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:setup RAILS_ENV=production GITLAB_ROOT_PASSWORD=yourpassword GITLAB_ROOT_EMAIL=youremail GITLAB_ACTIVATION_CODE=yourcode ``` ### Secure `secrets.yml` The `secrets.yml` file stores encryption keys for sessions and secure variables. Backup `secrets.yml` someplace safe, but don't store it in the same place as your database backups. Otherwise, your secrets are exposed if one of your backups is compromised. ### Check Application Status Check if GitLab and its environment are configured correctly: ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:env:info RAILS_ENV=production ``` ### Compile Assets ```shell sudo -u git -H yarn install --production --pure-lockfile sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:compile RAILS_ENV=production NODE_ENV=production ``` If `rake` fails with `JavaScript heap out of memory` error, try to run it with `NODE_OPTIONS` set as follows. ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:compile RAILS_ENV=production NODE_ENV=production NODE_OPTIONS="--max_old_space_size=4096" ``` ### Start Your GitLab Instance ```shell # For systems running systemd sudo systemctl start gitlab.target # For systems running SysV init sudo service gitlab start ``` ## 10. NGINX NGINX is the officially supported web server for GitLab. If you cannot or do not want to use NGINX as your web server, see [GitLab recipes](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-recipes/). ### Installation ```shell sudo apt-get install -y nginx ``` ### Site Configuration Copy the example site configuration: ```shell sudo cp lib/support/nginx/gitlab /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitlab sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitlab /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/gitlab ``` Make sure to edit the configuration file to match your setup. Also, ensure that you match your paths to GitLab, especially if installing for a user other than the `git` user: ```shell # Change YOUR_SERVER_FQDN to the fully-qualified # domain name of your host serving GitLab. # # Remember to match your paths to GitLab, especially # if installing for a user other than 'git'. # # If using Ubuntu default nginx install: # either remove the default_server from the listen line # or else sudo rm -f /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default sudo editor /etc/nginx/sites-available/gitlab ``` If you intend to enable GitLab Pages, there is a separate NGINX configuration you need to use. Read all about the needed configuration at the [GitLab Pages administration guide](../administration/pages/index.md). If you want to use HTTPS, replace the `gitlab` NGINX configuration with `gitlab-ssl`. See [Using HTTPS](#using-https) for HTTPS configuration details. For the NGINX to be able to read the GitLab-Workhorse socket, you must make sure, that the `www-data` user can read the socket, which is owned by the GitLab user. This is achieved, if it is world-readable, for example that it has permissions `0755`, which is the default. `www-data` also must be able to list the parent directories. ### Test Configuration Validate your `gitlab` or `gitlab-ssl` NGINX configuration file with the following command: ```shell sudo nginx -t ``` You should receive `syntax is okay` and `test is successful` messages. If you receive error messages, check your `gitlab` or `gitlab-ssl` NGINX configuration file for typos, as indicated in the provided error message. Verify that the installed version is greater than 1.12.1: ```shell nginx -v ``` If it's lower, you may receive the error below: ```plaintext nginx: [emerg] unknown "start$temp=[filtered]$rest" variable nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test failed ``` ### Restart ```shell # For systems running systemd sudo systemctl restart nginx.service # For systems running SysV init sudo service nginx restart ``` ## Post-install ### Double-check Application Status To make sure you didn't miss anything run a more thorough check with: ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:check RAILS_ENV=production ``` If all items are green, congratulations on successfully installing GitLab! NOTE: Supply the `SANITIZE=true` environment variable to `gitlab:check` to omit project names from the output of the check command. ### Initial Login Visit YOUR_SERVER in your web browser for your first GitLab login. If you didn't [provide a root password during setup](#initialize-database-and-activate-advanced-features), you are redirected to a password reset screen to provide the password for the initial administrator account. Enter your desired password and you are redirected back to the login screen. The default account's username is **root**. Provide the password you created earlier and login. After login, you can change the username if you wish. **Enjoy!** To start and stop GitLab when using: - systemd units: use `sudo systemctl start gitlab.target` or `sudo systemctl stop gitlab.target`. - The SysV init script: use `sudo service gitlab start` or `sudo service gitlab stop`. ### Install the product documentation This is an optional step. See how to [self-host the product documentation](../administration/docs_self_host.md). ## Advanced Setup Tips ### Relative URL support See the [Relative URL documentation](relative_url.md) for more information on how to configure GitLab with a relative URL. ### Using HTTPS To use GitLab with HTTPS: 1. In `gitlab.yml`: 1. Set the `port` option in section 1 to `443`. 1. Set the `https` option in section 1 to `true`. 1. In the `config.yml` of GitLab Shell: 1. Set `gitlab_url` option to the HTTPS endpoint of GitLab (for example, `https://git.example.com`). 1. Set the certificates using either the `ca_file` or `ca_path` option. 1. Use the `gitlab-ssl` NGINX example configuration instead of the `gitlab` configuration. 1. Update `YOUR_SERVER_FQDN`. 1. Update `ssl_certificate` and `ssl_certificate_key`. 1. Review the configuration file and consider applying other security and performance enhancing features. Using a self-signed certificate is discouraged. If you must use one, follow the standard directions and generate a self-signed SSL certificate: ```shell mkdir -p /etc/nginx/ssl/ cd /etc/nginx/ssl/ sudo openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -x509 -nodes -days 3560 -out gitlab.crt -keyout gitlab.key sudo chmod o-r gitlab.key ``` ### Enable Reply by email See the ["Reply by email" documentation](../administration/reply_by_email.md) for more information on how to set this up. ### LDAP Authentication You can configure LDAP authentication in `config/gitlab.yml`. Restart GitLab after editing this file. ### Using Custom OmniAuth Providers See the [OmniAuth integration documentation](../integration/omniauth.md). ### Build your projects GitLab can build your projects. To enable that feature, you need runners to do that for you. See the [GitLab Runner section](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/) to install it. ### Adding your Trusted Proxies If you are using a reverse proxy on a separate machine, you may want to add the proxy to the trusted proxies list. Otherwise users appear signed in from the proxy's IP address. You can add trusted proxies in `config/gitlab.yml` by customizing the `trusted_proxies` option in section 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../administration/restart_gitlab.md) for the changes to take effect. ### Custom Redis Connection If you'd like to connect to a Redis server on a non-standard port or a different host, you can configure its connection string via the `config/resque.yml` file. ```yaml # example production: url: redis://redis.example.tld:6379 ``` If you want to connect the Redis server via socket, use the `unix:` URL scheme and the path to the Redis socket file in the `config/resque.yml` file. ```yaml # example production: url: unix:/path/to/redis/socket ``` Also, you can use environment variables in the `config/resque.yml` file: ```yaml # example production: url: <%= ENV.fetch('GITLAB_REDIS_URL') %> ``` ### Custom SSH Connection If you are running SSH on a non-standard port, you must change the GitLab user's SSH configuration. ```plaintext # Add to /home/git/.ssh/config host localhost # Give your setup a name (here: override localhost) user git # Your remote git user port 2222 # Your port number hostname 127.0.0.1; # Your server name or IP ``` You must also change the corresponding options (for example, `ssh_user`, `ssh_host`, `admin_uri`) in the `config/gitlab.yml` file. ### Additional Markup Styles Apart from the always supported Markdown style, there are other rich text files that GitLab can display. But you might have to install a dependency to do so. See the [`github-markup` gem README](https://github.com/gitlabhq/markup#markups) for more information. ### Using Sidekiq instead of Sidekiq Cluster As of GitLab 12.10, Source installations are using `bin/sidekiq-cluster` for managing Sidekiq processes. Using Sidekiq directly is still supported until 14.0. So if you're experiencing issues: 1. Edit the system `init.d` script to remove the `SIDEKIQ_WORKERS` flag. If you have `/etc/default/gitlab`, then you should edit it instead. 1. Restart GitLab. 1. [Create an issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/-/new) describing the problem. ### Prometheus server setup You can configure the Prometheus server in `config/gitlab.yml`: ```yaml # example prometheus: enabled: true server_address: '10.1.2.3:9090' ``` ## Troubleshooting ### "You appear to have cloned an empty repository." If you see this message when attempting to clone a repository hosted by GitLab, this is likely due to an outdated NGINX or Apache configuration, or a missing or misconfigured GitLab Workhorse instance. Double-check that you've [installed Go](#4-go), [installed GitLab Workhorse](#install-gitlab-workhorse), and correctly [configured NGINX](#site-configuration). ### `google-protobuf` "LoadError: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6: version 'GLIBC_2.14' not found" This can happen on some platforms for some versions of the `google-protobuf` gem. The workaround is to install a source-only version of this gem. First, you must find the exact version of `google-protobuf` that your GitLab installation requires: ```shell cd /home/git/gitlab # Only one of the following two commands will print something. It # will look like: * google-protobuf (3.2.0) bundle list | grep google-protobuf bundle check | grep google-protobuf ``` Below, `3.2.0` is used as an example. Replace it with the version number you found above: ```shell cd /home/git/gitlab sudo -u git -H gem install google-protobuf --version 3.2.0 --platform ruby ``` Finally, you can test whether `google-protobuf` loads correctly. The following should print 'OK'. ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec ruby -rgoogle/protobuf -e 'puts :OK' ``` If the `gem install` command fails, you may need to install the developer tools of your OS. On Debian/Ubuntu: ```shell sudo apt-get install build-essential libgmp-dev ``` On RedHat/CentOS: ```shell sudo yum groupinstall 'Development Tools' ``` ### Error compiling GitLab assets While compiling assets, you may receive the following error message: ```plaintext Killed error Command failed with exit code 137. ``` This can occur when Yarn kills a container that runs out of memory. To fix this: 1. Increase your system's memory to at least 8 GB. 1. Run this command to clean the assets: ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:clean RAILS_ENV=production NODE_ENV=production ``` 1. Run the `yarn` command again to resolve any conflicts: ```shell sudo -u git -H yarn install --production --pure-lockfile ``` 1. Recompile the assets: ```shell sudo -u git -H bundle exec rake gitlab:assets:compile RAILS_ENV=production NODE_ENV=production ```