Gitlab

Keep copies of data when changes are made and save a history of collaboration with this version control tool.

Gitlab is especially useful for projects where you need distributed development or where branching and merging will be common.

It allows you to store documents (source code, theses, papers, etc.) which will change regularly as you and your collaborators add, amend or delete it. When these documents are updated with newer versions, the old versions are still kept, enabling you to revert to an older version if needed.

It uses the GitLab Community Edition software and has the standard CE features. Key features include the options for branching and merging which allow users to make changes on a divergent copy or copies of the data and then merge the changes and updates to the main branch.

The issues tool allows you to track features, improvements, bugs or anything else in your project and links with other GitLab features, notably merge requests and general management of a multi-user workflow.

You can allocate a role to each user, including people external to the University, which gives them certain permissions, and you can hide or reveal certain features of the project to different individuals. You can also set restrictions on branches so only the relevant people can work on it.

A project can be made public. And external collaborators can get editing access by registering as a visitor and using Active Directory.

If you already have your own Git repository you can move it into the University’s Gitlab system. You can migrate svn repositories from Subversion. You can import all the data and metadata from other Gitlab projects and from other platforms including GitHub, Bitbucket, Google Code, Fogbugz, Gitea or a generic remote URL.

Free or paid for:

Standard allocation: Free

Paid-for option: GitLab is available at no charge, but exceptionally heavy use will need to be discussed. Contact IS Research Services for more information.

The Computing Regulations govern the use of all University computing and network facilities by staff, students and anyone else authorised to use them.