7 ms·

GitLab 11.7 Shipped with Releases, Multi-Level Child Epics, and NPM Registry

170 points by jfreax 8y ago

11235813213455 8y ago
Gitlab API is amazingly simple and flexible, can be used efficiently from the terminal to list CI jobs, your issues, edit them,.. Gitlab CI is top-notch, things like CI_COMMIT_BEFORE_SHA environment variable for monorepos is a killer feature, now npm registry, .. Gitlab wiki for documentations At work we are using Atlassian products, they would be so efficiently replaced by just Gitlab
- salzig 8y ago
  Sadly not in situations where you need overview for more then one project. Viewing of mergerequest for all projects you have access to was disabled cause of performance problems.
  - sytse 8y ago
    Is there an issue for that? On the current version of GitLab https://gitlab.com/dashboard/merge_requests?assignee_username=sytses https://gitlab.com/dashboard/merge_requests?assignee_usernam... loads in half a second https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfj1svopkexl6vb/Screenshot%202019-01-22%2011.52.52.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfj1svopkexl6vb/Screenshot%202019-... and I have 1700 merge requests. Maybe it was a regression in an old version?
mevile 8y ago
We've started using Gitlab where I work and it's so much better than GitHub. The built in CI and the activity view are features I just can't live without anymore. I also prefer Gitlab's merge requests to Github's PR system, and the UI overall is just tons better. The other thing is that GHE is an afterthought always behind github.com and with Gitlab, that's the main product, although gitlab.com is what we're using and it's gold. The only thing I miss is contribution stats which you have to pay extra for, and I hope we do.
nextos 8y ago
Tangentially related, but GitLab has developed surprisingly good (albeit still incomplete) support for org-mode and many other markup languages. So it's extremely easy to publish say a wiki built with org and they render it beautifully. I've found this invaluable for working solo or in group projects.
- merlincorey 8y ago
  I definitely agree, because I use org-mode and gitlab, personally. However, they are just using the same ruby package that Github uses to render the org-mode to HTML... unfortunately it is far from perfect. Still, it's MUCH better than the go version in Gogs, so there's that.
  - nextos 8y ago
    I know, but on Gitlab you can additionally run an Emacs container to use org to export to HTML.
marmaduke 8y ago
I like GitLab but noticed my Docker container running it is steadily requiring more memory to run smoothly. It’s sitting at 12GB right now, which is a little too high for my taste. I wish there were ways to reduce this.
- pknopf 8y ago
  I occasionally have to rm my docker instance and recreate it. I'm not sure what it's doing, but at least it's an easy fix.
  - russh 8y ago
    I have the same issue. Every once in a while the docker instance will get into a endless loop trying to start up and failing. So far the only fix I have found is to remove and recreate the instance. Still, I love having my own local GitLab.
- lbotos 8y ago
  One of our Engineering Fellows is working Memory Optimization across the entire product this quarter. We are aware, and starting on it!
  - sytse 8y ago
    That fellow would be Stan, the person who just commented with https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18972052 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18972052
- stanhu 8y ago
  Could you show the output of `ps aux` inside the container? Also note that GitLab Omnibus will add more Unicorn processes the more available RAM it has in the system. You can turn off that automatic scaling by lowering the number of processes via https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/unicorn.html https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/unicorn.html.
  - 8y ago
sebazzz 8y ago
How well does on-premises Gitlab work? Can it run relatively maintenance-free? I heard some negative stories, but I don't know what is true. My team of devs doesn't have a dedicated sysadmin.
- thatsnotmepls 8y ago
  Why not cloud Gitlab?
  - bdcravens 8y ago
    There are use cases where on prem is either very attractive or a requirement. We are currently on Github, but there part of me that would really really like to avoid spreading our code all over the Internet (we also use hosted CI) and trusting others. (Yes, Github is probably better at security than me etc ....) However others have very high security requirements where regulations are being violated by being off prem.
- dabeeeenster 8y ago
  I admin it for a small team of around 25. I've never had a failed upgrade, and have managed better uptime than Github and Gitlab, as it never gets DOS'd.
- pknopf 8y ago
  I'm running GitLab via Docker, and I love it. I previously managed Atlassian instances and I dreaded ever touching the servers. GitLab def has there shit together in this regard. edit: I forgot, when issue, their docker container uses tmp memory that never seems to free itself. I occasionally (once a year) have to rm and recreate the container, which isn't a huge deal for me.
  - bochoh 8y ago
    I maintain several Atlassian products in addition to Gitlab on Ubuntu. Definitely agree - we have a whole snapshot / backup databases routine before going near the Atlassian boxes.
baaym 8y ago
I've been enjoying GitLab at my last three employers now, with the CI integration being the most liberating feature compared to the traditional CI providers. Especially the Docker CI runner gives you a great integration test environment, and I'm impatiently waiting for this MR [0] that will allow dependant containers to also talk to each other. It's the last missing piece for my ideal CI setup. [0] https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/merge_requests/1041 https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/merge_requests/1...
- boleary-gl 8y ago
  GitLab product manager for Verify (CI) here. Thanks for bringing this up I hadn't seen your contribution! I think this is a great idea. I know the technical team has been overwhelmed with community contributions as of late - which is a good problem to have but one that we're still solving. I'm going to try and shepherd this one along myself. If you want you can reach out to me on Twitter @olearycrew or my email is boleary [at] gitlab.
  - baaym 8y ago
    Great to hear you're looking into it! I do have to clarify that I'm not the owner of the MR though, not meaning to take credit of @krotscheck's work.
    - boleary-gl 8y ago
      Ah sorry, my bad - I may have misread as well. Either way thanks for bringing it to my attention as I think this is a change that could make some other iterations "possible."
  - olingern 8y ago
    That thread looks rough. Kudos to the MR author for sticking it out. @boleary-gl have you all considered having someone dedicate time each day / week to prioritizing community issues?
    - 8y ago
meddlepal 8y ago
Used GitLab maybe 5 years ago now? I was impressed with it despite its immaturity. These new features look great though. I found the operation of on-prem GitLab to be a bit of a PITA back then, has that changed? There was a whole bunch of rake tasks and junk you needed to run to upgrade and it required a shutdown of the system.
- cevn 8y ago
  Upgrade is usually as simple as an apt update && apt upgrade for me. Every once in a while they change tables in a non backwards compatible way and you have to force allow it or something. It's all very easy though.
- lbotos 8y ago
  It's a lot easier, and dead simple to run a small single server install. When you start scaling, it gets a little harder, but our vision it to leverage K8s for that type of deployment. (Source: work at GitLab, and I wouldn't If we had to manage the infra by hand vs. omnibus/k8s)
  - meddlepal 8y ago
    Any comment on how well the single server install scales before needing to invest in the more complex HA solution?
    - lbotos 8y ago
      Sure! This depends on your orgs "capacity for risk." We don't recommend more than ~300 on a single node just for the developer area. If you have 300 people relying on a literal SPOF (especially a dev shop) that's gonna hurt if there are any problems. That said, I'm aware of customers running a single 132GB node that serves somewhere between 3000-5000 devs. (Please do not go this far) I'd say at the 150 or so developer mark, we should start talking about scaling (adding a second Geo node for failover at a minimum) or if you need more robust uptime requirements, going towards a more active-active distributed cluster. I use the word "distributed" and not "highly available" as we like to find the right fit for each org. Some orgs need true HA, and it takes something close to ~30 servers to do it. Others, just can benefit from some web frontends, and separating out the DB layer, and potentially traffic shaping to separate CI load / User load.
notus 8y ago
I've heard some people saying that the recent free private repos from github could potentially hurt or impact gitlab. I'm not entirely sure why since it is free stuff and not things you are paying for. Is there any merit to that or was I just listening to the wrong person? I'm thinking about applying there
- Macha 8y ago
  I'd imagine the concern is reducing the earliest part of a customer funnel. First they get the free users. GitHub has the network effects and most open source projects using it, so gitlab need to be better in other areas like having free private repos. Then they can upsell these people for features, or be in the mind of someone making a decision on an enterprise license. If the early stage of that funnel is cut off, they lose their chance to get customers to the more profitable parts.
- bdcravens 8y ago
  Maybe, but to me, Gitlab's USP is features they offer that Github doesn't (like CI), not price.
graphememes 8y ago
I think Gitlab is awesome. However, their current homepage hides their actual site (the repositories) and makes it hard as a developer to actually get started compared to Github. Looking through (browsing repositories) there is almost NO adoption to gitlab.
- allover 8y ago
  Well it seems like a very different model to Github. I don't know the figures, but the teams I encounter using Gitlab are self-hosting, you aren't going to be able to browse their (private) repos.
  - sytse 8y ago
    GitLab is indeed used much more for private repositories than for open source. These are both on self-managed instances and GitLab.com We used to have a Explore link on our homepage to https://gitlab.com/explore https://gitlab.com/explore because HN asked for it but it got dropped. I've asked to reinstate it in https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/issues/3713 https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/issues/3713
  - graphememes 8y ago
    Depends on what we are comparing. Gitlab Cloud v Github Cloud. Github cloud is easier to grok, and get started versus gitlab, adoption on github is very visible, and immediate from first landing. Gitlab On Premise v Github Enterprise. Gitlab wins in offering (open source, and complete ci/cd). However, I would argue that the marketing is much stronger with Github. Github has a streamlined message which you can consume easily and then once you're in you get deeper into the meaning of. This is what I am referring to. Model or not, it's something that is a barrier to entry.
    - emilycook 8y ago
      (GitLab employee) What would you say GitHub does that makes it easier to get started on/adopt? I don't disagree, barriers to entry are just subjective so I'd like to hear your take
GreaterFool 8y ago
Sadly, too often GitLab is overlooked for a terrible GitHub+JIRA combo :-(
- lcfcjs2 8y ago
  They are easier to use, really.
IloveHN84 8y ago
Why only love for npm/JavaScript world? I still prefer having a separate registry for packages (e.g. SonaType Nexus) and let GitLab host code + CI
- brodock 8y ago
  There are more planned. You can read it here: https://about.gitlab.com/direction/package/ https://about.gitlab.com/direction/package/
snorremd 8y ago
If GitLab can pull off the npm registry well this might be the beginning of a universal package management server built into Gitlab. A bit like the self hosted Nexus registry or Artifactory. Not sure if it wouldn't be just as well to run Nexus OSS instead though? https://www.sonatype.com/nexus-repository-oss https://www.sonatype.com/nexus-repository-oss You might not get as tight of integration as Gitlab will provide, but the Nexus OSS repository provides some nice features in terms of cleaning up old artifacts, some disk usage policies, etc.

170 points by jfreax 8y ago

Gitlab API is amazingly simple and flexible, can be used efficiently from the terminal to list CI jobs, your issues, edit them,.. Gitlab CI is top-notch, things like CI_COMMIT_BEFORE_SHA environment variable for monorepos is a killer feature, now npm registry, .. Gitlab wiki for documentations At work we are using Atlassian products, they would be so efficiently replaced by just Gitlab

salzig 8y ago
Sadly not in situations where you need overview for more then one project. Viewing of mergerequest for all projects you have access to was disabled cause of performance problems.
- sytse 8y ago
  Is there an issue for that? On the current version of GitLab https://gitlab.com/dashboard/merge_requests?assignee_username=sytses https://gitlab.com/dashboard/merge_requests?assignee_usernam... loads in half a second https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfj1svopkexl6vb/Screenshot%202019-01-22%2011.52.52.png?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/rfj1svopkexl6vb/Screenshot%202019-... and I have 1700 merge requests. Maybe it was a regression in an old version?

mevile 8y ago

We've started using Gitlab where I work and it's so much better than GitHub. The built in CI and the activity view are features I just can't live without anymore. I also prefer Gitlab's merge requests to Github's PR system, and the UI overall is just tons better. The other thing is that GHE is an afterthought always behind github.com and with Gitlab, that's the main product, although gitlab.com is what we're using and it's gold. The only thing I miss is contribution stats which you have to pay extra for, and I hope we do.

nextos 8y ago

Tangentially related, but GitLab has developed surprisingly good (albeit still incomplete) support for org-mode and many other markup languages. So it's extremely easy to publish say a wiki built with org and they render it beautifully. I've found this invaluable for working solo or in group projects.

merlincorey 8y ago
I definitely agree, because I use org-mode and gitlab, personally. However, they are just using the same ruby package that Github uses to render the org-mode to HTML... unfortunately it is far from perfect. Still, it's MUCH better than the go version in Gogs, so there's that.
- nextos 8y ago
  I know, but on Gitlab you can additionally run an Emacs container to use org to export to HTML.

marmaduke 8y ago

I like GitLab but noticed my Docker container running it is steadily requiring more memory to run smoothly. It’s sitting at 12GB right now, which is a little too high for my taste. I wish there were ways to reduce this.

pknopf 8y ago
I occasionally have to rm my docker instance and recreate it. I'm not sure what it's doing, but at least it's an easy fix.
- russh 8y ago
  I have the same issue. Every once in a while the docker instance will get into a endless loop trying to start up and failing. So far the only fix I have found is to remove and recreate the instance. Still, I love having my own local GitLab.
lbotos 8y ago
One of our Engineering Fellows is working Memory Optimization across the entire product this quarter. We are aware, and starting on it!
- sytse 8y ago
  That fellow would be Stan, the person who just commented with https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18972052 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18972052
stanhu 8y ago
Could you show the output of `ps aux` inside the container? Also note that GitLab Omnibus will add more Unicorn processes the more available RAM it has in the system. You can turn off that automatic scaling by lowering the number of processes via https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/unicorn.html https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/unicorn.html.
- 8y ago

sebazzz 8y ago

How well does on-premises Gitlab work? Can it run relatively maintenance-free? I heard some negative stories, but I don't know what is true. My team of devs doesn't have a dedicated sysadmin.

thatsnotmepls 8y ago
Why not cloud Gitlab?
- bdcravens 8y ago
  There are use cases where on prem is either very attractive or a requirement. We are currently on Github, but there part of me that would really really like to avoid spreading our code all over the Internet (we also use hosted CI) and trusting others. (Yes, Github is probably better at security than me etc ....) However others have very high security requirements where regulations are being violated by being off prem.
dabeeeenster 8y ago
I admin it for a small team of around 25. I've never had a failed upgrade, and have managed better uptime than Github and Gitlab, as it never gets DOS'd.
pknopf 8y ago
I'm running GitLab via Docker, and I love it. I previously managed Atlassian instances and I dreaded ever touching the servers. GitLab def has there shit together in this regard. edit: I forgot, when issue, their docker container uses tmp memory that never seems to free itself. I occasionally (once a year) have to rm and recreate the container, which isn't a huge deal for me.
- bochoh 8y ago
  I maintain several Atlassian products in addition to Gitlab on Ubuntu. Definitely agree - we have a whole snapshot / backup databases routine before going near the Atlassian boxes.

baaym 8y ago

I've been enjoying GitLab at my last three employers now, with the CI integration being the most liberating feature compared to the traditional CI providers. Especially the Docker CI runner gives you a great integration test environment, and I'm impatiently waiting for this MR [0] that will allow dependant containers to also talk to each other. It's the last missing piece for my ideal CI setup. [0] https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/merge_requests/1041 https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/merge_requests/1...

boleary-gl 8y ago
GitLab product manager for Verify (CI) here. Thanks for bringing this up I hadn't seen your contribution! I think this is a great idea. I know the technical team has been overwhelmed with community contributions as of late - which is a good problem to have but one that we're still solving. I'm going to try and shepherd this one along myself. If you want you can reach out to me on Twitter @olearycrew or my email is boleary [at] gitlab.
- baaym 8y ago
  Great to hear you're looking into it! I do have to clarify that I'm not the owner of the MR though, not meaning to take credit of @krotscheck's work.
  - boleary-gl 8y ago
    Ah sorry, my bad - I may have misread as well. Either way thanks for bringing it to my attention as I think this is a change that could make some other iterations "possible."
- olingern 8y ago
  That thread looks rough. Kudos to the MR author for sticking it out. @boleary-gl have you all considered having someone dedicate time each day / week to prioritizing community issues?
  - 8y ago

meddlepal 8y ago

Used GitLab maybe 5 years ago now? I was impressed with it despite its immaturity. These new features look great though. I found the operation of on-prem GitLab to be a bit of a PITA back then, has that changed? There was a whole bunch of rake tasks and junk you needed to run to upgrade and it required a shutdown of the system.

cevn 8y ago
Upgrade is usually as simple as an apt update && apt upgrade for me. Every once in a while they change tables in a non backwards compatible way and you have to force allow it or something. It's all very easy though.
lbotos 8y ago
It's a lot easier, and dead simple to run a small single server install. When you start scaling, it gets a little harder, but our vision it to leverage K8s for that type of deployment. (Source: work at GitLab, and I wouldn't If we had to manage the infra by hand vs. omnibus/k8s)
- meddlepal 8y ago
  Any comment on how well the single server install scales before needing to invest in the more complex HA solution?
  - lbotos 8y ago
    Sure! This depends on your orgs "capacity for risk." We don't recommend more than ~300 on a single node just for the developer area. If you have 300 people relying on a literal SPOF (especially a dev shop) that's gonna hurt if there are any problems. That said, I'm aware of customers running a single 132GB node that serves somewhere between 3000-5000 devs. (Please do not go this far) I'd say at the 150 or so developer mark, we should start talking about scaling (adding a second Geo node for failover at a minimum) or if you need more robust uptime requirements, going towards a more active-active distributed cluster. I use the word "distributed" and not "highly available" as we like to find the right fit for each org. Some orgs need true HA, and it takes something close to ~30 servers to do it. Others, just can benefit from some web frontends, and separating out the DB layer, and potentially traffic shaping to separate CI load / User load.

notus 8y ago

I've heard some people saying that the recent free private repos from github could potentially hurt or impact gitlab. I'm not entirely sure why since it is free stuff and not things you are paying for. Is there any merit to that or was I just listening to the wrong person? I'm thinking about applying there

Macha 8y ago
I'd imagine the concern is reducing the earliest part of a customer funnel. First they get the free users. GitHub has the network effects and most open source projects using it, so gitlab need to be better in other areas like having free private repos. Then they can upsell these people for features, or be in the mind of someone making a decision on an enterprise license. If the early stage of that funnel is cut off, they lose their chance to get customers to the more profitable parts.
bdcravens 8y ago
Maybe, but to me, Gitlab's USP is features they offer that Github doesn't (like CI), not price.

graphememes 8y ago

I think Gitlab is awesome. However, their current homepage hides their actual site (the repositories) and makes it hard as a developer to actually get started compared to Github. Looking through (browsing repositories) there is almost NO adoption to gitlab.

allover 8y ago
Well it seems like a very different model to Github. I don't know the figures, but the teams I encounter using Gitlab are self-hosting, you aren't going to be able to browse their (private) repos.
- sytse 8y ago
  GitLab is indeed used much more for private repositories than for open source. These are both on self-managed instances and GitLab.com We used to have a Explore link on our homepage to https://gitlab.com/explore https://gitlab.com/explore because HN asked for it but it got dropped. I've asked to reinstate it in https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/issues/3713 https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/issues/3713
- graphememes 8y ago
  Depends on what we are comparing. Gitlab Cloud v Github Cloud. Github cloud is easier to grok, and get started versus gitlab, adoption on github is very visible, and immediate from first landing. Gitlab On Premise v Github Enterprise. Gitlab wins in offering (open source, and complete ci/cd). However, I would argue that the marketing is much stronger with Github. Github has a streamlined message which you can consume easily and then once you're in you get deeper into the meaning of. This is what I am referring to. Model or not, it's something that is a barrier to entry.
  - emilycook 8y ago
    (GitLab employee) What would you say GitHub does that makes it easier to get started on/adopt? I don't disagree, barriers to entry are just subjective so I'd like to hear your take

GreaterFool 8y ago

Sadly, too often GitLab is overlooked for a terrible GitHub+JIRA combo :-(

lcfcjs2 8y ago
They are easier to use, really.

IloveHN84 8y ago

Why only love for npm/JavaScript world? I still prefer having a separate registry for packages (e.g. SonaType Nexus) and let GitLab host code + CI

brodock 8y ago
There are more planned. You can read it here: https://about.gitlab.com/direction/package/ https://about.gitlab.com/direction/package/

snorremd 8y ago

If GitLab can pull off the npm registry well this might be the beginning of a universal package management server built into Gitlab. A bit like the self hosted Nexus registry or Artifactory. Not sure if it wouldn't be just as well to run Nexus OSS instead though? https://www.sonatype.com/nexus-repository-oss https://www.sonatype.com/nexus-repository-oss You might not get as tight of integration as Gitlab will provide, but the Nexus OSS repository provides some nice features in terms of cleaning up old artifacts, some disk usage policies, etc.