GitLab is a web-based DevOps platform that originally started as a Git repository manager but has evolved over the years into a comprehensive solution for the entire software development and IT operations lifecycle. It allows teams to centrally and efficiently manage the complete lifecycle of software projects—from planning to developing, testing, delivering, and finally operating. With its open-source core and a wide range of features, GitLab has established itself as a strong alternative to GitHub, Bitbucket, and other tools.
We actively use it at dietz.digital as a software development tool and ticket system, which is why a longer article is available at this point.
1. Origin and Development
GitLab was founded in 2011 by Dmitriy Zaporozhets and Valery Sizov in Ukraine. The idea was to create a self-hosted Git management tool that is free and open-source. Git itself is a distributed version control system developed by Linus Torvalds—GitLab builds on this system and expands it with a variety of features that are essential for modern software development.
Today, GitLab is available in several versions:
GitLab Community Edition (CE) – the open-source version
GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE) – with advanced features for large enterprises
GitLab.com (Cloud) – a SaaS version hosted by GitLab Inc.
2. Main Features
GitLab offers numerous features that are divided into six core DevOps phases:
1. Plan
GitLab provides integrated project planning features, such as:
Issue Tracking
Milestones
Epics
Roadmaps
Kanban Boards
These tools allow teams to organize their work and prioritize tasks—all within the platform without needing to rely on external tools.
2. Create
The heart of GitLab is the Git repository. Developers can version, manage, and collaborate on their code here. Other important features:
Merge Requests (similar to Pull Requests on GitHub)
Code Reviews and Inline Comments
Branch Protection Rules and Access Controls
Web-based Editor
Snippets (sharing code snippets)
3. Verify
In this phase, GitLab supports automated testing and static code analysis. Continuous Integration (CI) is a central component:
GitLab CI/CD with .gitlab-ci.yml configuration files
Pipelines that automatically start with each commit
Integration of Unit Tests, Build Processes, and Code Linting
Parallel Jobs and Dependencies
4. Package
GitLab supports its own package registries:
Container Registry (Docker Images)
Maven, npm, NuGet, and other package formats
Package management directly in the project context
5. Release
Here, GitLab can automate deployments:
Continuous Delivery (CD)
Canary Releases, Rollbacks, Blue-Green Deployments
Deployment Tags
GitOps Integration with Kubernetes
6. Configure & Monitor
GitLab can manage infrastructure code and monitor systems:
Infrastructure as Code (e.g., with Terraform)
Kubernetes Integration
Monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana
Incident Management
GitLab CI/CD in Detail
A particularly noteworthy feature is GitLab CI/CD. This pipeline automation allows teams to fully automate the build, test, and release processes. CI/CD configuration is done through a YAML file in the project directory. Jobs can be executed sequentially or in parallel as needed. Runners (agents) perform these jobs, either on the GitLab infrastructure (in the cloud) or on their own servers (self-hosted).
Typical process:
Developer pushes code
GitLab starts a pipeline
Jobs are executed (Build, Test, Analyze)
On success: automatic delivery or manual approval
Security and Compliance
Security is an integral part of GitLab. Even in the free version, basic security features are available:
SAST (Static Application Security Testing)
DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing)
Dependency Scanning
Secret Detection
Container Scanning
License Compliance Management
These functions help to identify security issues early in the development process.
Benefits of GitLab
Unified Platform: GitLab combines features that are often only available through a combination of multiple tools from other providers.
Open Source: The Community Edition is freely available and is actively developed.
Self-Hosted or Cloud: Companies can run GitLab themselves or use it as SaaS—depending on security and data protection requirements.
Strong Automation: The CI/CD functions are among the most powerful on the market.
Scalability: From small startups to large corporations, GitLab can be scaled.
Challenges and Criticisms
Despite its strengths, there are also challenges:
Complexity: The multitude of features can be overwhelming for beginners.
Performance with Large Repositories: In very large projects, misconfiguration can lead to performance issues.
User Interface: Not every user finds the UI intuitive—especially when compared to GitHub.
License Model: Some key features (e.g., advanced security scans or cluster management) are only available in the paid Enterprise version.
Comparison with GitHub and Bitbucket
While GitHub is more geared towards open-source communities and has a larger user base, GitLab excels with its CI/CD integration and "Single Application" approach. Bitbucket, on the other hand, is deeply integrated with other Atlassian products like Jira, making it attractive for Jira users.
In brief:
GitLab: All-in-one platform, ideal for DevOps
GitHub: Focus on developer community, large reach
Bitbucket: Strongly integrated into the Atlassian ecosystem
Areas of Application
GitLab is particularly suitable for:
Software development projects of any size
DevOps teams that value automation and transparency
Companies with high security needs
Universities and educational institutions that work collaboratively
Open-source projects thanks to free hosting options
Conclusion
GitLab is much more than just a Git repository manager—it is a fully-fledged DevOps platform that covers the entire lifecycle of software development. With its broad range of features, high customizability, and strong automation, GitLab is one of the most powerful tools in modern software development. Although it requires some onboarding time, it offers enormous benefits to both small teams and large companies in the daily development process.
An alternative to GitLab is also Jira.