

-name – Assign the container a friendly name so you can conveniently reference it when running Docker CLI commands in the future.-p – Bind ports 22, 80, and 443 in the container to the corresponding ports on your host this allows GitLab to receive Git and web traffic over SSH and HTTP/S when it’s directed at your host.-d – Detach the terminal from the container so it runs in the background.Here’s an explanation of the flags used in the command: It’s best practice to pin to a specific GitLab version by selecting its corresponding image tag, 14.7.0-ce.0 in this case. You can start GitLab by running the following command: docker run -d -p 22:22 -p 80:80 -p 443:443ĭocker will download the GitLab Community Edition (CE) image and start a new container using it. We’ll use as the domain through the remainder of this guide. You should point the DNS record at the IP address of your Docker host. Install Docker and set up a DNS A record for your GitLab domain name before continuing. This launches each service as its own containerized Pod so you can scale components individually. As an alternative, you could use GitLab’s Helm chart to deploy to a Kubernetes cluster. This means the stock image might not be ideal for busy installations. It goes against containerization best practices by running multiple distinct components in the container.

This simplifies set up but makes it challenging to scale your installation in the future. The image is monolithic in nature, bundling all GitLab components so they run in a single container. One thing to consider before proceeding is that Docker doesn’t eliminate GitLab’s basic hardware requirements: you’ll need at least 4GB of free RAM and around 10GB of unused storage. In this guide we’ll use Docker to deploy a production-ready GitLab instance that you can use to host your source code and collaborate on projects. Everything related to GitLab will live within the container, separately from your host’s filesystem. Installing GitLab packages directly onto your operating system will add weighty new services to your machine, including PostgreSQL, Redis, Gitaly, and the main Rails-based GitLab web application.ĭeploying GitLab as a Docker container is one way to avoid polluting your environment with all these components. GitLab’s a complex system formed from a web of distinct components and dependencies. It’s available as a SaaS offering on or as a self-managed distribution for private use on your own hardware. GitLab is a leading platform for hosting Git repositories, CI pipelines, and DevOps workflows.
