Installation methods

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• Offering: GitLab Self-Managed

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You can install GitLab on several cloud providers, or use one of the following methods.

Linux package

The Linux package includes the official deb and rpm packages. The package has GitLab and dependent components, including PostgreSQL, Redis, and Sidekiq.

Use if you want the most mature, scalable method. This version is also used on GitLab.com.

For more information, see:

• Linux package
• Reference architectures
• System requirements
• Supported Linux operating systems

Helm chart

Use a chart to install a cloud-native version of GitLab and its components on Kubernetes.

Use if your infrastructure is on Kubernetes and you're familiar with how it works.

Before you use this installation method, consider that:

• Management, observability, and some other concepts are different than traditional deployments.
• Administration and troubleshooting requires Kubernetes knowledge.
• It can be more expensive for smaller installations.
• The default installation requires more resources than a single node Linux package deployment, because most services are deployed in a redundant fashion.

For more information, see Helm charts.

GitLab Operator

To install a cloud-native version of GitLab and its components in Kubernetes, use GitLab Operator. This installation and management method follows the Kubernetes Operator pattern.

Use if your infrastructure is on Kubernetes or OpenShift, and you're familiar with how Operators work.

This installation method provides additional functionality beyond the Helm chart installation method, including automation of the GitLab upgrade steps. The considerations for the Helm chart also apply here.

Consider the Helm chart installation method if you are limited by GitLab Operator known issues.

For more information, see GitLab Operator.

Docker

Installs the GitLab packages in a Docker container.

Use if you're familiar with Docker.

For more information, see Docker.

Self-compiled

Installs GitLab and its components from scratch.

Use if none of the previous methods are available for your platform. Can use for unsupported systems like *BSD.

For more information, see self-compiled installation.

GitLab Environment Toolkit (GET)

GitLab Environment Toolkit (GET) is a set of opinionated Terraform and Ansible scripts.

You can use GET to deploy scaled GitLab environments following the reference architecture on selected major cloud providers (GCP, AWS, and Azure).

This installation methods has some limitations, and requires manual setup for production environments.

Unsupported Linux distributions and Unix-like operating systems

Self-compiled installation of GitLab on the following operating systems is possible, but not supported:

• Arch Linux
• FreeBSD
• Gentoo
• macOS

Microsoft Windows

GitLab is developed for Linux-based operating systems. It does not run on Microsoft Windows, and there are no plans to support it in the near future. For the latest development status, see issue 22337. Consider using a virtual machine to run GitLab.