DevOps CI/CD GitLab

Introduction

GitLab is a powerful DevOps platform that provides a complete CI/CD pipeline for automating the build, test, and deployment of applications. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to install GitLab on macOS using Docker and configure it for CI/CD workflows.

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Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure you have the following:

• macOS machine with an internet connection.
• Docker installed on your system. If not, download it from Docker and install it.
• GitLab user credentials for accessing the GitLab UI.

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Step 1: Install Docker

First, ensure Docker is installed on your macOS system. If you haven’t done it yet, download Docker Desktop for macOS from the official website. Once downloaded, follow the installation steps.

To verify the installation, run:

docker --version

This should return the Docker version installed.

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Step 2: Pull the GitLab Docker Image

To install GitLab using Docker, run the following command to pull the official GitLab Community Edition image:

docker pull gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest

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Step 3: Run GitLab Using Docker

Once the image is downloaded, you can run GitLab in a Docker container. Execute the following command:

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -p 22:22 --name gitlab --restart always \
-v /your/host/path/to/gitlab/config:/etc/gitlab \
-v /your/host/path/to/gitlab/data:/var/opt/gitlab \
-v /your/host/path/to/gitlab/logs:/var/log/gitlab \
gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest

Explanation:

• -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -p 22:22: Maps the required ports for HTTP, HTTPS, and SSH.
• --name gitlab: Names the container gitlab.
• --restart always: Ensures GitLab restarts automatically if the container or Docker daemon restarts.
• -v /your/host/path: Mounts host directories to the container for persistent data.

Replace /your/host/path with the actual paths on your machine where GitLab data, logs, and configuration will be stored.

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Step 4: Access GitLab Web Interface

Once GitLab is running, open your web browser and navigate to:

http://localhost

You should see the GitLab setup page. Follow the instructions to set up an admin password and configure your GitLab instance.

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Step 5: Configure GitLab for CI/CD

GitLab offers built-in CI/CD features to automate the build, test, and deployment of your code. To configure GitLab CI/CD:

1. Create a .gitlab-ci.yml file in the root of your repository. This file defines the CI/CD pipeline for your project.

Example .gitlab-ci.yml for a simple Node.js application:

stages:
  - build
  - test
  - deploy

build:
  stage: build
  script:
    - npm install

test:
  stage: test
  script:
    - npm test

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - ./deploy.sh

1. Push your repository to GitLab. GitLab will automatically detect the .gitlab-ci.yml file and trigger the pipeline based on the defined stages.

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Step 6: Monitor GitLab Logs

To monitor the logs of the GitLab container, you can use the following command:

docker logs -f gitlab

This will show real-time logs for the GitLab container.

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Step 7: Automating GitLab Restart (Optional)

To ensure GitLab restarts automatically after a system reboot, you can set up Docker’s restart policy. Run the following command:

docker update --restart unless-stopped gitlab

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Step 8: Backup GitLab (Optional)

It’s important to back up your GitLab data regularly. Follow these steps to back it up:

1. Stop GitLab container:

   docker stop gitlab
   

2. Backup GitLab data:

   docker cp gitlab:/var/opt/gitlab /path/to/gitlab/backup/folder
   

3. Restart GitLab container:

   docker start gitlab
   

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Conclusion

By following this guide, you have successfully installed GitLab on macOS using Docker and set up CI/CD pipelines for your projects. GitLab makes it easy to automate your build, test, and deployment processes.

Let me know if you need further assistance!