Find out how to Get Began With GitLab’s CLI to Handle DevOps From Your Terminal | Giga Tech

GitLab is among the main CI/CD and supply management options for contemporary software program supply groups. It offers a complete set of options to plan, construct, and ship your software program initiatives.

Usually, GitLab interacts with using its internet UI or API. Neither of those choices is especially interesting to endpoint-centric builders. Happily, GitLab additionally has a CLI that gives direct entry to your points, merge requests, pipelines, and different sources, alongside along with your code and different shell instructions. This text will present you the fundamentals.

What’s glab?

The glab Clement Sam began GitLab CLI as a community-led challenge. It has since been adopted by GitLab and obtained its first official GitLab-led launch in December 2022. Going ahead, GitLab and the broader neighborhood will proceed to take care of it as an open supply instrument.

Glab at present helps interactions with the next GitLab options:

• points
• merge requests
• Pipelines
• Releases
• repositories
• tags
• fragments

You may retrieve current information out of your GitLab account, create new objects, and carry out actions resembling checking the standing of a pipeline and approving a merge request. It’s attainable to authenticate to a number of GitLab cases concurrently, together with GitLab.com and its self-hosted servers.

First steps with Glab

Earlier than you begin utilizing Glab, create a private entry token on your GitLab account that features the api Y write_repository Scopes Glab will use this token to carry out actions in your behalf.

Click on your profile icon on the prime proper of the GitLab UI, then select “Entry Tokens” from the menu on the left. Give your token a reputation and choose the api Y write_repository scopes of the record. Scroll down the web page and click on the “Create Private Entry Token” button. The token worth might be displayed; write it down now, as you will not be capable to retrieve it sooner or later.

Subsequent you could set up Glab. You may obtain prebuilt binaries for Home windows, macOS, and Linux techniques from the challenge’s GitLab releases web page. Glab can be distributed for a number of widespread bundle managers on all supported working techniques.

As soon as Glab is put in, you may authenticate to your GitLab occasion by operating the auth login area. This may launch a collection of interactive prompts that can will let you select between GitLab.com or a self-hosted occasion. After offering the occasion particulars, you’ll enter the private entry token you created earlier.

You’ll then be requested to verify the default protocol to make use of for Git operations. You may normally settle for the worth that’s mechanically chosen. SSH is most popular, however some environments could require Git over HTTPS. The following message asks if Glab ought to authenticate Git operations utilizing the identical private entry token that you simply supplied earlier. That is normally the specified habits.

Lastly, in case you are utilizing a self-hosted GitLab occasion, you’ll be prompted to decide on between the HTTP and HTTPS protocols to entry the GitLab API. Select HTTPS until you already know that your occasion solely helps HTTP.

On the finish of the sequence, it is best to obtain a “Logged in” success message.

Check in to a different GitLab occasion

You may log in to a different GitLab occasion by repeating the auth login area. Rush auth standing will output a listing of all of the endpoints you’ve gotten configured.

Glab utilization

Glab is designed to be run out of your challenge’s working listing. Begin by cd-ing on a listing that accommodates a Git repository. Glab instructions will now mechanically choose the right GitLab occasion and auth token, primarily based on the challenge’s default Git distant.

This mannequin permits steady use of initiatives from a number of GitLab cases. You may run git Y glab instructions as you’re employed, just by coming into a challenge listing. Nonetheless, it’s attainable to make use of Glab outdoors of a challenge, by setting the GITLAB_TOKEN Y GITLAB_URI (both GITLAB_HOST) setting variables in your shell, then specifying the --repo mark along with your instructions to establish the goal challenge (in OWNER/REPO Format). This lets you use Glab conveniently inside automated scripts, for instance.

points

Listing the issues in your challenge with the points record area:

$ glab points record
Displaying 3 open points in ilmiont/ardeidae that match your search (Web page 1)

#376  ilmiont/ardeidae#376  Console Enter permit accessing full customary enter string    about 1 month in the past  
#374  ilmiont/ardeidae#374  Foundation help building by way of compound typehints           about 11 months in the past
#373  ilmiont/ardeidae#373  v3.1.0 unit assessments                                           about 11 months in the past

Use the --page flag to change to the subsequent pages within the consequence set. 20 objects are displayed per web page by default; this may be modified with the --per-page flag.

Varied filter flags are supported. The next command will get all closed points tagged P1, that are on the v3.1.0 milestone and have been assigned to it:

$ glab challenge record --mine --milestone v3.1.0 --label P1 --closed

Rush glab challenge record --help for all supported flags.

Get detailed details about a selected drawback with challenge view:

$ glab points view 376
open • opened by ilmiont about 1 month in the past
Console Enter permit accessing full customary enter string #376

   php://enter                                                                



0 upvotes • 0 downvotes • 0 feedback
Milestone: v3.1.0

To get suggestions for a problem, add the --comments command flag. Feedback might be paginated, just like the challenge record area.

You may open the net UI web page for an issue in your default browser:

$ glab challenge view 376 --web

Notes (feedback) will be created towards issues with the notice area. The -m markdown specifies the Markdown textual content for the notice:

$ glab challenge notice 376 -m "That is not related"

Shut and reopen issues with the shut Y reopen instructions respectively:

$ glab challenge shut 376
$ glab challenge reopen 376

To create a brand new drawback, run the create command and go the suitable flags:

$ glab challenge create 
    --title "New Challenge" 
    --description "Demo challenge" 
    --milestone "v3.1.0"

You’ll be prompted to verify the creation of the difficulty. You may bypass this by setting the -y both --yes flag. Many extra flags are supported to outline all of the properties of the issue. attempt to run glab challenge create --help to discover the choices.

merge requests

The essential merge request interactions are much like the issues. Use the record Y view Instructions to retrieve particulars of current merge requests. The approve, shutY merge the instructions apply these respective actions to the MR:

$ glab mr merge 100

The merge request instructions settle for an ID or supply department as an argument. You may merge the MR to demo-branch in your predominant department utilizing the next command:

$ glab mr merge demo-branch

You may view the modifications contained in an MR with the diff area:

$ glab mr diff 100

The coloured diff output might be displayed in your terminal in Git format.

Additionally it is attainable to checkout domestically and change to the supply department of a merge request, with out manually operating the Git instructions:

$ glab mr checkout 100

CI pipelines

View the pipeline outcomes on your challenge by operating ci record:

$ glab ci record
Displaying 3 pipelines on ilmiont/ardeidae (Web page 1)

(success) • #734  3.1.0-rc42                                                     (about 9 days in the past) 
(success) • #733  grasp                                                         (about 9 days in the past) 
(success) • #732  Dbal-store-allow-upsert                                        (about 9 days in the past)

The view The command offers entry to the job outcomes for the latest pipeline on the default department or on a selected department. A brand new terminal display screen will show the phases within the pipeline:

$ glab ci view
$ glab ci view -b demo-branch

To set off a brand new pipeline run, run the glab run area:

$ glab ci run

You may specify the department to get the pipeline from:

$ glab ci run -b demo-branch

Additionally it is attainable to set CI variables for execution:

$ glab ci run --variables demo-var:demo-val,another-var:another-val

You may entry the logs of a job by operating the ci hint command and utilizing the interactive immediate to pick the goal job. Artifacts are additionally accessible: the ci artifact The command downloads the artifacts from the latest pipeline, both for the default department or for a specified one recognized by the -b flag.

Lastly, Glab features a built-in linter for the .gitlab-ci.yml file in your working listing. This lets you conveniently test the validity of your pipeline, with out copying and pasting the file into the GitLab internet UI.

$ glab ci lint
Getting contents in .gitlab-ci.yml
Validating...
✓ CI yml is Legitimate!

Arbitrary API requests

Glab instructions are wrappers round current GitLab API endpoints. Whereas a number of APIs are natively supported, many extra have but to be carried out as instructions. Calling the API straight will be tedious as a result of you must present your private entry token by manually setting the request headers.

Glab features a utility command to make arbitrary authenticated requests towards the API. The glab api The command accepts a relative URI to request within the context of your energetic GitLab occasion. The next instance will get the Git tags related to the challenge with the ID of 1:

$ glab api initiatives/1/repository/tags

The uncooked API response information might be output to your terminal in JSON format.

Set the HTTP technique for the request utilizing the -X both --method flag. You may present the request physique information with the -F both --field flag:

$ glab api initiatives/1/repository/tags -X POST --field tag_name=demo --field ref=predominant

You may embrace customized request headers by configuring the -H both --header flag.

Aliase Use

Glab helps customized command aliases so you may shortly entry generally used performance.

Create a brand new alias by operating the alias set area:

$ glab alias set points "challenge record"
- Including alias for points: challenge record
✓ Added alias.

Now you may record the issues in your challenge by operating glab points:

$ glab points
Displaying 3 open points in ilmiont/ardeidae that match your search (Web page 1)

#376  ilmiont/ardeidae#376  Console Enter permit accessing full customary enter string    about 1 month in the past  
#374  ilmiont/ardeidae#374  Foundation help building by way of compound typehints           about 11 months in the past
#373  ilmiont/ardeidae#373  v3.1.0 unit assessments                                           about 11 months in the past

Listing all of the aliases you’ve gotten created with alias record:

$ glab alias record
ci      pipeline ci
co      mr checkout
points  challenge record

Delete an alias by operating alias delete and passing his title:

$ glab alias delete points

Utilizing Glab to handle DevOps

Glab is the official CLI of GitLab. It permits you to handle your entire DevOps course of out of your endpoint. You may create points, assign duties, evaluate merge requests, activate CI pipelines, and tag releases, with out having to change between instruments or be taught the GitLab API. This reduces context switching and makes it straightforward to automate your commonest workflows.

Accessing GitLab information alongside along with your code and Git operations retains you targeted on the duty at hand. The CLI can be sooner to make use of than the net person interface, in case you’re comfy working in a terminal. It is a helpful third interface to your GitLab occasion, along with the UI and API.

Whereas this text has coated the fundamentals of utilizing Glab for frequent duties, there’s additionally rather more you may discover. Test the documentation or strive operating glab assist Y glab <COMMAND> --help to discover all accessible capabilities.

Now that Glab is totally integrated as a local GitLab challenge, additional improvement is promised to help extra workflows and implement neighborhood requests. You may ship suggestions to GitLab by opening a problem within the challenge’s repository.