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GitLab CLI Installation Guide

A comprehensive guide for installing and configuring GitLab CLI (glab) on different operating systems

GitLab CLI (glab) is an open source GitLab CLI tool that brings GitLab to your terminal. It allows you to manage GitLab operations directly from the command line, reducing context switching between the browser and terminal.

Prerequisites

  • A system running Windows, macOS, or Linux
  • Administrative/sudo privileges
  • Terminal/Command Prompt access
  • Internet connection for downloading packages
  • A GitLab account (self-hosted or GitLab.com)

Installation Instructions

Ubuntu/Debian Installation

# Download the latest .deb package
curl -LO "https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/cli/-/releases/download/v$(curl -s "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/gitlab-org%2Fcli/releases" | grep tag_name | head -n 1 | cut -d'"' -f4)/glab_$(curl -s "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/projects/gitlab-org%2Fcli/releases" | grep tag_name | head -n 1 | cut -d'"' -f4)_linux_amd64.deb"
 
# Install the package
sudo dpkg -i glab_*_linux_amd64.deb

Post-Installation Configuration

After installing GitLab CLI, authenticate with your GitLab account:

# Start the login process
glab auth login
 
# Follow the interactive prompts to:
# 1. Enter your GitLab instance URL (default: https://gitlab.com)
# 2. Enter your personal access token
# 3. Choose your preferred protocol (HTTPS or SSH)

Verification

Verify the installation by checking the GitLab CLI version:

glab --version

Common Commands and Usage

Repository Operations

# Clone a repository
glab repo clone owner/repo
 
# Create a new repository
glab repo create [name]
 
# Fork a repository
glab repo fork [repository]
 
# View repository
glab repo view [repository]

Issue Management

# Create an issue
glab issue create
 
# List issues
glab issue list
 
# View an issue
glab issue view [issue-number]
 
# Close an issue
glab issue close [issue-number]

Merge Request Operations

# Create a merge request
glab mr create
 
# List merge requests
glab mr list
 
# Check out a merge request locally
glab mr checkout [mr-number]
 
# View a merge request
glab mr view [mr-number]

CI/CD Pipeline Operations

# View pipeline status
glab pipeline list
 
# View pipeline logs
glab pipeline ci view
 
# Trigger a pipeline
glab pipeline run

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. Authentication Failed

    • Ensure you have a valid GitLab account
    • Check your personal access token permissions
    • Verify your GitLab instance URL
    • Check your internet connection

  2. Command Not Found

    • Ensure GitLab CLI is properly installed
    • Check if the installation directory is in your PATH
    • Try closing and reopening your terminal

  3. API Rate Limiting

    • Authenticate with your GitLab account
    • Wait for rate limit to reset
    • Use authenticated requests

Security Considerations

  1. Keep GitLab CLI updated to the latest version
  2. Use tokens with minimum required permissions
  3. Enable two-factor authentication on your GitLab account
  4. Regularly rotate access tokens
  5. Never share or expose your personal access tokens
  6. Use environment variables for sensitive information

Environment Variables

GitLab CLI respects several environment variables:

# Set default GitLab host
export GITLAB_HOST="gitlab.com"
 
# Set personal access token
export GITLAB_TOKEN="your-token"
 
# Set default editor
export EDITOR="vim"

Configuration File

GitLab CLI configuration is stored in ~/.config/glab-cli/config.yml:

# Example configuration
hosts:
  gitlab.com:
    token: your-token
    git_protocol: ssh
  gitlab.example.com:
    token: your-enterprise-token
    git_protocol: https

Additional Resources

GitHub

A comprehensive guide for installing and configuring GitHub CLI (gh) on different operating systems

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A comprehensive guide for installing and configuring Prometheus monitoring system