Step 1: Update Your System

Before starting the GitLab installation, ensure your Ubuntu system is up to date. Run the following commands to update the package list and upgrade installed packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Keeping your system updated is important, especially when deploying applications on platforms like VPS Windows Servers.

Step 2: Install Docker and Docker Compose

GitLab will be deployed using Docker. First, you need to install Docker and Docker Compose:

sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y

Start and enable the Docker service so that it starts automatically on boot:

sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

Step 3: Set Up GitLab Docker Container

Create a directory for your GitLab setup and navigate to it:

mkdir ~/gitlab-docker
cd ~/gitlab-docker

Create a docker-compose.yml file with the following content:

version: '3'
services:
  web:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        external_url 'http://gitlab.example.com'
    ports:
      - '80:80'
      - '443:443'
      - '22:22'
    volumes:
      - './config:/etc/gitlab'
      - './logs:/var/log/gitlab'
      - './data:/var/opt/gitlab'

Replace gitlab.example.com with your domain name or server IP address.

Step 4: Start the GitLab Container

After configuring the docker-compose.yml file, run the following command to start the GitLab container:

sudo docker-compose up -d

This command will download the necessary GitLab image, create the container, and run it in the background. You can check the status of the container using:

sudo docker-compose ps

Once the container is up and running, you can access GitLab by navigating to http://your_domain_or_ip in your web browser.

Step 5: Configure GitLab

On first access, GitLab will prompt you to set a root password. After setting the password, you can log in using the username root and the password you created.

You can now start creating projects, repositories, and use GitLab’s CI/CD features.

Step 6: Set Up SSL with Let’s Encrypt (Optional)

To secure your GitLab instance with HTTPS, you can use Let’s Encrypt. First, modify the docker-compose.yml file to include SSL settings:

version: '3'
services:
  web:
    image: 'gitlab/gitlab-ee:latest'
    restart: always
    hostname: 'gitlab.example.com'
    environment:
      GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
        external_url 'https://gitlab.example.com'
        letsencrypt['enable'] = true
        letsencrypt['contact_emails'] = ['your_email@example.com']
        letsencrypt['auto_renew'] = true
    ports:
      - '80:80'
      - '443:443'
      - '22:22'
    volumes:
      - './config:/etc/gitlab'
      - './logs:/var/log/gitlab'
      - './data:/var/opt/gitlab'

Replace gitlab.example.com with your domain and update the email address. After making the changes, restart the container:

sudo docker-compose down
sudo docker-compose up -d

Let’s Encrypt will automatically generate and configure SSL certificates for your GitLab instance.