Git versioning

Research and teaching

The use of GitLab is helpful for research and teaching throughout the university. Version management is suitable, for example, when working together on research data and the interim status of individual researchers needs to be monitored. Research data and scripts can be versioned and stored centrally to ensure better traceability. Version management also supports research groups in sharing research data, working on joint projects in real time and tracking changes.

Application in the university: In S(kim), for example, the UFO.owl project works together with Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences (HSBi) in the area of research data in GitLab.

Software development

In software development, GitLab is used to organise code, distribute tasks within the project team and track progress. Among other things, GitLab is used to create backups of the written software. In addition, developers always have access to previous versions.

Good to know: If complex tasks are broken down into sub-steps, these can be executed automatically in GitLab. This method is called the Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. CI/CD are an essential component of GitLab. They automate the testing and deployment process and ensure that code changes are integrated and distributed quickly and reliably.

Application in the university: At the TH, applications such as the learning platform eCampus (Ilias) or the KIS portal are further developed in this way.

General information

Members of the TH OWL can log in to GitLab with their university username and password to create a user account. To be able to actively use GitLab afterwards, send an e-mail to [email protected] with information about your project and the users who are to be invited. For your request, please use the questionnaire that we have provided in the ‘Template for the application’ tab.

The S(kim) will create your workspace as a new group in GitLab and, if necessary, create a link to an existing parent group. After positive feedback, we ask that the specified contact persons register with the service promptly and create a user account. We can then add them directly to the group as the persons responsible. The responsible persons then have full access rights within the group and can independently add further persons or create projects.

Click here to access GitLab:

 Link to GitLab (link opens in new window)

Template for the application

In order to be able to create your group in GitLab and know which people we should link to it, please send an email to [email protected] . You can copy the following questions into your email:

• Request from: Please enter your name.
• Contact persons: Which employee is the responsible contact person for the distribution and administration of the projects?
• Area of application: Briefly describe what the projects will be used for.
• Type of collaboration: Is the project internal to the university? Are external partners involved?
• Duration: How long should the project/repository remain active?
• Associated university structure: To which area of the university (department, institute, independent project) do the repositories belong?
• Number of projects: How many projects are planned?
• Existing repositories: Are there already existing repositories and if so, how many? How much storage capacity do the existing repositories require? Is there an existing GitLab server?
• Expected growth: Please estimate the expected storage growth for future projects.
• CI/CD: Is CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment) desired for your projects?

By completing the enquiry form, you confirm that you have agreed to the GitLab terms of use.

Here you can find the GitLab terms of use: Link to the GitLab terms of use (opens in new window)

1. Login and settings

Logging in to GitLab

• Go to the GitLab website and log in with your user account. (Button ‘Registration/Login’)

Access the settings

• Click on your profile picture to open the drop-down menu.
• Then select ‘Settings’.

Open Personal Access Tokens

• Click on ‘Access Tokens’ in the menu on the left-hand side.

2. Create and save

Creating a new token

• Give the token a name (e.g. ‘API token’, ‘CI/CD token’ etc.).
• Set an expiry date (optional) if you want the token to become invalid after a certain time. If no expiry date is set, the token remains valid for one year.
• Select the areas of validity of the token. The most common options are:
     - ‘read_repository’: read access to repositories
     - ‘write_repository’: Write access to repositories
     - Further options depending on requirements.
• Click on ‘Create personal access token’.

Saving the token
Copy and save the token directly after creation.
Important: The token is only displayed once. If you lose it, you will need to create a new one.

Good to know: We recommend using a password manager or password safe. The free solution ‘KeePass’ is pre-installed on university administration computers.

3. Using the token

Using the token
Now the Access Token can be used like a password to authenticate you with the GitLab API or via the GitLab CLI (e.g. Git, CI/CD).
Simply replace the password with the access token.

1. Create and open

Creating an SSH key

If you do not yet have an SSH key, you must create one first.

• Open a terminal (or Git Bash under Windows)
• Enter the following command to create a new SSH key:
  ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C ‘[email protected]’
• If you are prompted to select the location for the key, confirm with ‘Enter’ to use the default path (e.g. `~/.ssh/id_rsa`).
• You will be asked for a ‘passphrase’. This is optional, but recommended for additional security. If you do not want to use a passphrase, simply press ‘Enter’ to skip the step.

Opening the public key

• The public key is located in the default directory under `~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub`.
• Open this key with a text editor to copy it: cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
• Copy the entire content of the key (everything after `ssh-rsa` up to the end of the key).

2. Store the key

Storing the SSH key in GitLab

• Log in to GitLab.
• Click on ‘Profile picture’ or ‘User name’ and select ‘Preferences’.
• Select ‘SSH Keys’ from the menu on the left-hand side.
• Start saving the SSH key by clicking the ‘Add SSH key’ button.
• Paste the copied public SSH key into the ‘Key’ field.
• Enter a ‘Title’ for the key (e.g. ‘Laptop SSH Key’ or another description that will help you identify the key later).
• Click on ‘Add key’ to save the key.

3. Use the key

Testing the SSH connection
Now that the SSH key is stored in GitLab, you can test whether everything is working:

Open the terminal and enter the following command:

• ssh -T [email protected]
• The first time you try to connect, you will be asked whether you want to add the GitLab server to your known hosts.
• Type ‘yes’ to continue.
• If everything is configured correctly, you should see a message like this:
• Welcome to GitLab, @yourusername!

Using the SSH link for Git operations
Now you can use the SSH link for your GitLab repositories.
To clone a repository via SSH, use the SSH link: git clone [email protected]:username/repository.git