Workshop Series eResearch Hands-on: Exploring GitLab

Abstract

This interactive workshop was given on 03.07.2026 by Stefan Lenze as the second part of the Workshop Series "eResearch Hands-on". In addition to general information and theoretical inputs, the slides include the demonstrations and interactive exercises from the workshop in the form of a comprehensive screenshot documentation. Please note that links and corresponding QR codes from the interactive sections were only valid during the workshop. GitLab_UMR is part of the "DataHub at UMR" research infrastructure services at Marburg University. It is operated by the University Computing Center and supported by the eResearch Service Center in Marburg. Contact us via: eresearch@uni-marburg.de. Note: GITLAB is a trademark of GitLab Inc. in the United States and other countries and regions.

# Abstract

Almost every research project involves uncertainties when it comes to assigning source data, code, (intermediate) results, figures, and textual representations across their many versions and variants. GitLab is the central tool for managing data and software in a transparent and traceable way from the very beginning. GitLab is used both by individual researchers and collaboratively within large, distributed teams to organize work on data and code transparently and to maintain an overview of sub-projects and tasks. Advanced users additionally benefit from automation pipelines and software development tools. For new users, GitLab often appears somewhat complex and challenging at first. In our workshop, we provide all interested participants with a hands-on introduction to GitLab_UMR, the University of Marburg’s GitLab service.

# Table of contents

- Introduction to the eResearch Service Center and the DataHub Services - Version control with git - GitLab overview - GitLab hands-on - Groups, projects, name spaces and management of access - Organizing research groups and projects in GitLab - Forking projects - Managing & editing files online - Interacting with version history - Light-weight project & knowledge management with GitLab - Automation with GitLab CI/CD - Using Git and GitLab in a distributed setup - Using Git-LFS for large files