GitLab Reviews

“helpful for team collaboration”

Pros

We use it to work together across the development and QA teams. Creating a ticket is fast, tracking time is simple and it's easy to organize the type of work with tags and assign it to the teammate responsible for it. One thing I found especially useful was being able to keep several teams inside one project without their issues getting mixed up. The feature we relied on the most was the burndown chart. It adds a sense of urgency that pushes everyone to move faster and deliver what was planned as the deadline gets closer.

Cons

The interface feels visually messy and a lot of features are buried inside menus and submenus. I can see why developers tend to enjoy it but for my team it just wasn't a good fit.

“Good alternative to Jira”

Pros

Using it as a Docker container has been very convenient and the usability is amazing overall. It comes with CI/CD built in, integrates well with Sentry and the boards in it are a good alternative when you are not using JIRA. Updating the container is also pretty easy since you only need to pull the new image and start it again with the same configuration volumes attached. It has been consistently reliable for me and never really let me down.

Cons

There was one time when the Docker container crashed. The good thing is that a simple restart brought everything back up and working again but I could not figure out what actually triggered the issue.

“covers everything I need”

Pros

Everything I need is bundled into one platform: Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, logging, metrics, an issue tracker and plenty of security features like dependency scanning, secret detection and more.

Cons

It's free plan is somewhat restricted when compared with GitHub, with limits like only one approver for code reviews and no option to reorder issues in the issue list.

“Git hosting with a thorough wiki”

Pros

I love that it does more than just version control since it also includes wiki hosting. The built-in error tracking is very helpful for editing web code and keeping up with project bugs. It is also nice that repositories can still be imported with Git. On top of that it is free and open source which makes it even more valuable.

Cons

A part I am not a fan of is that the interface can feel a bit slow at times. Every now and then, there are also small technical issues or repository-related errors.

“smooth setup”

Pros

Things are easy and clear when it comes to setting up git flows. It covers the major features and commands we need.

Cons

It gets a little tricky if you're planning to set up and use your own server.

“Full software delivery coverage”

Pros

From project planning all the way to product release it handles the entire software delivery lifecycle. It even extends beyond that with monitoring and security management built in. The feature set is incredibly broad and it naturally stands out to anyone involved in a software project whether that's developers, architects, managers or stakeholders.

Cons

Based on the time I've spent using it, I really haven't come across any major weak spots worth pointing out. The only thing I'd mention is that the free version feels somewhat limited when it comes to features. For example, GitHub which is obviously a direct competitor, provides a broader set of services at no cost.

“powerful version control choice”

Pros

It is an excellent version control platform if you're comfortable doing a bit of coding. It's built around the same Git-based approach as GitHub so you already know the level of quality is there.

Cons

I really don't have any complaints. The software does exactly what you expect it to do. I haven't run into bugs when uploading or downloading data and even fixing merge conflicts has been very simple.

“Impressive tool!”

Pros

This has been an excellent tool for keeping development projects organized and on track. It feels very easy to use especially if you're already familiar with Git.

Cons

I have nothing negative to say about it. Every feature I've used has worked well and given me a very positive experience.

“polished dashboard”

Pros

It works as an amazing source code management platform for us particularly due to its free offering and flexibility between self-hosted and hosted setups. It aligns well with Git-based workflows and is simple enough for users with minimal version control experience. Our team uses structured branching with controlled merge permissions, ensuring all changes to the dev branch are reviewed before integration. The review process is efficient thanks to a clean dashboard that presents detailed diffs and makes branch comparisons simple. CI/CD integration further enhances the workflow. It is also easy to navigate and provides helpful guidance when resolving merge conflicts.

Cons

Issue comes up when I add a new commit and the file is very large or has too many lines. In those cases, it does not display the code changes directly and instead shows a message saying the file has too many lines to show the changes. At times, comparing two commits is also not very clear and can be confusing. Another limitation is when checking the history of a file, it only shows the list of commits and does not display the code changes for each commit right there. Because of that, we have to open and inspect each commit one by one to see what actually changed.

“top choice for version control”

Pros

This software is the most efficient version-control platform available right now. Since it's built on Git, most experienced developers already come in knowing the workflow which makes my team quicker and more responsive when we collaborate. Merge requests make it much easier to review code changes, track what's happening and approve updates before anything moves forward. Another major plus is the automatic security scanning on every commit which helps catch risky items like connection strings or database credentials before they become a bigger problem.

Cons

Getting into the deeper, more advanced side of Git does come with a special training especially if you want to really master all of its details. That said the fundamentals-like creating repositories, forking, merging, pushing, pulling and committing-are still fairly simple and can be picked up within a few hours.

“GitLab feature overview”

Pros

The product offers a lot of features. On top of covering all the standard Git tasks and merge requests, it gives you a broad range of CI pipelines you can configure directly inside the project. And if that is not enough there are also integrations for metrics, error tracking, Kubernetes, snippets and more. It has been stable the whole time I have used it and I have not run into any issues.

Cons

Something that bothers me is that many of these capabilities are quite advanced so if you only want to use the repository for basic purposes, the interface can feel overloaded with options you do not really need. Because of that, I sometimes struggle to find a button that should really be the most visible thing on the page. I also think the way information is laid out on the "merge request" screen feels a bit cluttered when compared with other similar services.

“powerful ci/cd toolkit”

Pros

It includes a lot of useful features for handling continuous integration and deployment work. I also really appreciate having the option to self-host a GitLab instance.

Cons

It can take some time to properly onboard non-technical users and get them comfortable with how everything works.

“handy branching and git flow”

Pros

Being able to create a branch right from an issue is really useful since it keeps all the related details together in one place. It also works nicely with local Git tools like TortoiseGit and the Git integration in VS Code so moving between tools usually happens without Git errors. Setting up a to-do style workflow with issues across multiple projects and repos is pretty simple and reverting a bad merge is not difficult. The documentation is also really easy.

Cons

The preview feature struggles with certain file types especially rst. Editing things like issue labels can feel a bit finicky in the interface and could definitely be simpler. The UI also gets somewhat crowded and there are not many ways to hide elements or customize the view. On top of that, the wiki is difficult to maintain unless you keep a local copy pulled down.

“reliable branch control”

Pros

This has been really valuable for keeping all my code protected and available whenever I need it, from any computer. It also helps my team maintain a clear workflow since everyone pushes their code to the "Develop" branch first, where I can review it and confirm whether everything is correct. That way, I can make sure the "Master" branch only contains code that is working properly and has been checked. That level of control is essential for any project to stay stable and avoid issues with new versions, updates and code changes.

Cons

It is still not integrated across all applications. A lot of tools could benefit from being able to sync code directly through GitLab without having to rely on the web version every time. It would be much better if the desktop version were adapted to be compatible in some way with all applications.

“full lifecycle devops powerhouse”

Pros

Beyond standard Git features it comes packed with features like CI/CD, Kubernetes integration, environments and metrics, build artifacts and even a Docker registry. It really supports the whole application lifecycle, from setting up a repository all the way to deploying to production and monitoring everything afterward.

Cons

Configured everything can be challenging and definitely takes thorough knowledge of the platform. The interface could also use some refinement although in most situations it still gets the job done well enough.

“Affordable for everyone”

Pros

A big advantage is the free plan especially for anyone who can't afford to spend on versioning tools or is working on smaller projects. The platform also includes really useful features beyond basic versioning, such as continuous delivery.

Cons

One thing it's missing is a desktop app to sync projects more conveniently which some competing tools already provide.

“secure project tracking”

Pros

It works well for managing active projects. It helps protect data by assigning different access levels to team members and it also keeps a record of changes made along the way.

Cons

Getting around the platform can be difficult without a proper understanding of how its features and functions work so it can end up feeling hard to use.

“reliable version control”

Pros

This is an excellent tool for managing development and deployment across any programming language and it does a really good job of keeping repository versions organized and accurate.

Cons

There is a bit of learning difficulty at the beginning since you need to get familiar with a few commands for pushing and pulling but once those become routine, working with the tool feels very natural.

“it's a good product”

Pros

It's open source is one of the best parts about it so getting started doesn't cost anything and the Community Edition already includes a very wide range of features. Self-hosting is especially important for both us and our clients which makes it a strong fit. On top of that, the Enterprise Edition covers just about everything a developer would want in a source code management platform, including continuous integration.

Cons

Its integrations with other software still don't feel as developed or as smooth as what GitHub offers.

“positive user experience”

Pros

Free plan doesn't put any restrictions on private repositories. Compared with other platforms that cap collaborators or come with a more complicated feature set, this feels much more generous and practical.

Cons

The only adjustment for me was getting familiar with the interface because I was already more accustomed to a competing platform's UI. That said I wouldn't really blame the tool for that.