Project settings (FREE)

Use the Settings page to manage the configuration options in your project.

View project settings

You must have at least the Maintainer role to view project settings.

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. To display all settings in a section, select Expand.
4. Optional. Use the search box to find a setting.

Edit project name and description

Use the project general settings to edit your project details.

1. Sign in to GitLab with at least the Maintainer role.
2. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
3. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
4. In the Project name text box, enter your project name.
5. In the Project description text box, enter your project description.
6. Under Project avatar, to change your project avatar, select Choose file.

Assign topics to a project

Use topics to categorize projects and find similar new projects.

To assign topics to a project:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. In the Topics text box, enter the project topics. Popular topics are suggested as you type.
4. Select Save changes.

Compliance frameworks (PREMIUM)

• Introduced in GitLab 13.9.
• Feature flag removed in GitLab 13.12.

You can create a compliance framework label to identify that your project has certain compliance requirements or needs additional oversight. The label can optionally apply compliance pipeline configuration.

Group owners can create, edit, and delete compliance frameworks:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Groups and find your group.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand the Compliance frameworks section.

Compliance frameworks created can then be assigned to projects within the group using:

• The GitLab UI, using the project settings page.
• In GitLab 14.2 and later, using the GraphQL API.

NOTE: Creating compliance frameworks on subgroups with GraphQL causes the framework to be created on the root ancestor if the user has the correct permissions. The GitLab UI presents a read-only view to discourage this behavior.

Compliance pipeline configuration (ULTIMATE)

• Introduced in GitLab 13.9, disabled behind ff_evaluate_group_level_compliance_pipeline feature flag.
• Enabled by default in GitLab 13.11.
• Feature flag removed in GitLab 14.2.

Compliance framework pipelines allow group owners to define a compliance pipeline in a separate repository that gets executed in place of the local project's .gitlab-ci.yml file. As part of this pipeline, an include statement can reference the local project's .gitlab-ci.yml file. This way, the compliance pipeline jobs can run alongside the project-specific jobs any time the pipeline runs. Jobs and variables defined in the compliance pipeline can't be changed by variables in the local project's .gitlab-ci.yml file.

When you set up the compliance framework, use the Compliance pipeline configuration box to link the compliance framework to specific CI/CD configuration. Use the path/file.y[a]ml@group-name/project-name format. For example:

• .compliance-ci.yml@gitlab-org/gitlab.
• .compliance-ci.yaml@gitlab-org/gitlab.

This configuration is inherited by projects where the compliance framework label is applied. The result forces projects with the label to run the compliance CI/CD configuration in addition to the project's own CI/CD configuration. When a project with a compliance framework label executes a pipeline, it evaluates configuration in the following order:

1. Compliance pipeline configuration.
2. Project-specific pipeline configuration.

The user running the pipeline in the project must at least have the Reporter role on the compliance project.

Example .compliance-gitlab-ci.yml:

# Allows compliance team to control the ordering and interweaving of stages/jobs.
# Stages without jobs defined will remain hidden.
stages:
  - pre-compliance
  - build
  - test
  - pre-deploy-compliance
  - deploy
  - post-compliance

variables:  # Can be overridden by setting a job-specific variable in project's local .gitlab-ci.yml
  FOO: sast

sast:  # None of these attributes can be overridden by a project's local .gitlab-ci.yml
  variables:
    FOO: sast
  image: ruby:2.6
  stage: pre-compliance
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH && $CI_OPEN_MERGE_REQUESTS && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push"
      when: never
    - when: always  # or when: on_success
  allow_failure: false
  before_script:
    - "# No before scripts."
  script:
    - echo "running $FOO"
  after_script:
    - "# No after scripts."

sanity check:
  image: ruby:2.6
  stage: pre-deploy-compliance
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH && $CI_OPEN_MERGE_REQUESTS && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push"
      when: never
    - when: always  # or when: on_success
  allow_failure: false
  before_script:
    - "# No before scripts."
  script:
    - echo "running $FOO"
  after_script:
    - "# No after scripts."

audit trail:
  image: ruby:2.6
  stage: post-compliance
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH && $CI_OPEN_MERGE_REQUESTS && $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push"
      when: never
    - when: always  # or when: on_success
  allow_failure: false
  before_script:
    - "# No before scripts."
  script:
    - echo "running $FOO"
  after_script:
    - "# No after scripts."

include:  # Execute individual project's configuration (if project contains .gitlab-ci.yml)
  project: '$CI_PROJECT_PATH'
  file: '$CI_CONFIG_PATH'
  ref: '$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME' # Must be defined or MR pipelines always use the use default branch

When used to enforce scan execution, this feature has some overlap with scan execution policies, as we have not unified the user experience for these two features. For details on the similarities and differences between these features, see Enforce scan execution.

Ensure compliance jobs are always run

Compliance pipelines use GitLab CI/CD to give you an incredible amount of flexibility for defining any sort of compliance jobs you like. Depending on your goals, these jobs can be configured to be:

• Modified by users.
• Non-modifiable.

At a high-level, if a value in a compliance job:

• Is set, it cannot be changed or overridden by project-level configurations.
• Is not set, a project-level configuration may set.

Either might be wanted or not depending on your use case.

There are a few best practices for ensuring that these jobs are always run exactly as you define them and that downstream, project-level pipeline configurations cannot change them:

• Add a rules:when:always block to each of your compliance jobs. This ensures they are non-modifiable and are always run.
• Explicitly set any variables the job references. This:
  • Ensures that project-level pipeline configurations do not set them and alter their behavior.
  • Includes any jobs that drive the logic of your job.
• Explicitly set the container image file to run the job in. This ensures that your script steps execute in the correct environment.
• Explicitly set any relevant GitLab pre-defined job keywords. This ensures that your job uses the settings you intend and that they are not overridden by project-level pipelines.

Avoid parent and child pipelines in GitLab 14.7 and earlier

NOTE: This advice does not apply to GitLab 14.8 and later because a fix added compatibility for combining compliance pipelines, and parent and child pipelines.

Compliance pipelines start on the run of every pipeline in a relevant project. This means that if a pipeline in the relevant project triggers a child pipeline, the compliance pipeline runs first. This can trigger the parent pipeline, instead of the child pipeline.

Therefore, in projects with compliance frameworks, we recommend replacing parent-child pipelines with the following:

• Direct include statements that provide the parent pipeline with child pipeline configuration.
• Child pipelines placed in another project that are run using the trigger API rather than the parent-child pipeline feature.

This alternative ensures the compliance pipeline does not re-start the parent pipeline.

Configure project visibility, features, and permissions

To configure visibility, features, and permissions for a project:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand the Visibility, project features, permissions section.
4. To change the project visibility, select the dropdown list. If you select to Public, you limit access to some features to Only Project Members.
5. To allow users to request access to the project, select the Users can request access checkbox.
6. Use the toggles to enable or disable features in the project.
7. Select Save changes.

Project feature settings

Use the toggles to enable or disable features in the project.

When you disable a feature, the following additional features are also disabled:

• If you disable the Issues feature, project users cannot use:

  • Issue Boards
  • Service Desk
  • Project users can still access Milestones from merge requests.

• If you disable Issues and Merge Requests, project users cannot use:

  • Labels
  • Milestones

• If you disable Repository, project users cannot access:

  • Merge requests
  • CI/CD
  • Container Registry
  • Git Large File Storage
  • Packages

• Metrics dashboard access requires reading project environments and deployments. Users with access to the metrics dashboard can also access environments and deployments.

Disable CVE identifier request in issues (FREE SAAS)

Introduced in GitLab 13.4, only for public projects on GitLab.com.

In some environments, users can submit a CVE identifier request in an issue.

To disable the CVE identifier request option in issues in your project:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand the Visibility, project features, permissions section.
4. Under Issues, turn off the CVE ID requests in the issue sidebar toggle.
5. Select Save changes.

Disable project email notifications

Prerequisites:

• You must be an Owner of the project to disable email notifications related to the project.

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand the Visibility, project features, permissions section.
4. Clear the Disable email notifications checkbox.

Configure merge request settings for a project

Configure your project's merge request settings:

• Set up the merge request method (merge commit, fast-forward merge).
• Add merge request description templates.
• Enable merge request approvals.
• Enable status checks.
• Enable merge only if pipeline succeeds.
• Enable merge only when all threads are resolved.
• Enable require an associated issue from Jira.
• Enable delete source branch after merge option by default.
• Configure suggested changes commit messages.
• Configure merge and squash commit message templates.
• Configure the default target project for merge requests coming from forks.

Service Desk

Enable Service Desk for your project to offer customer support.

Export project

Learn how to export a project in GitLab.

Advanced project settings

Use the advanced settings to archive, rename, transfer, remove a fork relationship, or delete a project.

Archive a project

When you archive a project, the repository, packages, issues, merge requests, and all other features are read-only. Archived projects are also hidden from project listings.

To archive a project:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand Advanced.
4. In the Archive project section, select Archive project.
5. To confirm, select OK.

Unarchive a project

When you unarchive a project, you remove the read-only restriction and make it available in project lists.

Prerequisites:

• To unarchive a project, you must be an administrator or a project Owner.

1. Find the archived project.
   1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects > View all projects.
   2. Select Explore projects.
   3. In the Sort projects dropdown list, select Show archived projects.
   4. In the Filter by name field, enter the project name.
   5. Select the project link.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Under Advanced, select Expand.
4. In the Unarchive project section, select Unarchive project.
5. To confirm, select OK.

Rename a repository

A project's repository name defines its URL and its place on the file disk where GitLab is installed.

Prerequisites:

You must be a project maintainer or administrator to rename a repository.

NOTE: When you change the repository path, users may experience issues if they push to, or pull from, the old URL. For more information, see redirects when renaming repositories.

To rename a repository:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand the Advanced section.
4. In the Change path text box, edit the path.
5. Select Change path.

Transfer a project to another namespace

When you transfer a project to another namespace, you move the project to a different group.

Prerequisites:

• You must have at least the Maintainer role for the group to which you are transferring.
• You must be the Owner of the project you transfer.
• The group must allow creation of new projects.
• The project must not contain any container images.
  • If you transfer a project to a different root namespace, the project must not contain any NPM packages.

To transfer a project:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand Advanced.
4. Under Transfer project, choose the namespace to transfer the project to.
5. Select Transfer project.
6. Enter the project's name and select Confirm.

You are redirected to the project's new page and GitLab applies a redirect. For more information about repository redirects, see What happens when a repository path changes.

NOTE: If you are an administrator, you can also use the administration interface to move any project to any namespace.

Transferring a GitLab SaaS project to a different subscription tier

When you transfer a project from a namespace licensed for GitLab SaaS Premium or Ultimate to GitLab Free, the following paid feature data is deleted:

• Project access tokens are revoked
• Pipeline subscriptions and test cases are deleted.

Delete a project

You can mark a project to be deleted.

Prerequisite:

• You must have at least the Owner role for a project.

To delete a project:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand Advanced.
4. In the "Delete project" section, select Delete project.
5. Confirm the action when asked to.

This action deletes a project including all associated resources (issues, merge requests, and so on).

WARNING: The default deletion behavior for projects was changed to delayed project deletion in GitLab 12.6, and then to immediate deletion in GitLab 13.2.

Delayed project deletion (PREMIUM)

• Enabled for projects in personal namespaces in GitLab 15.1.
• Disabled for projects in personal namespaces in GitLab 15.3.

Projects in a group (not a personal namespace) can be deleted after a delay period. Multiple settings can affect whether delayed project deletion is enabled for a particular project:

• Self-managed instance settings. You can enable delayed project deletion as the default setting for new groups, and configure the number of days for the delay. For GitLab.com, see the GitLab.com settings.
• Group settings to enabled delayed project deletion for all projects in the group.

Delete a project immediately

Introduced in GitLab 14.1.

If you don't want to wait, you can delete a project immediately.

Prerequisites:

• You must have at least the Owner role for a project.
• You have marked the project for deletion.

To immediately delete a project marked for deletion:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand Advanced.
4. In the "Permanently delete project" section, select Delete project.
5. Confirm the action when asked to.

The following are deleted:

• Your project and its repository.
• All related resources including issues and merge requests.

Restore a project (PREMIUM)

Introduced in GitLab 12.6.

To restore a project marked for deletion:

1. Navigate to your project, and select Settings > General > Advanced.
2. In the Restore project section, select Restore project.

Remove a fork relationship

Prerequisites:

• You must be a project owner to remove a fork relationship.

WARNING: If you remove a fork relationship, you can't send merge requests to the source. If anyone has forked your project, their fork also loses the relationship. To restore the fork relationship, use the API.

To remove a fork relationship:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the left sidebar, select Settings > General.
3. Expand Advanced.
4. In the Remove fork relationship section, select Remove fork relationship.
5. To confirm, enter the project path and select Confirm.

Monitor settings

Alerts

Configure alert integrations to triage and manage critical problems in your application as alerts.

Incidents

Alert integration

Automatically create, notify on, and resolve incidents based on GitLab alerts.

PagerDuty integration

Create incidents in GitLab for each PagerDuty incident.

Incident settings

Manage Service Level Agreements for incidents with an SLA countdown timer.

Error Tracking

Configure Error Tracking to discover and view Sentry errors within GitLab.

Status Page (ULTIMATE)

Add Storage credentials to enable the syncing of public Issues to a deployed status page.