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Dev Toolsdocker-readypermissive-licenseOpen-Core🟢 Lightweight · ~512MB💾 Recommended storage: 25GB

GitLab CE: Open-Core alternative to GitHub in 2026

GitLab Community Edition offers Git repositories, CI/CD, issue tracking and a container registry in a single complete DevOps platform, free to self-host.

Core is open source, but advanced features or enterprise support may be behind a paid tier — check the license.

Alternative to GitHub
License MIT24k stars(estimated)Website GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

  • License — Not verifiable on GitHub

  • GitHub — No live data

  • Latest release — Not available

  • Docker Compose — Partial

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

GitLab CE vs. GitHub

Pros

  • The whole DevOps cycle in a single platform

Things to consider

  • Needs quite a bit more RAM than Gitea (4GB+ recommended)

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on GitHub.
  • On your own VPS: the core is free to self-host on your own server — no more monthly SaaS fee, though some advanced features stay behind a paid plan.
docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: gitlab/gitlab-ce:19.4.1-ce.0
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "2222:22"
    environment:
      - GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG=external_url 'https://git.yourdomain.com' # CHANGE THIS TO YOUR DOMAIN
    volumes:
      - gitlab_config:/etc/gitlab
      - gitlab_data:/var/opt/gitlab
volumes:
  gitlab_config:
  gitlab_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=gitlab-ce" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

We couldn't read the repository's recent activity from GitHub right now.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
MIT
Category
Dev Tools
Replaces
GitHub
Tech stack
Ruby on RailsPostgreSQLRedis

Under the hood

Database

PostgreSQL

Language

Ruby on Rails

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • Built-in CI/CD, no external tools needed
  • Own container registry
  • Issue and epic management

Frequently asked questions

What is GitLab CE?

GitLab Community Edition: the free, self-hostable version of GitLab (MIT license), with Git repositories, built-in CI/CD, issue tracking, and a container registry in one DevOps platform.

How much RAM does a GitLab CE server need?

Noticeably more than Gitea — this page recommends at least 4GB for a comfortable instance, versus Gitea installs that run on much less. If you only need to host Git repos without built-in CI/CD, Gitea is the lighter option.

GitLab CE vs Gitea: which should you pick?

GitLab CE covers the full DevOps cycle (CI/CD, container registry, epics) in one platform, at the cost of more RAM and more operational complexity. Gitea is much lighter but focuses on hosting Git repos, leaving CI/CD to external tools.

Preview

GitLab CE interface preview

Public image provided by GitLab CE on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:80
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy