GitLab Self-Hosting Deployment

Complete automation for deploying production-ready GitLab on Digital Ocean with custom domain, SSL, email delivery, automated backups, and monitoring.

Features

• ✅ Automated GitLab CE installation
• ✅ Let's Encrypt SSL with auto-renewal
• ✅ Multiple email provider support (Gmail, SendGrid, Mailgun, AWS SES)
• ✅ Automated daily backups with cloud storage option
• ✅ Health monitoring scripts
• ✅ Security hardening and firewall rules
• ✅ Performance tuning for 4GB+ RAM droplets
• ✅ Comprehensive testing suite
• ✅ Complete documentation

Quick Start

1. Prerequisites

• Digital Ocean droplet (4GB RAM minimum, 8GB recommended)
• Domain name with DNS access
• Email provider account (see docs/EMAIL_SETUP.md)
• SSH access to droplet

2. Local Setup

# Clone or create this directory structure
cd gitlab-deployment

# Copy environment template
cp .env.example .env

# Edit with your configuration
nano .env

# Make scripts executable
chmod +x scripts/*.sh tests/*.sh

3. Configure DNS

Before deployment, add this A record to your DNS:

Type: A
Name: gitlab (or @ for root domain)
Value: YOUR_DROPLET_IP
TTL: 3600

Wait for DNS propagation: dig gitlab.yourdomain.com

4. Deploy GitLab

Run scripts in order:

# 1. Setup droplet
ssh root@your_droplet_ip "bash -s" < scripts/setup_droplet.sh

# 2. Install GitLab (takes 5-10 minutes)
ssh root@your_droplet_ip "bash -s" < scripts/install_gitlab.sh

# 3. Configure SSL
ssh root@your_droplet_ip "bash -s" < scripts/configure_ssl.sh

# 4. Configure email (see docs/EMAIL_SETUP.md first!)
ssh root@your_droplet_ip "bash -s" < scripts/configure_email.sh

# 5. Setup email DNS records
./scripts/setup_dns_records.sh
# Follow output to add DNS records

# 6. Test email
./scripts/test_email.sh

5. First Login

# Get initial password
ssh root@your_droplet_ip 'cat /etc/gitlab/initial_root_password'

# Visit your GitLab
https://gitlab.yourdomain.com

# Login as root with the password above
# IMMEDIATELY change the password!

6. Setup Automated Backups

ssh root@your_droplet_ip
crontab -e

# Add daily backup at 2 AM
0 2 * * * /root/gitlab-deployment/scripts/backup_gitlab.sh >> /var/log/gitlab_backup.log 2>&1

Documentation

• Deployment Guide - Complete step-by-step deployment
• Email Setup - Email configuration for all providers
• Testing Guide - Comprehensive testing procedures
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Requirements

Minimum

• 4GB RAM, 2 vCPU cores
• 25GB SSD storage
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Recommended

• 8GB RAM, 4 vCPU cores
• 50GB SSD storage
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

For 50+ Users

• 16GB RAM, 8 vCPU cores
• 100GB SSD storage
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Project Structure

gitlab-deployment/
├── README.md                    # This file
├── .env.example                 # Environment variables template
├── scripts/
│   ├── setup_droplet.sh        # Initial server setup
│   ├── install_gitlab.sh       # GitLab installation
│   ├── configure_ssl.sh        # SSL certificate setup
│   ├── configure_email.sh      # Email configuration
│   ├── setup_dns_records.sh    # DNS record generator
│   ├── test_email.sh           # Email testing suite
│   ├── backup_gitlab.sh        # Backup automation
│   └── health_check.sh         # Health monitoring
├── configs/
│   └── gitlab.rb.template      # GitLab configuration template
├── docs/
│   ├── DEPLOYMENT.md           # Deployment guide
│   ├── EMAIL_SETUP.md          # Email setup guide
│   ├── TESTING.md              # Testing procedures
│   └── TROUBLESHOOTING.md      # Troubleshooting guide
└── tests/
    └── integration_tests.sh    # Automated testing

Security Notes

1. Change root password immediately after first login
2. Enable 2FA for all admin accounts
3. Review SSH key access regularly
4. Keep GitLab updated monthly
5. Monitor logs for suspicious activity
6. Use strong passwords for all accounts
7. Rotate credentials every 90 days

Backup & Recovery

Create Backup

ssh root@your_droplet_ip
sudo gitlab-backup create

Restore Backup

# Stop services
sudo gitlab-ctl stop puma
sudo gitlab-ctl stop sidekiq

# Restore (replace TIMESTAMP)
sudo gitlab-backup restore BACKUP=TIMESTAMP

# Restart
sudo gitlab-ctl restart
sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:check SANITIZE=true

Backups stored in: /var/opt/gitlab/backups/

Updating GitLab

# SSH to droplet
ssh root@your_droplet_ip

# Create backup first!
sudo gitlab-backup create

# Update
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade gitlab-ce

# Verify
sudo gitlab-rake gitlab:check

Monitoring

Run health checks:

ssh root@your_droplet_ip '/root/gitlab-deployment/scripts/health_check.sh'

Set up automated monitoring:

# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add hourly health check
0 * * * * /root/gitlab-deployment/scripts/health_check.sh >> /var/log/gitlab_health.log 2>&1

Cost Estimate (Monthly)

• Droplet (4GB): $24/month
• Droplet (8GB): $48/month
• Email (SendGrid): Free (100 emails/day)
• Email (Mailgun): Free (5,000 emails/month)
• Backups (DO Spaces): $5/month (250GB)
• Domain: $10-15/year

Total: ~$24-48/month

Common Issues

GitLab won't start

# Check memory and disk space
free -h
df -h

# Check logs
sudo gitlab-ctl tail

SSL certificate issues

# Verify DNS
dig gitlab.yourdomain.com

# Renew certificate
sudo gitlab-ctl renew-le-certs

Email not working

See docs/EMAIL_SETUP.md for comprehensive troubleshooting.

More help

See docs/TROUBLESHOOTING.md

Support

• Documentation: docs/
• GitLab Docs: docs.gitlab.com
• GitLab Forum: forum.gitlab.com
• Digital Ocean Community: digitalocean.com/community

License

This deployment configuration is provided as-is for personal and commercial use.

Contributing

Improvements welcome! Please test thoroughly before submitting changes.

Next Steps After Deployment

1. Import existing repositories
2. Set up CI/CD pipelines
3. Configure integrations (Slack, Discord, etc.)
4. Set up project templates
5. Configure issue boards and milestones
6. Explore GitLab Container Registry (optional)
7. Set up GitLab Pages for documentation (optional)

Resources

• GitLab Documentation
• Digital Ocean Tutorials
• Let's Encrypt Documentation
• Git Documentation

---

Version: 1.0.0 Last Updated: 2024