Help.md

Help

This page offers you some introductory information on how to use JLU GitLab, but it cannot replace the official user help. For specific information about JLU GitLab, see information.

• Help
  • Important concepts
    • Git terminology
    • GitLab terminology
  • How to use GitLab?
  • How to register an account?
  • First steps
  • Visibility of projects
  • User roles in projects
    • Permissions as Guest
    • Permissions as Reporter
    • Permissions as Developer
    • Permissions as Maintainer
    • Permissions as Owner
  • User groups
    • Visibility of groups
    • User roles within groups
  • Settings concerning private information
  • Last steps
  • How to delete my account?
  • Further help

Important concepts

Git and GitLab are versatile tools using many technical concepts and terms. As both are developed and created in English-speaking environments, these concepts and terms have been only partially translated into other languages. To keep the following list of helpful information (e.g. regarding read and write permissions) short and comprehensible, the essential terms are explained in plain English. This is only a well-intended overview; further help provides a collection of links for you to familiarize yourself with these concepts.

Git terminology

• Git is a software for version-controlling files.
• A repository is a collection of files, which depicts edits of those files as a history of snapshots. Using Git, you can manage as many separate repositories as you want.
• A commit is a snapshot of the data in the repository. When you create a commit, the configured email address, name, date, time and a random comment become inseparably connected with the file contents of the new snapshot. This is a fundamental security feature of Git to prevent future changes of this snapshot. Read here how to change these potentially private settings.
• A branch is a subset of snapshots that has been given an arbitrary name, and which helps to keep a repository neat and tidy.
• The Git commands pull and push can synchronize branches of Git repositories across devices (such as your own computer and JLU GitLab). As soon as two branches are synchronized, both of them contain a copy of all data, i.e. the full history of snapshots.

GitLab terminology

• A project on (JLU) GitLab nearly always contains a Git-Repository, and offers many additional functions for its management. In addition, GitLab offers multiple systems to automatically execute source code within the project, e.g. to run tests or to generate a website (like this one).
• Every project is assigned to the namespace of an individual user or a group of users. All users have their own namespace for their personal projects. Likewise, all user groups have their own namespace for group projects. Your read and write permissions for a project depend indirectly on its namespace: For projects within the namespace of other users, your permissions depend on the project's visibility and, if you are a project member, your role in the project. For group projects, the permissions depend further on the group's visibility and, for group members, on their role in the group.

How to use GitLab?

• TODO: Using the browser is sufficient for many small issues, but for more serious work you should install Git locally.
• TODO: Many of the most common scientific softwares such as MATLAB, RStudio, etc. have integration with Git.

Please note that access from the Internet is restricted to HTTPS; access via SSH is only possible via VPN.

How to register an account?

To create an account for JLU GitLab, an existing JLU account (g-, s-, n-, or j-) is required. Please refer to this page for information on JLU accounts.

If you have a JLU account, your account for JLU GitLab will be registered upon your first login, if you agree to the Terms of Use. To login, go to https://gitlab.ub.uni-giessen.de/ and enter your JLU user ID (g-, s-, n-, or j- account) into the field JLU (g-/s-/n-/j-) Username and your corresponding, personal password into the field Password.

Upon your first login, you will be prompted with the Terms of Use (in German); your account be registered only after you agree to it.

First steps

TODO: Rough overview, links to good resources for learning more (see further help below).

• You can choose another language at Einstellungen > Profil > Einstellungen > Lokalisierung. But as GitLab uses many untranslatable terms, there might still be many English terms, despite different language settings.