Install and configure Git

To begin contributing to GitLab projects, you must download and install the Git client on your computer.

This page provides information on installing Git on macOS and Ubuntu Linux.

For information on downloading and installing Git on other operating systems, see the official Git website.

Install and update Git

macOS

Though a version of Git is supplied by macOS, you should install the latest version of Git. A common way to install Git is with Homebrew.

To install the latest version of Git on macOS with Homebrew:

  1. If you’ve never installed Homebrew before, follow the Homebrew installation instructions.
  2. In a terminal, install Git by running brew install git.

  3. Verify that Git works on your computer: 

    git --version

Keep Git up to date by periodically running the following command: 

brew update && brew upgrade git
Ubuntu Linux

Though a version of Git is supplied by Ubuntu, you should install the latest version of Git. The latest version is available using a Personal Package Archive (PPA).

To install the latest version of Git on Ubuntu Linux with a PPA:

  1. In a terminal, configure the required PPA, update the list of Ubuntu packages, and install git: 

    sudo apt-add-repository ppa:git-core/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install git

  2. Verify that Git works on your computer: 

    git --version

Keep Git up to date by periodically running the following command: 

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install git

Configure Git

To start using Git from your computer, you must enter your credentials to identify yourself as the author of your work.

You can configure your Git identity locally or globally:

  • Locally: Use for the current project only.
  • Globally: Use for all current and future projects.
Local setup

Configure your Git identity locally to use it for the current project only.

The full name and email address should match the ones you use in GitLab.

  1. In your terminal, add your full name. For example: 

    git config --local user.name "Alex Smith"

  2. Add your email address. For example: 

    git config --local user.email "your_email_address@example.com"

  3. To check the configuration, run: 

    git config --local --list
Global setup

Configure your Git identity globally to use it for all current and future projects on your machine.

The full name and email address should match the ones you use in GitLab.

  1. In your terminal, add your full name. For example: 

    git config --global user.name "Sidney Jones"

  2. Add your email address. For example: 

    git config --global user.email "your_email_address@example.com"

  3. To check the configuration, run: 

    git config --global --list

To check your configured Git settings, run: 

git config user.name && git config user.email

After you set your name and email address, you should add an SSH key. See Use SSH keys to communicate with GitLab.