• Change the color theme
  • Dark mode
• Change the syntax highlighting theme
• Change the diff colors
• Behavior
  • Change the layout width on the UI
  • Set the default text editor
  • Choose your home organization
  • Choose your homepage
  • Customize default content on your group overview page
  • Customize default content on your project overview page
  • Hide shortcut buttons
  • Show whitespace characters in the Web IDE
  • Show whitespace changes in diffs
  • Show one file per page in a merge request
  • Auto-enclose characters
  • Automate new list items
  • Change the tab width
• Localization
  • Change your display language on the GitLab UI
  • Customize your contribution calendar start day
  • Show exact times instead of relative times
  • Customize time format
• Disable exact code search
• User identities in CI job JSON web tokens
• Control follower engagement
• Integrate your GitLab instance with third-party services
  • Integrate your GitLab instance with Gitpod
  • Integrate your GitLab instance with Sourcegraph
  • Integrate with the extension marketplace

Profile preferences

You can update your preferences to change the look and feel of GitLab.

Change the color theme

You can change the color theme of the GitLab UI. These colors are displayed on the left sidebar. Using individual color themes might help you differentiate between your different GitLab instances.

To change the color theme:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. In the Color theme section, select a theme.

Dark mode

Dark mode makes elements on the GitLab UI stand out on a dark background.

• To turn on Dark mode, Select Preferences > Color theme > Dark Mode.

Dark mode works only with the Dark Syntax highlighting theme. You can report and view issues, send feedback, and track progress in epic 2092.

Change the syntax highlighting theme

Syntax highlighting is a feature in code editors and IDEs. The highlighter assigns a color to each type of code, such as strings and comments.

To change the syntax highlighting theme:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. In the Syntax highlighting theme section, select a theme.
4. Select Save changes.

To view the updated syntax highlighting theme, refresh your project’s page.

To customize the syntax highlighting theme, you can also use the Application settings API. Use default_syntax_highlighting_theme to change the syntax highlighting colors on a more granular level.

If these steps do not work, your programming language might not be supported by the syntax highlighters. For more information, view Rouge Ruby Library for guidance on code files and Snippets. View Monaco Editor and Monarch for guidance on the Web IDE.

Change the diff colors

Diffs use two different background colors to show changes between versions of code. By default, the original file is in red, and the changes are in green.

To change the diff colors:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Go to the Diff colors section.
4. Select a color or enter a color code.
5. Select Save changes.

To change back to the default colors, clear the Color for removed lines and Color for added lines text boxes and select Save changes.

Behavior

Use the Behavior section to customize the behavior and layout of your GitLab self-managed instance. You can change your layout width and choose the default content for your homepage, group and project overview pages. You have options to customize appearance and function, like whitespace rendering, file display, and text automation.

Change the layout width on the UI

You can stretch content on the GitLab UI to fill the entire page. By default, page content is fixed at 1280 pixels wide.

To change the layout width of your UI:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. Under Layout width, choose Fixed or Fluid.
5. Select Save changes.

Set the default text editor

You can set a default editor for editing content in GitLab. If you do not choose a default text editor, your last used choice is preserved.

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. Under Default text editor, select the Enable default text editor checkbox.
5. Choose either Rich text editor or Plain text editor as your default.
6. Select Save changes.

Choose your home organization

If you are a member of two or more organizations, you can choose a home organization. This is the organization you are in by default when you first sign in to GitLab.

To choose your home organization:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. From the Home organization dropdown list, select an option.
5. Select Save changes.

Choose your homepage

Control what page you view when you select the GitLab logo (). You can set your homepage to be Projects (default), Your Groups, Your Activity, and other content.

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. From the Homepage dropdown list, select an option.
5. Select Save changes.

Customize default content on your group overview page

You can change the main content on your group overview page. Your group overview page is the page that shows when you select Groups on the left sidebar. You can customize the default content for your group overview page to the:

• Details Dashboard (default), which includes an overview of group activities and projects.
• Security Dashboard, which might include group security policies and other security topics.

For more information, view Groups.

To change the default content on your group overview page:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. From the Group overview content dropdown list, select an option.
5. Select Save changes.

Customize default content on your project overview page

Your project overview page is the page you view when you select Project overview on the left sidebar. You can set your main project overview page to the Activity page, the README file, and other content.

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. From the Project overview content dropdown list, select an option.
5. Select Save changes.

Hide shortcut buttons

Shortcut buttons precede the list of files on a project’s overview page. These buttons provide links to parts of a project, such as the README file or license agreements.

To hide shortcut buttons on the project overview page:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. Clear the Show shortcut buttons above files on project overview checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

Show whitespace characters in the Web IDE

Whitespace characters are any blank characters in a text, such as spaces and indentations. You might use whitespace to structure content in code. If your programming language is sensitive to whitespaces, the Web IDE can detect changes to them.

To render whitespace in the Web IDE:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. Select the Render whitespace characters in the Web IDE checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

You can view changes to whitespace in diffs.

To view diffs on the Web IDE, follow these steps:

1. On the left sidebar, select Source Control ().
2. Under the Changes tab, select your file.

Show whitespace changes in diffs

View changes to whitespace in diff files. For more information on whitespaces, view the previous task.

To view changes to whitespace in diffs:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. Select the Show whitespace changes in diffs checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

For more information on diffs, view Change the diff colors.

Show one file per page in a merge request

The Changes tab lets you view all file changes in a merge request on one page. Instead, you can choose to view one file at a time.

To show one file per page on the Changes tab:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. Select the Show one file at a time on merge request’s Changes tab checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

Then, to move between files on the Changes tab, below each file, select the Previous and Next buttons.

Auto-enclose characters

Automatically add the corresponding closing character to text when you type the opening character. For example, you can automatically insert a closing bracket when you type an opening bracket. This setting works only in description and comment boxes and for the following characters: **", ', ```, (, [, {, <, *, _**.

To auto-enclose characters in description and comment boxes:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. Select the Surround text selection when typing quotes or brackets checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

In a description or comment box, you can now type a word, highlight it, then type an opening character. Instead of replacing the text, the closing character is added to the end.

Automate new list items

Create a new list item when you press Enter in a list in description and comment boxes.

To add a new list item when you press the Enter key:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. Select the Automatically add new list items checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

Change the tab width

Change the default size of tabs in diffs, blobs, and snippets. The WebIDE, file editor, and Markdown editor do not support this feature.

To adjust the default tab width:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Scroll to the Behavior section.
4. For Tab width, enter a value.
5. Select Save changes.

Localization

Change localization settings such as your language, calendar start day, and time preferences.

Change your display language on the GitLab UI

GitLab supports multiple languages on the UI. To help improve translations or request support for an unlisted language, view Translating GitLab.

To choose a language for the GitLab UI:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Go to the Localization section.
4. Under Language, select an option.
5. Select Save changes.

You might need to refresh your page to view the updated language.

Customize your contribution calendar start day

Choose which day of the week the contribution calendar starts with. The contribution calendar shows project contributions over the past year. You can view this calendar on each user profile. To access your user profile:

• On the left sidebar, select your avatar > select your name or username.

To change your contribution calendar start day:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Go to the Localization section.
4. Under First day of the week, select an option.
5. Select Save changes.

After you change your calendar start day, refresh your user profile page.

Show exact times instead of relative times

Customize the format used to display times of activities on your group and project overview pages and user profiles. You can display times in a:

• Relative format, for example 30 minutes ago.
• Absolute format, for example September 3, 2022, 3:57 PM.

To use exact times on the GitLab UI:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Go to the Time preferences section.
4. Clear the Use relative times checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

Customize time format

You can customize the format used to display times of activities on your group and project overview pages and user profiles. You can display times as:

• 12 hour format. For example: 2:34 PM.
• 24 hour format. For example: 14:34.

You can also follow your system’s setting.

To customize the time format:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Go to the Time preferences section.
4. Under Time format, select either the System, 12-hour, or 24-hour option.
5. Select Save changes.

Disable exact code search

Prerequisites:

• For GitLab self-managed, an administrator must enable exact code search.

To disable exact code search in user preferences:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Go to the Exact code search section.
4. Clear the Enable exact code search checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

User identities in CI job JSON web tokens

CI/CD jobs generate JSON web tokens, which can include a list of your external identities. Instead of making separate API calls to get individual accounts, you can find your user identities in a single authentication token.

External identities are not included by default. To enable including external identities, see Token payload.

Control follower engagement

Turn off the ability to follow or be followed by other GitLab users. By default, your user profile, including your name and profile photo, is public in the Following tabs of other users. When you deactivate this setting:

• GitLab deletes all of your followers and followed connections.
• GitLab automatically removes your user profile from the pages of each connection.

To remove the ability to be followed by and follow other users:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Clear the Enable follow users checkbox.
4. Select Save changes.

To access your Followers and Following tabs:

• On the left sidebar, select your avatar > select your name or username.
• Select Followers or Following.

Integrate your GitLab instance with third-party services

Give third-party services access to enhance the GitLab experience.

Integrate your GitLab instance with Gitpod

Configure your GitLab instance with Gitpod when you want to launch and manage code directly from your GitLab browser. Gitpod automatically prepares and builds development environments for your projects.

To integrate with Gitpod:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Find the Integrations section.
4. Select the Enable Gitpod integration checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

Integrate your GitLab instance with Sourcegraph

GitLab supports Sourcegraph integration for all public projects on GitLab.

To integrate with Sourcegraph:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Find the Integrations section.
4. Select the Enable integrated code intelligence on code views checkbox.
5. Select Save changes.

You must be the administrator of the GitLab instance to configure GitLab with Sourcegraph.

Integrate with the extension marketplace

You can use the extension marketplace to search and manage extensions for the Web IDE and workspaces. For third-party extensions, you must enable the marketplace in user preferences.

To enable the extension marketplace for the Web IDE and workspaces:

1. On the left sidebar, select your avatar.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Go to the Integrations section.
4. Select the Enable extension marketplace checkbox.
5. In the third-party extension acknowledgement, select I understand.
6. Select Save changes.