Configure workspaces

You can use workspaces to create and manage isolated development environments for your GitLab projects. Each workspace includes its own set of dependencies, libraries, and tools, which you can customize to meet the specific needs of each project.

Set up workspace infrastructure

Before you create a workspace, you must set up your infrastructure only once. To set up infrastructure for workspaces:

1. Set up a Kubernetes cluster that the GitLab agent supports. See the supported Kubernetes versions.
2. Ensure autoscaling for the Kubernetes cluster is enabled.
3. In the Kubernetes cluster:
   1. Verify that a default storage class is defined so that volumes can be dynamically provisioned for each workspace.
   2. Install an Ingress controller of your choice (for example, ingress-nginx).
   3. Install and configure the GitLab agent.
   4. Point dns_zone and *.<dns_zone> to the load balancer exposed by the Ingress controller. This load balancer must support WebSockets.
   5. Set up the GitLab workspaces proxy.
4. Optional. Configure sudo access for a workspace.
5. Optional. Build and run containers in a workspace.
6. Optional. Configure support for private container registries.

Create a workspace

Prerequisites:

• You must set up workspace infrastructure.
• You must have at least the Developer role for the workspace and agent projects.

To create a workspace:

1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.

2. Select Edit > New workspace.

3. From the Cluster agent dropdown list, select a cluster agent owned by the group the project belongs to.

4. From the Git reference dropdown list, select the branch, tag, or commit hash GitLab uses to create the workspace.

5. From the Devfile dropdown list, select one of the following:

   • GitLab default devfile.
   • Custom devfile.

6. In Variables, enter the keys and values of the environment variables you want to inject into the workspace. To add a new variable, select Add variable.

7. Select Create workspace.

The workspace might take a few minutes to start. To open the workspace, under Preview, select the workspace. You also have access to the terminal and can install any necessary dependencies.

Configure support for private container registries

To use images from private container registries:

1. Create an image pull secret in Kubernetes.
2. Add the name and namespace of this secret to the GitLab agent configuration.

For more information, see image_pull_secrets.

Configure sudo access for a workspace

Prerequisites:

• Ensure the container images used in the devfile support arbitrary user IDs. Sudo access for a workspace does not mean that the container image used in a devfile can run with a user ID of 0.

A development environment often requires sudo permissions to install, configure, and use dependencies during runtime. You can configure secure sudo access for a workspace with:

• Sysbox
• Kata Containers
• User namespaces

With Sysbox

Sysbox is a container runtime that improves container isolation and enables containers to run the same workloads as virtual machines.

To configure sudo access for a workspace with Sysbox:

1. In the Kubernetes cluster, install Sysbox.
2. In the GitLab agent for workspaces:
   • Set default_runtime_class to the runtime class of Sysbox (for example, sysbox-runc).
   • Set allow_privilege_escalation to true.

With Kata Containers

Kata Containers is a standard implementation of lightweight virtual machines that perform like containers but provide the workload isolation and security of virtual machines.

To configure sudo access for a workspace with Kata Containers:

1. In the Kubernetes cluster, install Kata Containers.
2. In the GitLab agent for workspaces:
   • Set default_runtime_class to one of the runtime classes of Kata Containers (for example, kata-qemu).
   • Set allow_privilege_escalation to true.

With user namespaces

User namespaces isolate the user running inside the container from the user on the host.

To configure sudo access for a workspace with user namespaces:

1. In the Kubernetes cluster, configure user namespaces.
2. In the GitLab agent for workspaces, set use_kubernetes_user_namespaces and allow_privilege_escalation to true.

Build and run containers in a workspace

Development environments often require building and running containers to manage and use dependencies during runtime. To build and run containers in a workspace, see configure sudo access for a workspace with Sysbox.

Connect to a workspace with SSH

Prerequisites:

• You must enable SSH access for the images specified in your devfile. For more information, see update your workspace container image.
• You must configure a TCP load balancer that points to the GitLab workspaces proxy. For more information, see update your DNS records.

To connect to a workspace with an SSH client:

1. Get the external IP address of your gitlab-workspaces-proxy-ssh service:

   kubectl -n gitlab-workspaces get service gitlab-workspaces-proxy-ssh

2. Get the name of the workspace:

   1. On the left sidebar, select Search or go to.
   2. Select Your work.
   3. Select Workspaces.
   4. Copy the name of the workspace you want to connect to.

3. Run this command:

   ssh <workspace_name>@<ssh_proxy_IP_address>

4. For the password, enter your personal access token with at least the read_api scope.

When you connect to gitlab-workspaces-proxy through the TCP load balancer, gitlab-workspaces-proxy examines the username (workspace name) and interacts with GitLab to verify:

• The personal access token
• User access to the workspace

Update your workspace container image

To update your runtime images for SSH connections:

1. Install sshd in your runtime images.
2. Create a user named gitlab-workspaces to allow access to your container without a password.

FROM golang:1.20.5-bullseye

# Install `openssh-server` and other dependencies
RUN apt update \
    && apt upgrade -y \
    && apt install  openssh-server sudo curl git wget software-properties-common apt-transport-https --yes \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Permit empty passwords
RUN sed -i 's/nullok_secure/nullok/' /etc/pam.d/common-auth
RUN echo "PermitEmptyPasswords yes" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# Generate a workspace host key
RUN ssh-keygen -A
RUN chmod 775 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key && \
    chmod 775 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ecdsa_key && \
    chmod 775 /etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key

# Create a `gitlab-workspaces` user
RUN useradd -l -u 5001 -G sudo -md /home/gitlab-workspaces -s /bin/bash gitlab-workspaces
RUN passwd -d gitlab-workspaces
ENV HOME=/home/gitlab-workspaces
WORKDIR $HOME
RUN mkdir -p /home/gitlab-workspaces && chgrp -R 0 /home && chmod -R g=u /etc/passwd /etc/group /home

# Allow sign-in access to `/etc/shadow`
RUN chmod 775 /etc/shadow

USER gitlab-workspaces

Related topics

• Tutorial: Set up GitLab agent and proxies
• Workspace settings
• Workspace configuration
• Troubleshooting Workspaces
• Quickstart guide for GitLab remote development workspaces
• Set up your infrastructure for on-demand, cloud-based development environments in GitLab