We have set up our own Git hosting server with GitLab, but it still contains a single admin user account. You can start using the setup and create a new repository with an admin account, but it is a good idea to set up a separate non-root account. In this recipe, we will cover the user management and access control features of the GitLab server.
Getting ready
Make sure you have followed the previous recipe and installed the GitLab server.
Login to GitLab with your root or admin account.
You will need to configure the email server before creating a user account. You can use an external email service, such as sendgrid or mailgun. Update your GitLab email server configuration and reconfigure the server for the changes to take effect.
How to do it…
The default landing page for GitLab is a projects page. The same page is listed even when you log in as root. To create a new user, we need to access the admin area:
To open the admin console, click on the admin area icon located at the top-right corner of the screen. Alternatively, you can add /admin to the base URL and access the admin area.
The admin dashboard will greet you with details about your installation and the features and components list. The left-hand menu will list all available options.
Click on the Users menu to get user account-related options.
Next, click on the big green New User button to open a new user form.
Now fill in the required details such as name, username, and email. The form should looks something like this:
You cannot set a password for a new user account on the create user form. The reset password link will be mailed to the user at a given email ID. A new user can set his password through that link:
Under the Access section, you can mark this user as admin and set a limit on projects created by him:
Next, under the profile section, you can add some more details for this user account.
Now, click on the Create User button at the bottom-left of the form. This will save the given details and trigger a password reset email. A screen will change to the User Details page where you can see the account details, groups, and projects of a given user, as well as other details. From the same page, you can block or remove the user account.
The new user account is ready to be used. Open the login page in a new window or private browser and use the email or username and newly set password to log in.
