- GitKraken can be connected to Github, Gitlab, or Bitbucket accounts through OAuth. From that point onward most if not all actions that are related to these services can be done inside GitKraken. Things like: cloning or forking a repository, adding a remote, pushing to a remote repository hosted on these services can be done inside the app.
- Once your GitLab account has been connected to GitKraken, you may easily generate an SSH key and add it to your GitLab account from Preferences Integrations. Click the magic Generate SSH key and add to GitLab button and watch what used to be 8 steps be complete in one. Alternatively add a key from SSH Defaults with Add key to GitLab or an existing key pair through Add existing SSH key.
- Can anyone recommend a good Windows client for GitLab? I know of Eclipse eGit and TortoiseGit, but is there a dedicated GitLab client for non-developers? We have a group of DBAs and Testers (not to mention CMers) who do not ‘live’ in Eclipse, and would prefer some sort of a Windows application (remember WinCVS), that would let them perform the basic browse, status, fetch, add, commit, tag.
- Finally, GitKraken has been added feature signing commit on v5 and now I’ll show you the power of GitKraken and GitLab that make our life easier than before. In this blog, we’ll walk through.
GitKraken allows you to connect to GitLab Self-Managed (CE or EE), which will help you find repos when cloning or adding your remotes.
Benefits
- Create repositories on GitLab Self-Managed server including .gitignore and license
- Automatically generate an SSH key pair and add it to GitLab Self-Managed
- Save authentication into profiles
- Clone from GitLab Self-Managed repo list
- Add remotes for GitLab Self-Managed repos
- Create and view Pull Requests
- Work with GitLab Self-Managed Issues
GitLab Self-Managed Authentication
GitKraken Boards.
Gitkraken Gitlab Flow
Note 📝 - GitKraken supports any version of GitLab Self-Managed released within one year.
To authenticate with GitLab Self-Managed, navigate to the upper right corner to access Preferences Integrations
Or alternatively if you are in the New Tab view, click on Preferences under Customize.
From the Integrations window, enter your Host Domain, then click the Generate a token on GitLab link. Note the permissions that need to be assigned to the token on your GitLab Self-Managed server.
This opens a web browser where you will log in with your GitLab Self-Managed credentials and generate an access token.
GitKraken needs the token to have api and read_user scope and we recommend leaving the Expiration field blank.
Copy your token to the clipboard as this is the only time you will see this token. Paste the token into GitKraken and click on .
Generating an SSH Key for GitLab Self-Managed
Note 📝 - GitKraken uses your SSH key defined in Preferences SSH for git operations unless you set up a GitLab-specific SSH key, or enable your local SSH Agent.
Once your GitLab Self-Managed account has been connected to GitKraken, you may easily generate an SSH key and add it to your GitLab Self-Managed account from Preferences Integrations.
Click the button and watch the magic happen.
Alternatively add existing SSH Defaults with or an existing key pair through Add existing SSH key.
Connecting to multiple GitLab Self-Managed accounts
GitKraken connects to one GitLab Self-Managed account at a time. However, with GitKraken Pro's multiple profile support, you can easily switch between profiles that each have their own associated GitLab Self-Managed accounts.
Training resources
Share these resources with your team to explain why collaborating with GitKraken is easier, and to get everyone up and running with GitLab and GitKraken quickly.
What is the best Git branch strategy?
Git and other version control systems give software developers the power to track, manage, and organize their code.
In particular, Git helps developers collaborate on code with teammates; combining powerful features like commits and branches with specific principles and strategies helps teams organize code and reduce the time needed to manage versioning.
Of course, every developer and development team is different, with unique needs. Here is where a Git branching strategy comes in.
We will be covering three fairly popular Git branch strategies, each with their own benefits. The best part? None of these workflows are set in stone and can, and should, be modified to fit your specific environment and needs.
Please note: many of these original strategies refer to ‘master’ branches, but we have chosen to use ‘main’ instead.
Git Flow Branch Strategy
The main idea behind the Git flow branching strategy is to isolate your work into different types of branches. There are five different branch types in total:
- Main
- Develop
- Feature
- Release
- Hotfix
The two primary branches in Git flow are main and develop. There are three types of supporting branches with different intended purposes: feature, release, and hotfix.
Git Flow: Pros & Cons
The Git flow branching strategy comes with many benefits, but does introduce a few challenges.
The Benefits of Git Flow:
- The various types of branches make it easy and intuitive to organize your work.
- The systematic development process allows for efficient testing.
- The use of release branches allows you to easily and continuously support multiple versions of production code.
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The Challenges of Git Flow:
- Depending on the complexity of the product, the Git flow model could overcomplicate and slow the development process and release cycle.
- Because of the long development cycle, Git flow is historically not able to support Continuous Delivery or Continuous Integration.
GitHub Flow Branch Strategy
The GitHub flow branching strategy is a relatively simple workflow that allows smaller teams, or web applications/products that don’t require supporting multiple versions, to expedite their work.
In GitHub flow, the main branch contains your production-ready code.
The other branches, feature branches, should contain work on new features and bug fixes and will be merged back into the main branch when the work is finished and properly reviewed.
GitHub Flow Considerations
While working with the GitHub flow branching strategy, there are '>six principles you should adhere to to ensure you maintain good code.
- Any code in the main branch should be deployable.
- Create new descriptively-named branches off the main branch for new work, such as feature/add-new-payment-types.
- Commit new work to your local branches and regularly push work to the remote.
- To request feedback or help, or when you think your work is ready to merge into the main branch, open a pull request.
- After your work or feature has been reviewed and approved, it can be merged into the main branch.
- Once your work has been merged into the main branch, it should be deployed immediately.
GitHub Flow: Pros & Cons
As with other Git branch strategies, GitHub flow has some highlights and downfalls.
The Benefits of GitHub Flow
- Of the three Git branch strategies we cover in this post, GitHub flow is the most simple.
- Because of the simplicity of the workflow, this Git branching strategy allows for Continuous Delivery and Continuous Integration.
- This Git branch strategy works great for small teams and web applications.
The Challenges of GitHub Flow
- This Git branch strategy is unable to support multiple versions of code in production at the same time.
- The lack of dedicated development branches makes GitHub flow more susceptible to bugs in production.
GitLab Flow Branch Strategy
At its core, the GitLab flow branching strategy is a clearly-defined workflow. While similar to the GitHub flow branch strategy, the main differentiator is the addition of environment branches—ie production and pre-production—or release branches, depending on the situation.
Just as in the other two Git branch strategies, GitLab flow has a main branch that contains code that is ready to be deployed. However, this code is not the source of truth for releases.
In GitLab flow, the feature branch contains work for new features and bug fixes which will be merged back into the main branch when they’re finished, reviewed, and approved.
Using GitLab flow in your release cycle
The GitLab flow branching strategy works with two different types of release cycles:
- Versioned Release: each release has an associated release branch that is based off the main branch. Bug fixes should be merged into the main branch first, before being cherry-picked into the release branch.
- Continuous Release: production branches are utilized to contain deployment-ready code, so code is merged into the production branch when it’s ready to be released.
Benefits of GitLab Flow
- When compared to the Git flow branch strategy, GitLab flow is more simple.
- GitLab flow is more organized and structured than the GitHub flow branch strategy.
- After slight modification, GitLab flow can allow for Continuous Delivery and versioned releases.
Challenges of GitLab Flow
- GitLab flow is not the simplest Git branch strategy.
- GitLab flow is not the most structured Git branching strategy which can lead to messy collaboration.
Gitkraken Github
So, which is the best Git branching strategy?
Ultimately, the answer to which Git branch strategy is the best depends on you and your team’s environment, product and your specific development needs.
There is not a one-size-fits-all Git branch strategy, and regardless of which you end up selecting, it’s likely you can optimize it with further modifications.
Git Flow with GitKraken
The legendary cross-platform Git GUI for Windows, Mac, & Linux helps simplify and visualize Git at a high-level, and supports the Git flow branching strategy. GitKraken integrates with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket and Azure DevOps to make it easy to work with hosted repositories. Learn more about how to use GitKraken for a Git flow branching strategy.
Get started with Git flow using GitKraken. Download the GitKraken Git GUI for free.