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GitLab CE: the best Open Source alternative to GitHub in 2026

GitLab Community Edition offers Git repositories, CI/CD, issue tracking and a container registry in a single complete DevOps platform, free to self-host.

License MIT ~24k stars (estimated)Website GitHub Repository

Technical profile

License
MIT
Category
Dev Tools
Replaces
GitHub
Tech stack
Ruby on RailsPostgreSQLRedis

Preview

GitLab CE interface preview

Public image provided by GitLab CE on its own website.

Key features

  • Built-in CI/CD, no external tools needed
  • Own container registry
  • Issue and epic management

GitLab CE vs. GitHub

Pros

  • The whole DevOps cycle in a single platform

Things to consider

  • Needs quite a bit more RAM than Gitea (4GB+ recommended)

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

docker-compose.yml
version: "3.9"
services:
  gitlab:
    image: gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "2222:22"
    environment:
      - GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG=external_url 'http://localhost'
    volumes:
      - gitlab_config:/etc/gitlab
      - gitlab_data:/var/opt/gitlab
volumes:
  gitlab_config:
  gitlab_data: