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GitLab

GitLab Appearance (FREE SELF)

Several options are available for customizing the appearance of a self-managed instance of GitLab. To access these settings:

  1. On the left sidebar, expand the top-most chevron ({chevron-down}).
  2. Select Admin Area.
  3. Select Settings > Appearance.

Navigation bar

By default, the navigation bar has the GitLab logo, but this can be customized with any image desired. It is optimized for images 28px high (any width), but any image can be used (less than 1 MB) and it is automatically resized.

After you select and upload an image, select Update appearance settings at the bottom of the page to activate it in the GitLab instance.

NOTE: GitLab pipeline emails also display the custom logo, unless the logo is in SVG format. If the custom logo is in SVG format, the default logo is used instead because the SVG format is not supported by many email clients.

Favicon

By default, the favicon (used by the browser as the tab icon, as well as the CI status icon) uses the GitLab logo. This can be customized with any icon desired. It must be a 32x32 .png or .ico image.

After you select and upload an icon, select Update appearance settings at the bottom of the page to activate it in the GitLab instance.

System header and footer messages

Enable header and footer in emails checkbox introduced in GitLab 15.9.

You can add a small header message, a small footer message, or both, to the interface of your GitLab instance. These messages appear on all projects and pages of the instance, including the sign in / sign up page. The default color is white text on an orange background, but this can be customized by selecting Customize colors.

Limited Markdown is supported, such as bold, italics, and links, for example. Other Markdown features, including lists, images, and quotes are not supported as the header and footer messages can only be a single line.

You can select Enable header and footer in emails to have the text of the header and footer added to all emails sent by the GitLab instance.

After you add a message, select Update appearance settings at the bottom of the page to activate it in the GitLab instance.

Sign in / Sign up pages

You can replace the default message on the sign in / sign up page with your own message and logo. You can make full use of Markdown in the description.

The optimal size for the logo is 128 x 128 pixels, but any image can be used (below 1 MB) and it is resized automatically. The logo image appears between the title and the description, on the left of the sign-up page.

After you add a message, select Update appearance settings at the bottom of the page to activate it in the GitLab instance. You can also select Sign-in page, to review the saved appearance settings:

NOTE: You can add also add a customized hcelp message below the sign in message or add a Sign in text message.

Progressive Web App

Introduced in GitLab 15.9.

GitLab can be installed as a Progressive Web App (PWA). Use the Progressive Web App settings to customize its appearance, including its name, description, and icon.

Configure the PWA settings

To configure the PWA settings:

  1. On the left sidebar, expand the top-most chevron ({chevron-down}).
  2. Select Admin Area.
  3. Select Settings > Appearance.
  4. Scroll to the Progressive Web App (PWA) section.
  5. Complete the fields.
    • Icon: If you use the standard GitLab icon, it is available in sizes 192x192 pixels, 512x512 pixels, also as a maskable icon. If you use a custom icon, it must be in either size 192x192 pixels, or 512x512 pixels.
  6. Select Update appearance settings.

New project pages

You can add a new project guidelines message to the New project page in GitLab. You can make full use of Markdown in the description:

The message is displayed below the New Project message, on the left side of the New project page.

After you add a message, select Update appearance settings at the bottom of the page to activate it in the GitLab instance. You can also select New project page, which brings you to the new project page so you can review the change.

Libravatar

Libravatar is supported by GitLab for avatar images, but you must manually enable Libravatar support on the GitLab instance to use the service.