Create a project

Most work in GitLab is done within a Project. Files and code are saved in projects, and most features are used within the scope of projects.

Create a project in GitLab

To create a project in GitLab:

1. In your dashboard, click the green New project button or use the plus icon in the navigation bar. This opens the New project page.
2. On the New project page, choose if you want to:
   • Create a blank project.
   • Create a project using one of the available project templates.
   • Import a project from a different repository, if enabled on your GitLab instance. Contact your GitLab administrator if this is unavailable.
   • Run CI/CD pipelines for external repositories. (PREMIUM)

NOTE: For a list of words that can't be used as project names see Reserved project and group names.

Blank projects

To create a new blank project on the New project page:

1. On the Blank project tab, provide the following information:
   • The name of your project in the Project name field. You can't use special characters, but you can use spaces, hyphens, underscores, or even emoji. When adding the name, the Project slug auto populates. The slug is what the GitLab instance uses as the URL path to the project. If you want a different slug, input the project name first, then change the slug after.
   • The path to your project in the Project slug field. This is the URL path for your project that the GitLab instance uses. If the Project name is blank, it auto populates when you fill in the Project slug.
   • The Project description (optional) field enables you to enter a description for your project's dashboard, which helps others understand what your project is about. Though it's not required, it's a good idea to fill this in.
   • Changing the Visibility Level modifies the project's viewing and access rights for users.
   • Selecting the Initialize repository with a README option creates a README file so that the Git repository is initialized, has a default branch, and can be cloned.
2. Click Create project.

Project templates

Project templates can pre-populate a new project with the necessary files to get you started quickly.

There are two main types of project templates:

• Built-in templates, sourced from the following groups:
  • project-templates
  • pages
• Custom project templates, for custom templates configured by GitLab administrators and users.

Built-in templates

Built-in templates are project templates that are:

• Developed and maintained in the project-templates and pages groups.
• Released with GitLab.

To use a built-in template on the New project page:

1. On the Create from template tab, select the Built-in tab.
2. From the list of available built-in templates, click the:
   • Preview button to look at the template source itself.
   • Use template button to start creating the project.
3. Finish creating the project by filling out the project's details. The process is the same as creating a blank project.

Enterprise templates (ULTIMATE)

GitLab is developing Enterprise templates to help you streamline audit management with selected regulatory standards. These templates automatically import issues that correspond to each regulatory requirement.

To create a new project with an Enterprise template, on the New project page:

1. On the Create from template tab, select the Built-in tab.
2. From the list of available built-in Enterprise templates, click the:
   • Preview button to look at the template source itself.
   • Use template button to start creating the project.
3. Finish creating the project by filling out the project's details. The process is the same as creating a blank project.

Available Enterprise templates include:

• HIPAA Audit Protocol template (introduced in GitLab 12.10)

NOTE: You can improve the existing built-in templates or contribute new ones in the project-templates and pages groups by following these steps.

Custom project templates (PREMIUM)

Introduced in GitLab Premium 11.2.

Creating new projects based on custom project templates is a convenient option for quickly starting projects.

Custom projects are available at the instance-level from the Instance tab, or at the group-level from the Group tab, under the Create from template tab.

To use a custom project template on the New project page:

1. On the Create from template tab, select the Instance tab or the Group tab.
2. From the list of available custom templates, click the:
   • Preview button to look at the template source itself.
   • Use template button to start creating the project.
3. Finish creating the project by filling out the project's details. The process is the same as creating a blank project.

Push to create a new project

Introduced in GitLab 10.5.

When you create a new repository locally, instead of manually creating a new project in GitLab and then cloning the repository locally, you can directly push it to GitLab to create the new project, all without leaving your terminal. If you have access rights to the associated namespace, GitLab automatically creates a new project under that GitLab namespace with its visibility set to Private by default (you can later change it in the project's settings).

This can be done by using either SSH or HTTPS:

## Git push using SSH
git push --set-upstream git@gitlab.example.com:namespace/nonexistent-project.git master

## Git push using HTTPS
git push --set-upstream https://gitlab.example.com/namespace/nonexistent-project.git master

You can pass the flag --tags to the git push command to export existing repository tags.

Once the push finishes successfully, a remote message indicates the command to set the remote and the URL to the new project:

remote:
remote: The private project namespace/nonexistent-project was created.
remote:
remote: To configure the remote, run:
remote:   git remote add origin https://gitlab.example.com/namespace/nonexistent-project.git
remote:
remote: To view the project, visit:
remote:   https://gitlab.example.com/namespace/nonexistent-project
remote: