Configure GDK-in-a-box

If you want to contribute to the GitLab codebase and want a development environment in which to test your changes, you can use GDK-in-a-box, a virtual machine (VM) pre-configured with the GitLab Development Kit (GDK).

The GDK is a local development environment that includes an installation of self-managed GitLab, sample projects, and administrator access with which you can test functionality.

It requires 30 GB of disk space.

If you prefer to use GDK locally without a VM, use the steps in Install the GDK development environment

Follow the steps defined in the GDK-in-a-box docs to download, configure and update GDK-in-a-box.

Change the code

After the GDK is ready, continue to Contribute code with the GDK.