GitHub vs GitLab
There are many Git services you can use to store your project code. This time we will compare two popular Git services in terms of services offered, namely GitHub and GitLab. In recent years, GitHub and GitLab have positioned themselves as useful assistants for developers, especially when working in teams.
GitHub
GitHub is a web-based application with the Ruby programming language on its backend that provides a free service in the form of data storage called Repository. GitHub is the world’s largest web-based repository management hosting service and source code repository. Developers can use GitHub to collaborate on software development projects.
GitLab
GitLab is a web-based Git repository manager developed by GitLab Inc. and can be used for software development projects. GitLab is written in the Ruby and Go programming languages. GitLab is a full-featured Git server used by large organizations such as Sony, IBM, Alibaba, NASA, O’Reilly Media, SpaceX, and CERN.
GitHub vs GitLab
- Authentication LevelGitLab allows you to set and change user permissions by role. Whereas on GitHub, it’s up to you to decide if someone can have read or write access to the repository.With GitLab, you can also grant access to the issue tracker without granting permission to the source code. This is great for large teams and companies with role-based contributors.
- Built-in CI/CDDifferences between the two is that GitLab offers a pre-built Continuous Integration/Delivery (CI/CD) so you don’t have to install them separately. CI is a great way to save a lot of time for many development teams and ensure quality. GitLab CI provides AutoDevOps which can run CI/CD automatically without the need for human configuration.How does CI/CD work on GitHub?GitHub released Actions, which allow you to write tasks that can automate and customize your development workflow. However, GitHub doesn’t come with a deployment platform and requires additional apps like Heroku.
- Trouble TrackingGitLab and GitHub provide problem tracking systems that allow you to change the status and assignee for multiple issues at the same time. Both are excellent problem trackers, especially when linked to visual bug trackers like Usersnap.Testers, colleagues, and clients can easily report bugs using the Usersnap widget. Bug reports and user feedback can be submitted automatically to GitLab or GitHub.
- Import & ExportGitLab provides detailed documentation on how to import your data from other vendors like GitHub, Bitbucket to GitLab. Whereas, GitHub does not provide such detailed documentation for git repositories. However, GitHub recommends that you to use the GitHub importer if you have source code in Subversion, Mercurial, TFS, and others.Also, when it comes to exporting data, GitLab seems to be doing a very solid job. GitLab provides the ability to export projects, for the following data:
- Wiki and project repository.
- Project uploading.
- Configuration including webhook and services.
- Issues with comments, merge requests with discrepancies and comments, labels, achievements, snippets, and other project entities.
Whereas GitHub, more stringent in terms of exporting features from existing GitHub repositories.
