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Git Flow vs GitLab: What are the differences?

Introduction

Git Flow and GitLab are both popular tools used in software development projects. While they have some similarities, such as being based on Git, there are also significant differences between them. In this article, we will explore the key differences between Git Flow and GitLab.

  1. Branching Model: Git Flow is a branching model that focuses on managing branches in a software development project. It defines specific branches for different purposes, such as feature, develop, release, and hotfix branches. On the other hand, GitLab is a web-based Git repository management and collaboration platform that provides features beyond just managing the branching model. GitLab allows for a more flexible approach to branching, where developers can create their own branches according to their needs.

  2. Workflow Automation: Git Flow does not provide any built-in workflow automation features. It relies on developers manually creating and merging branches. In contrast, GitLab offers various automation features, such as CI/CD pipelines, which enable developers to automate the build, test, and deployment processes. GitLab's automation capabilities help streamline the development workflow and improve efficiency.

  3. Built-in Issue Tracking and Collaboration: GitLab provides built-in issue tracking and collaboration features, allowing teams to manage their project tasks, track bugs, and collaborate on code effectively. It provides a centralized platform that integrates both code repositories and project management tools. In contrast, Git Flow does not include any built-in issue tracking or collaboration features. Teams using Git Flow typically use external tools for project management and issue tracking.

  4. Merge Request Workflow: GitLab introduces the concept of merge requests, which allows developers to propose code changes and request reviews from their peers. This workflow promotes collaboration and code review, ensuring that changes are thoroughly examined before merging into the main codebase. Git Flow, on the other hand, does not have a built-in merge request workflow. Code changes are typically merged directly into the respective branches without a formal review process.

  5. Built-in Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): GitLab offers integrated CI/CD capabilities, allowing developers to automate the testing and deployment of their code. By defining pipelines and jobs, developers can ensure that their code is tested, built, and deployed in a controlled and automated manner. Git Flow does not provide any native CI/CD features and relies on external tools for such automation.

  6. Graphical User Interface (GUI) GitLab provides a comprehensive web-based GUI that facilitates visualizing and managing code repositories, issues, merge requests, pipelines, and other project-related tasks in a user-friendly manner. Git Flow, however, is more of a branching model and does not offer a GUI out of the box. Developers primarily interact with Git Flow through the command line interface.

In Summary, Git Flow is primarily a branching model that focuses on branch management, while GitLab is a full-fledged web-based Git repository management and collaboration platform that offers additional features such as automation, issue tracking, merge requests, CI/CD, and a graphical user interface.

Decisions about Git Flow and GitLab
Weverton Timoteo

Do you review your Pull/Merge Request before assigning Reviewers?

If you work in a team opening a Pull Request (or Merge Request) looks appropriate. However, have you ever thought about opening a Pull/Merge Request when working by yourself? Here's a checklist of things you can review in your own:

  • Pick the correct target branch
  • Make Drafts explicit
  • Name things properly
  • Ask help for tools
  • Remove the noise
  • Fetch necessary data
  • Understand Mergeability
  • Pass the message
  • Add screenshots
  • Be found in the future
  • Comment inline in your changes

Read the blog post for more detailed explanation for each item :D

What else do you review before asking for code review?

See more
Weverton Timoteo

Using an inclusive language is crucial for fostering a diverse culture. Git has changed the naming conventions to be more language-inclusive, and so you should change. Our development tools, like GitHub and GitLab, already supports the change.

SourceLevel deals very nicely with repositories that changed the master branch to a more appropriate word. Besides, you can use the grep linter the look for exclusive terms contained in the source code.

As the inclusive language gap may happen in other aspects of our lives, have you already thought about them?

See more
Weverton Timoteo

One of the magic tricks git performs is the ability to rewrite log history. You can do it in many ways, but git rebase -i is the one I most use. With this command, It’s possible to switch commits order, remove a commit, squash two or more commits, or edit, for instance.

It’s particularly useful to run it before opening a pull request. It allows developers to “clean up” the mess and organize commits before submitting to review. If you follow the practice 3 and 4, then the list of commits should look very similar to a task list. It should reveal the rationale you had, telling the story of how you end up with that final code.

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Kamaleshwar BN
Senior Software Engineer at Pulley · | 8 upvotes · 648.9K views

Out of most of the VCS solutions out there, we found Gitlab was the most feature complete with a free community edition. Their DevSecops offering is also a very robust solution. Gitlab CI/CD was quite easy to setup and the direct integration with your VCS + CI/CD is also a bonus. Out of the box integration with major cloud providers, alerting through instant messages etc. are all extremely convenient. We push our CI/CD updates to MS Teams.

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Gitlab as A LOT of features that GitHub and Azure DevOps are missing. Even if both GH and Azure are backed by Microsoft, GitLab being open source has a faster upgrade rate and the hosted by gitlab.com solution seems more appealing than anything else! Quick win: the UI is way better and the Pipeline is way easier to setup on GitLab!

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Nazar Atamaniuk
Shared insights
on
DeployPlaceDeployPlaceGitHubGitHubGitLabGitLab

At DeployPlace we use self-hosted GitLab, we have chosen GitLab as most of us are familiar with it. We are happy with all features GitLab provides, I can’t imagine our life without integrated GitLab CI. Another important feature for us is integrated code review tool, we use it every day, we use merge requests, code reviews, branching. To be honest, most of us have GitHub accounts as well, we like to contribute in open source, and we want to be a part of the tech community, but lack of solutions from GitHub in the area of CI doesn’t let us chose it for our projects.

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Pros of Git Flow
Pros of GitLab
    Be the first to leave a pro
    • 507
      Self hosted
    • 429
      Free
    • 339
      Has community edition
    • 242
      Easy setup
    • 240
      Familiar interface
    • 137
      Includes many features, including ci
    • 113
      Nice UI
    • 84
      Good integration with gitlabci
    • 57
      Simple setup
    • 34
      Free private repository
    • 34
      Has an official mobile app
    • 31
      Continuous Integration
    • 22
      Open source, great ui (like github)
    • 18
      Slack Integration
    • 14
      Full CI flow
    • 11
      Free and unlimited private git repos
    • 10
      User, group, and project access management is simple
    • 9
      All in one (Git, CI, Agile..)
    • 8
      Built-in CI
    • 8
      Intuitive UI
    • 6
      Full DevOps suite with Git
    • 6
      Both public and private Repositories
    • 5
      Integrated Docker Registry
    • 5
      Build/pipeline definition alongside code
    • 5
      So easy to use
    • 5
      CI
    • 5
      It's powerful source code management tool
    • 4
      Unlimited free repos & collaborators
    • 4
      Security and Stable
    • 4
      On-premises
    • 4
      It's fully integrated
    • 4
      Excellent
    • 4
      Issue system
    • 4
      Mattermost Chat client
    • 4
      Dockerized
    • 3
      Great for team collaboration
    • 3
      Free private repos
    • 3
      Because is the best remote host for git repositories
    • 3
      Low maintenance cost due omnibus-deployment
    • 3
      Not Microsoft Owned
    • 3
      Built-in Docker Registry
    • 3
      Opensource
    • 3
      I like the its runners and executors feature
    • 2
      Multilingual interface
    • 2
      Powerful software planning and maintaining tools
    • 2
      Review Apps feature
    • 2
      Kubernetes integration with GitLab CI
    • 2
      One-click install through DigitalOcean
    • 2
      Powerful Continuous Integration System
    • 2
      Native CI
    • 2
      HipChat intergration
    • 2
      Many private repo
    • 2
      Kubernetes Integration
    • 2
      Published IP list for whitelisting (gl-infra#434)
    • 2
      Wounderful
    • 2
      Beautiful
    • 2
      Groups of groups
    • 2
      The dashboard with deployed environments
    • 2
      It includes everything I need, all packaged with docker
    • 1
      Supports Radius/Ldap & Browser Code Edits

    Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

    Cons of Git Flow
    Cons of GitLab
      Be the first to leave a con
      • 28
        Slow ui performance
      • 8
        Introduce breaking bugs every release
      • 6
        Insecure (no published IP list for whitelisting)
      • 2
        Built-in Docker Registry
      • 1
        Review Apps feature

      Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

      What is Git Flow?

      It provides excellent command line help and output. It is a merge based solution. It doesn't rebase feature branches.

      What is GitLab?

      GitLab offers git repository management, code reviews, issue tracking, activity feeds and wikis. Enterprises install GitLab on-premise and connect it with LDAP and Active Directory servers for secure authentication and authorization. A single GitLab server can handle more than 25,000 users but it is also possible to create a high availability setup with multiple active servers.

      Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

      Jobs that mention Git Flow and GitLab as a desired skillset
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      What companies use GitLab?
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      What tools integrate with Git Flow?
      What tools integrate with GitLab?
        No integrations found

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        Blog Posts

        What are some alternatives to Git Flow and GitLab?
        Git
        Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.
        pre-commit
        pre-commit checks your code for errors before you commit it. pre-commit is configurable.
        hub
        hub is a command line tool that wraps git in order to extend it with extra features and commands that make working with GitHub easier.
        Git-Repo
        Control your remote git hosting services from the git commandline. The usage is very simple.
        Atlassian Stash
        It is a centralized solution to manage Git repositories behind the firewall. Streamlined for small agile teams, powerful enough for large organizations.
        See all alternatives