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GitKraken vs GitLab: What are the differences?
Introduction
GitKraken and GitLab are both widely used tools in software development. While they both serve the purpose of version control, there are some key differences between the two.
Integration with Git providers: GitKraken is a Git GUI client that integrates with various Git hosting providers like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket. On the other hand, GitLab is a web-based DevOps platform that provides a complete set of tools for managing and hosting repositories, issue tracking, CI/CD, and more. GitLab offers its own self-hosted solution, while GitKraken can be used with multiple Git providers.
User Interface: GitKraken provides a visually appealing and intuitive user interface that makes it easy for both beginners and experienced developers to visualize and understand Git workflows. It offers features like drag-and-drop commit merging, interactive commit graph, and seamless commits and pushes. GitLab, on the other hand, has a web-based UI that offers a range of functionalities beyond version control, including issue tracking, code review, and continuous integration.
Collaboration and Project Management Features: GitLab has built-in collaboration and project management features that allow teams to work efficiently. It provides issue tracking, code review, and merge request functionality, making it easier for team members to collaborate and review code changes. GitKraken focuses solely on version control and does not provide these additional project management features.
Hosting Options: GitLab offers both self-hosted and cloud-based options, giving users the flexibility to choose the deployment option that best suits their needs. The self-hosted option allows organizations to have complete control over their GitLab instance, while the cloud-based option eliminates the need for server maintenance. GitKraken, on the other hand, relies on external Git hosting providers for repository hosting.
Pricing Model: GitLab offers different pricing tiers, including a free community edition for self-hosted deployments, as well as paid plans for additional features and support. GitKraken also has a free version that is limited in terms of the number of repositories and features available. It offers a pro version with additional features, as well as a enterprise version for organizations with specific requirements.
Extensibility and Integrations: GitLab provides a wide range of integrations with popular development tools like Jira, Jenkins, and Slack. It also has an extensive API that allows users to extend its functionality and integrate with custom tools. GitKraken also offers integrations with various tools, but its focus is primarily on providing a seamless Git GUI experience.
In summary, GitKraken is primarily a Git GUI client that integrates with multiple Git hosting providers, while GitLab is a web-based DevOps platform that offers a comprehensive set of tools for managing repositories and project workflows. GitLab provides built-in collaboration and project management features, offers hosting options, and has a flexible pricing model. GitKraken, on the other hand, provides a visually appealing and user-friendly interface for Git workflows with integrations across different Git hosting providers.
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?
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?
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.
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.
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!
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.
Pros of GitKraken
- Dark theme59
- Best linux git client34
- Great overview29
- Full featured client21
- Gitflow support20
- Beautiful UI19
- Very easy to use18
- Graph16
- Works great on both linux and windows13
- Effortless13
- Easy Merge Conflict Tool6
- Amazing Github and Bitbucket integration5
- Great UX4
- Integration with GitHub3
- Automatic Repo Discovery3
- Submodule support3
- Easy to Learn and Setup3
- Super fast3
- Fuzzy find (CTRL P)2
- Very user friendly1
- Much more stable than source tree1
- Great for non-dev users1
- Because it has Linux client1
- Command palette (CTRL Shift P)1
Pros of GitLab
- Self hosted507
- Free429
- Has community edition339
- Easy setup242
- Familiar interface240
- Includes many features, including ci137
- Nice UI113
- Good integration with gitlabci84
- Simple setup57
- Free private repository34
- Has an official mobile app34
- Continuous Integration31
- Open source, great ui (like github)22
- Slack Integration18
- Full CI flow14
- Free and unlimited private git repos11
- User, group, and project access management is simple10
- All in one (Git, CI, Agile..)9
- Built-in CI8
- Intuitive UI8
- Full DevOps suite with Git6
- Both public and private Repositories6
- Integrated Docker Registry5
- Build/pipeline definition alongside code5
- So easy to use5
- CI5
- It's powerful source code management tool5
- Unlimited free repos & collaborators4
- Security and Stable4
- On-premises4
- It's fully integrated4
- Excellent4
- Issue system4
- Mattermost Chat client4
- Dockerized4
- Great for team collaboration3
- Free private repos3
- Because is the best remote host for git repositories3
- Low maintenance cost due omnibus-deployment3
- Not Microsoft Owned3
- Built-in Docker Registry3
- Opensource3
- I like the its runners and executors feature3
- Multilingual interface2
- Powerful software planning and maintaining tools2
- Review Apps feature2
- Kubernetes integration with GitLab CI2
- One-click install through DigitalOcean2
- Powerful Continuous Integration System2
- Native CI2
- HipChat intergration2
- Many private repo2
- Kubernetes Integration2
- Published IP list for whitelisting (gl-infra#434)2
- Wounderful2
- Beautiful2
- Groups of groups2
- The dashboard with deployed environments2
- It includes everything I need, all packaged with docker2
- Supports Radius/Ldap & Browser Code Edits1
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Cons of GitKraken
- Extremely slow when working with large repositories3
- No edit/fixup in interactive rebase3
- Hangs occasionally (not as bad as sourcetree)3
- Not as many features as sourcetree2
- Do not allow to directly edit staging area2
- Does not work like a Mac app2
Cons of GitLab
- Slow ui performance28
- Introduce breaking bugs every release8
- Insecure (no published IP list for whitelisting)6
- Built-in Docker Registry2
- Review Apps feature1