Gitlab Admin Docs

GitLab Admin Docs

Official GitLab administration documentation synced from gitlab-org/gitlab/doc/administration.

Use this skill for GitLab Self-Managed and Dedicated administration. For end-user project/group workflows use gitlab-user-docs; for CI YAML and pipeline behavior use gitlab-ci-docs; for REST/GraphQL endpoints use gitlab-api-docs; for glab CLI commands use glab-docs / glab-cli.

Scope

References are Markdown files under references/:

• references/_index.md, get_started.md, configure.md, admin_area.md, settings/ — administration overview and instance settings.
• references/auth/, administer_users.md, external_users.md, internal_users.md, moderate_users.md, guest_users.md — users and authentication/authorization.
• references/geo/, reference_architectures/, gitaly/, postgresql/, redis/, sidekiq/, consul.md — architecture, scaling, storage, database, and background processing.
• references/backup_restore/, operations/, monitoring/, logs/, troubleshooting/, raketasks/ — operations, backup/restore, observability, Rake tasks, troubleshooting.
• references/packages/, object_storage.md, uploads.md, pages/, terraform_state.md — storage and feature administration.
• references/gitlab_duo_self_hosted/, gitlab_duo/, dedicated/, cicd/, compliance/, feature_flags/ — specialized admin areas.

Hard Rules

• MUST search references/ before answering GitLab administration, configuration, scaling, backup, upgrade, or troubleshooting questions.
• MUST distinguish GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated, and GitLab.com. GitLab.com users often cannot use admin settings described here.
• MUST check installation type implications: Linux package, Helm chart, Docker, source, Geo, HA, or Dedicated.
• MUST check version, tier, and offering notes when changing settings or recommending upgrades.
• NEVER invent gitlab.rb, Rails console, Rake task, feature flag, database, Redis, Gitaly, Sidekiq, Geo, or object storage settings without checking references.

Fast Lookup

rg -n "gitlab.rb|reconfigure|gitlab-ctl|Linux package|Helm chart|Docker|source install|configuration" skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references
rg -n "backup|restore|Praefect|Gitaly|Geo|PostgreSQL|Patroni|Redis|Sidekiq|object storage|uploads" skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references
rg -n "Admin area|application setting|instance limit|rate limit|feature flag|license|seat|user cap" skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references/settings skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references
rg -n "LDAP|SAML|SCIM|OAuth|OmniAuth|Kerberos|2FA|external user|internal user" skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references/auth skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references
rg -n "monitoring|Prometheus|logs|audit|troubleshooting|Rake task|Rails console" skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references/monitoring skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references/logs skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references/troubleshooting skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references/raketasks
rg -n "Tier:|Offering:|Status:|Introduced|Deprecated|Removed|GitLab Self-Managed|GitLab Dedicated" skills/gitlab-admin-docs/references

Workflow

1. Classify the task: configuration, users/auth, storage, database, Geo/HA, backup/restore, monitoring/logs, upgrades, Dedicated, or troubleshooting.
2. Search the narrow subtree first, then broader references/ for version/offering constraints.
3. State prerequisites, install type, affected services, commands/settings, and rollback or verification steps when docs provide them.
4. If the task is API automation or CI behavior, switch to gitlab-api-docs or gitlab-ci-docs instead of crossing boundaries.