November 2015 Summaries

In 2015, GitLab's Summit in Amsterdam, initially planned as a small gathering for remote employees, transformed into a two-week event involving 42 participants, multiple accommodations, and numerous activities that fostered team bonding and camaraderie. The summit kicked off with a scavenger hunt and continued with various excursions such as a canal tour of Giethoorn, visits to the Rijksmuseum and Apenheul, and a tongue-in-cheek awards dinner, all while sampling local delights like mayonnaise-covered fries. Despite the fun, the team maintained productivity at their home base, "The Lab," and reflected on the experience with a newfound appreciation for their colleagues' professionalism and camaraderie. The event underscored the potential for remote work environments to support meaningful interactions and set the stage for planning future summits, inviting interested individuals to explore job openings at GitLab to join the next adventure.

GitLab has expanded its capabilities to include support for Git Large File Storage (LFS) across GitLab.com, GitLab Community Edition, and GitLab Enterprise Edition, catering to industries beyond traditional software development that require efficient versioning of large files, such as game development and graphic design. Git LFS operates by using reference pointers in small text files to manage large files stored on GitLab servers, alleviating previous size restrictions on repositories to enhance performance and reliability. Companies using GitLab EE can opt for git-annex or switch to Git LFS to handle large files. Users can easily adopt Git LFS by updating their on-premises GitLab installations to version 8.2, with comprehensive documentation available for further guidance. Additionally, recent GitLab updates introduced features like repository mirroring and award emojis, highlighting ongoing community collaboration in enhancing the platform's functionality.

GitLab 8.1 introduces new user preferences based on feedback from the previous 8.0 version, which refined the user interface but prompted requests for further customization. Users can now choose between a fluid or fixed width layout to better utilize large screens, and select their preferred default dashboard view, with options to display all projects, starred projects, their activity, or activity limited to starred projects. Additionally, users can customize the project view to either display the Readme file or recent activity, catering to both newcomers and frequent project participants. These enhancements aim to improve user experience by allowing individuals to tailor the interface to their specific needs, with immediate availability on GitLab.com and upgrade instructions provided in the GitLab 8.1 release post.

The announcement of the Pivotal Cloud Foundry tile for GitLab Enterprise Edition introduces a streamlined process for deploying GitLab as a pre-configured appliance using Ops Manager (BOSH) within Pivotal Cloud Foundry. This integration allows developers to install GitLab with a simple click, ensuring high availability by default and enabling easy scalability by adjusting a single value. The collaboration aims to offer enterprise developers enhanced control over their development toolkit, providing a more customizable, integrated, and secure development environment entirely within Pivotal Cloud Foundry.