How to Connect GitLab to sourceTree for web project management?

In order to easily upload your projects to GitLab, Connecting GitLab to sourceTree can easily do the job. Indeed, sourceTree offers the possibility of simply managing your web projects from your computer. In this article, we will see how to use SourceTree for managing projects on GitLab.

Introduction and Benefits

Using an application like SourceTree can have several benefits:

1. Work on git repositories with more simplicity. With the easy-to-understand interface, you can retrieve and update your projects without much hassle.
2. No need to master the command lines. With SourceTree, you don't need to use command lines in your jobs.

We'll show you where to connect GitLab to SourceTree. You will also discover, in this article, how to do without command lines and work in a simple way on your git repositories.

What is SourceTree?

SourceTree is software developed by Atlassian . They are also the authors of Bitbucket which is used for hosting. Basically, their solution is designed for the management of their deposit. They have, however, given the possibility to use it for repositories on GitHub, GitLab (Enterprise) and GitLab (Community Edition).

What is GitLab?

GitLab is an Open-source application available in two versions, the Community and Enterprise version. You can use it as a repository for your web or application projects. With the community version, you can install it on a web server and use it within your organization. In the video and the explanations that will follow, we mainly talk about the integration of GitLab CE (community version). Nevertheless, with a few details ready, you can adapt the guide on the other version and the competing platforms of GitLab.

Connect GitLab to sourceTree — See a video demo

In the video we explain in a few steps how to make a connection on a Windows computer. [LaVideo block_name="index_video" key="zM9JAJCkz9M" img1="17081" img2="17081" title="Video: How to connect SourceTree with GitLab"]

Steps to connect GitLab to SourceTree

Let's get straight to the point. Let's see together what are the steps to easily manage our deposits

• Download SourceTree

Moreover, it is available on the SourceTree site. It is also available for PC, MAC and Linux versions. Depending on the platforms, the interface sometimes changes, but the use is the same

• Configuration

We skipped the installation step. Also, we installed with default settings. This is the window you will get

• First of all, you should go to Tools ⇒ Options to choose the type of SSH client and the private key for the connection (You should first have generated a key)

NB : The public key you generated must be added to git account for SSH connection

• If you generated the key with puTTY, choose the SSH client puTTY / Plink and in the SSH key field, fill in the path of the private key you generated
• If you generate the key with OpenSSH, choose the OpenSSH client and in the SSH key field, fill in the path that leads to the private key

Once done, click Ok

• Let's see how to recover a remote project

1- Copy the clone link of your project on Git 2- Click on Clone in the utility. You will get the figure above Note : For the path to which the repository will be cloned in your machine, you can either leave it as default or choose a path to which you would like the project to be cloned. 3- Once the form has been correctly completed, click on clone Your project has been successfully cloned. So you can explore it on SourceTree

Steps to edit your project

You can now edit your project

• For example, I added a test.html file to my project

1- Click on the + button to add the modified files 2- Write the commit message 3- Validate the changes Finally, we must now send the data to the git server 1- Click on send 2- Choose the branch on which the data will be pushed 3- Send the data You will get this result If you refresh your git repository you will see your file The integration of gitflow in SourceTree is very interesting, because it allows you to do many things other than pushing a repository. In case you are unable to manage an activity with the interface, SourceTree comes by default with a command line with integrated Git.

Some Alternatives to SourceTree

You can find the list of several solutions depending on your operating system via the Git SCM link .

Conclusion

Using a graphical interface to manage your project can have several advantages. And, it is also a recommended option to avoid errors sometimes. If you have misunderstood the steps or prefer to entrust to a professional, please contact us