glab repo

Work with GitLab repositories and projects.

Quick start

# Clone a repository
glab repo clone group/project

# Create new repository
glab repo create my-new-project --public

# Fork a repository
glab repo fork upstream/project

# View repository details
glab repo view

# Search for repositories
glab repo search "keyword"

Common workflows

Starting new project

1. Create repository:

   glab repo create my-project \
     --public \
     --description "My awesome project"

2. Clone locally:

   glab repo clone my-username/my-project
   cd my-project

3. Initialize with content:

   echo "# My Project" > README.md
   git add README.md
   git commit -m "Initial commit"
   git push -u origin main

Forking workflow

1. Fork upstream repository:

   glab repo fork upstream-group/project

2. Clone your fork:

   glab repo clone my-username/project
   cd project

3. Add upstream remote:

   git remote add upstream https://gitlab.com/upstream-group/project.git

4. Keep fork in sync:

   git fetch upstream
   git merge upstream/main

Automated sync:

Use the sync script for one-command fork updates:

scripts/sync-fork.sh main
scripts/sync-fork.sh develop upstream

This automatically: fetches → merges → pushes to origin.

Repository management

View repository info:

glab repo view
glab repo view group/project  # Specific repo
glab repo view --web          # Open in browser

Update repository settings:

glab repo update \
  --description "Updated description" \
  --default-branch develop

Archive repository:

glab repo archive download main  # Downloads .tar.gz
glab repo archive download main --format zip

Transfer to new namespace:

glab repo transfer my-project --target-namespace new-group

Delete repository:

glab repo delete group/project

Member management

List collaborators:

glab repo members list

Add member:

glab repo members add @username --access-level maintainer

Remove member:

glab repo members remove @username

Update member access:

glab repo members update @username --access-level developer

Bulk operations

Clone all repos in a group:

glab repo clone -g my-group

Search and clone:

glab repo search "api" --per-page 10
# Then clone specific result
glab repo clone group/api-project

List your repositories:

glab repo list
glab repo list --member          # Only where you're a member
glab repo list --mine            # Only repos you own

Troubleshooting

Clone fails with permission error:

• Verify you have access: glab repo view group/project
• Check authentication: glab auth status
• For private repos, ensure you're logged in with correct account

Fork operation fails:

• Check if fork already exists in your namespace
• Verify you have permission to fork (some repos disable forking)
• Try with explicit namespace: glab repo fork --fork-path username/new-name

Transfer fails:

• Verify you have owner/maintainer access
• Check target namespace exists and you have create permissions
• Some projects may have transfer protections enabled

Group clone fails:

• Verify group exists and you have access
• Check you have enough disk space
• Large groups may time out - clone specific repos instead

Related Skills

Authentication and access:

• See glab-auth for login and authentication setup
• See glab-ssh-key for SSH key management
• See glab-deploy-key for deployment authentication

Project configuration:

• See glab-config for CLI defaults and settings
• See glab-variable for CI/CD variables

Fork synchronization:

• Script: scripts/sync-fork.sh automates upstream sync

v1.89.0 Updates

v1.89.0+: glab repo contributors supports --output json / -F json for structured output, ideal for agent automation.

# List contributors with JSON output (v1.89.0+)
glab repo contributors --output json
glab repo contributors -F json

Command reference

For complete command documentation and all flags, see references/commands.md.

Available commands:

• clone - Clone repository or group
• create - Create new project
• fork - Fork repository
• view - View project details
• update - Update project settings
• delete - Delete project
• search - Search for projects
• list - List repositories
• transfer - Transfer to new namespace
• archive - Download repository archive
• contributors - List contributors
• members - Manage project members
• mirror - Configure repository mirroring
• publish - Publish project resources