The Cantilever Handbook
The Cantilever Handbook

GitLab

Overview

Use For...

✅ Source Control

✅ CI/CD and Complex Deployment

Don’t Use For...

⛔️ CI/CD for simple projects (Use Forge Deployment instead)

Why we use it

GitLab boasts a robust and reliable toolkit for Source Control and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (automated build/deployment). It also has a business model and philosophy that Cantilever admires.

How we use it

‣
Client and Repo Management
  • Each client should get its own sub-group within the Cantilever project.
    • image
  • Each codebase should have an independent repo within the client sub-project.
  • Subgroups and Projects should have icons that match the client and project
  • Projects should contain:
    • Source files, not built files.
      • This means that if a build process generate CSS from LESS files, that build process should take place locally, or on the production server as part of a deployment process, but those built files should not be in the repo
    • Directories for environment-specific content, not the content itself.
      • The best example is for Images that are uploaded through the WordPress CMS. The directory of /wp-content/wp-uploads should be present and committed to the repo, but the contents of that directory should not
    • Examples of environmental config files, not the files themselves.
      • For example, we would want a .env.sample file in the repo that would contain example and placeholder credentials, but we would not want the .env file itself in the repo.
    • A well-managed .gitignore file
    • A README that outlines how to build the project in a local environment
  • The main or master branch should be the default branch for the repo.
  • Both the Master/Main and Develop branches should be protected, writable by developers and maintainers, and protected from force-pushes.
  • An active Deploy Key for the production server. If your repo is installed directly via Forge onto the server, this will be done automatically. If not, here are the docs.
‣
User Management

Users should be added on an as-needed basis.

Cantilever Group members will be added by default with their relevant member role. Contractors or other third party developers can be added as Developers.

Every once in a while, review the member list and remove anyone no longer working on the project. This should be done as part of the off-boarding process for Cantilever Employees

‣
Code Management

Please Review the documentation for

.