Gitlab-iRODS Integration?

[Lily KAGO]

Hello,

I wonder, if it is possible to put/move the Gitlab data into iRODS. Any information about this would be appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Lily

[Terrell Russell]

Hi Lily,

I'm not quite sure what you're asking.

There are no direct integrations that I know of - but I'd be happy to understand your request a bit more.

iRODS stores files...

Do you want a GitLab instance to store all its information in iRODS?

Or are you looking to provide some kind of large file support for an existing GitLab instance?

Something else?

Thanks,

Terrell

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[Lily KAGO]

Hi Terrell,

Thank you for the reply.

The first one "Do you want a GitLab instance to store all its information in iRODS?" is exactly what I need. Any help please?

Kind Regards,

Lily

[Terrell Russell]

I understand.

iRODS can present its Zone namespace as NFS (via NFSRODS) and S3 (via S3 API).

- https://github.com/irods/irods_client_nfsrods

- https://github.com/irods/irods_client_s3_api

Those may be the easiest way to stand up GitLab to use an iRODS namespace as a backend or Terraform State.

The Consortium has no experience with GitLab - so anything you try and learn will be helpful to share here.

I think it would also make sense to clarify WHY you are interested in this - what problem are you trying to solve?

Terrell

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/irod-chat/f40d4766-3b25-4d0e-b24c-0b17e8895a9fn%40googlegroups.com.

[Lily KAGO]

Thank you. I will check ...

Reason: I want to archive the Gitlab data and I think iRODS is a good option for archiving data.

Kind Regards,

Lily

[Ronny Moreas]

Hi Lily,

I don't believe this is feasible—at least not for Git repositories. While build artifacts, container images, and LFS objects can be stored on an S3 backend, compatibility with the iRODS S3 API would need to be thoroughly tested.

Currently, NFS is still supported as a backend for build artifacts and similar data (excluding Git repository data). However, GitLab is actively moving away from NFS. For example, the next-generation container registry in GitLab will only support Object Storage.

We do have some projects that use GitLab CI/CD pipelines to store build artifacts along with metadata into iRODS. However, this is a different use case than using iRODS as a backend for GitLab itself.

Additionally, it's unclear what the added value would be in storing GitLab data on iRODS. GitLab uses opaque 64-character hexadecimal identifiers for its data objects, rendering the data unusable without access to the GitLab database.

References:
-  Using NFS with GitLab | GitLab Docs
- Object storage | GitLab Docs

Kind regards,

Ronny

Op woensdag 10 september 2025 om 16:05:54 UTC+2 schreef kago...@gmail.com:

[Lily KAGO]

Hi Ronny,

Thank you for the message and explanations.

Kind Regards,

Lily