Configuring GitLab Push Rules

Introduction

GitLab Push Rules are a set of restrictions and validations applied to Git pushes to ensure better security, maintainability, and compliance in repositories. Push rules help enforce coding standards, naming conventions, and prevent unauthorized modifications in your project.

Why Use Push Rules?

• Enforce commit message formats
• Restrict force pushes
• Prevent deletion of branches
• Require signed commits
• Enforce file size limits
• Prevent specific file types from being committed

Configuring Push Rules in GitLab

Step 1: Navigate to Repository Settings

1. Log in to GitLab.
2. Go to the Project where you want to configure push rules.
3. Navigate to Settings > Repository.
4. Scroll down to the Push Rules section.

Step 2: Configure Push Rules

Below are some of the common push rules that can be enabled:

1. Prohibit Unauthorized Pushes

• Reject unverified users: Prevents unauthorized users from pushing code.
• Reject unsigned commits: Ensures all commits are signed with GPG or SSH keys.

2. Restrict Force Pushes & Deletions

• Prevent force pushes: Disallows git push --force, ensuring commit history integrity.
• Prevent branch deletion: Protects main branches from accidental deletion.

3. Enforce Commit Message Format

• Use regex patterns to enforce commit message structure, e.g.,

  ^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|test|chore): .+

  This ensures that commit messages follow a structured format.

4. Restrict File Types & File Sizes

• Prevent specific file types: Add patterns to restrict sensitive or unnecessary files, e.g.,

  \.(exe|bin|dll|log)$

• Limit file size: Prevent pushing large files by setting a max file size limit (e.g., 5MB).

Step 3: Save & Apply the Rules

Once configured, click Save Changes to apply the push rules.

Enforcing Push Rules with Pre-Receive Hooks

For advanced use cases, GitLab allows pre-receive hooks to enforce custom policies before a push is accepted. These are useful for:

• Enforcing additional security checks
• Running automated static code analysis
• Checking for sensitive data like API keys

Best Practices for Push Rules

• Use regex to enforce structured commit messages
• Restrict large binary files to maintain repository efficiency
• Require signed commits for better security
• Regularly update rules to match project needs
• Use protected branches alongside push rules

References

For further reading, check out:

• GitLab Push Rules Documentation
• Git Commit Signing Guide
• Best Practices for GitLab Security

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Detialed points

GitLab Push Rules: Enforce Commit Message Formats

In GitLab, push rules allow you to enforce repository-level constraints on what can be pushed. One of these rules is enforcing commit message formats, which helps maintain consistency and ensures that all commits follow a predefined pattern.

How to Enforce Commit Message Formats in GitLab Push Rules

You can enforce commit message formats by using regular expressions in GitLab’s push rules.

Steps to Configure Push Rules for Commit Message Format:

1. Go to Repository Settings:

   • Navigate to your project in GitLab.
   • Click on Settings > Repository.
   • Scroll down to the Push Rules section.

2. Enable the Commit Message Format Rule:

   • In the Commit message must match this regular expression field, enter a regex pattern that defines the required format.
   • Example: Enforcing a commit message structure like:

     feat: Add new feature to authentication module
     fix: Resolve bug in login function

   • You can use the following regex:

     ^(feat|fix|docs|style|refactor|perf|test|chore):\s.{10,}

     • This regex ensures that the commit message starts with a valid prefix (feat, fix, etc.), followed by a colon and a description of at least 10 characters.

3. Optional Rules:

   • Reject unsigned commits: Ensures that all commits are signed.
   • Reject commits not matching author email: Prevents unauthorized commit authors.
   • Prevent secrets from being pushed: Blocks commits with potential secrets.

4. Save Changes: Click Save push rules to apply.

Additional Considerations

• Project Maintainers & Owners can override push rules.
• If a developer tries to push a commit that doesn’t match the enforced format, GitLab will reject the push with an error message.
• You can configure push rules at the group level to apply them across multiple projects.

Conclusion Configuring GitLab Push Rules enhances security, code quality, and workflow consistency. By leveraging these rules, teams can maintain a clean, secure, and well-structured repository.

🚀 Happy Coding!