How to use the command 'gitlab-ctl' (with examples)
The ‘gitlab-ctl’ command is used to manage the GitLab Omnibus, which is an all-in-one package that includes GitLab and all its dependencies. It provides a simple interface to manage and control various aspects of the GitLab installation. This article will illustrate several use cases of the ‘gitlab-ctl’ command.
Use case 1: Display the status of every service
Code:
sudo gitlab-ctl status
Motivation: This use case is helpful to quickly check the status of all GitLab services running on a server. It allows you to verify if everything is working as expected.
Explanation:
sudo: Runs the command with administrative privileges.gitlab-ctl: The main command used to manage GitLab Omnibus.status: Specifies the action to display the status of the services.
Example output:
run: alertmanager: (pid 1234) 123s; run: log: (pid 5678) 456s
run: gitaly: (pid 3456) 789s; run: log: (pid 7890) 123s
run: gitlab-exporter: (pid 2345) 567s; run: log: (pid 6789) 890s
run: gitlab-workhorse: (pid 4567) 901s; run: log: (pid 9012) 234s
...
Use case 2: Display the status of a specific service
Code:
sudo gitlab-ctl status nginx
Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to check the status of a specific GitLab service, such as Nginx web server. It allows you to focus on a particular service rather than displaying the status of all services.
Explanation:
sudo: Runs the command with administrative privileges.gitlab-ctl: The main command used to manage GitLab Omnibus.status: Specifies the action to display the status of the services.nginx: Specifies the service for which to display the status (in this case, Nginx web server).
Example output:
run: nginx: (pid 1234) 123s; run: log: (pid 5678) 456s
Use case 3: Restart every service
Code:
sudo gitlab-ctl restart
Motivation: This use case is beneficial when you want to restart all GitLab services simultaneously. It helps in cases where you have made configuration changes that require a restart to take effect.
Explanation:
sudo: Runs the command with administrative privileges.gitlab-ctl: The main command used to manage GitLab Omnibus.restart: Specifies the action to restart the services.
Example output:
ok: run: alertmanager: (pid 8912) 345s
ok: run: gitaly: (pid 6789) 012s
ok: run: gitlab-exporter: (pid 7654) 789s
ok: run: gitlab-workhorse: (pid 4321) 456s
...
Use case 4: Restart a specific service
Code:
sudo gitlab-ctl restart nginx
Motivation: This use case is handy when you want to restart a specific GitLab service, such as Nginx web server. It allows you to target a particular service without affecting others.
Explanation:
sudo: Runs the command with administrative privileges.gitlab-ctl: The main command used to manage GitLab Omnibus.restart: Specifies the action to restart the services.nginx: Specifies the service to restart (in this case, Nginx web server).
Example output:
ok: run: nginx: (pid 9876) 654s
Use case 5: Display the logs of every service and keep reading until Ctrl + C is pressed
Code:
sudo gitlab-ctl tail
Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to monitor the logs of all GitLab services in real-time. It allows you to observe the log output continuously until you manually stop it.
Explanation:
sudo: Runs the command with administrative privileges.gitlab-ctl: The main command used to manage GitLab Omnibus.tail: Specifies the action to display the logs.
Example output:
==> /var/log/gitlab/alertmanager/alertmanager.log <==
2021-09-01 10:00:01 level=info ts=2021-09-01T10:00:01.234Z caller=main.go:123 msg="Server is ready to receive web requests."
==> /var/log/gitlab/gitaly/gitaly.log <==
2021-09-01 10:00:02 level=info ts=2021-09-01T10:00:02.345Z caller=main.go:234 msg="Listening on 0.0.0.0:8075"
==> /var/log/gitlab/gitlab-exporter/gitlab-exporter.log <==
2021-09-01 10:00:03 level=info ts=2021-09-01T10:00:03.456Z caller=server.go:345 msg="Starting GitLab Exporter server" addr=:9229
==> /var/log/gitlab/gitlab-workhorse/gitlab-workhorse.log <==
2021-09-01 10:00:04 level=info ts=2021-09-01T10:00:04.567Z caller=main.go:456 msg="Starting GitLab Workhorse" pid=7890
...
Use case 6: Display the logs of a specific service
Code:
sudo gitlab-ctl tail nginx
Motivation: This use case is helpful when you want to monitor the logs of a specific GitLab service, such as Nginx web server. It allows you to focus on the log output of a particular service.
Explanation:
sudo: Runs the command with administrative privileges.gitlab-ctl: The main command used to manage GitLab Omnibus.tail: Specifies the action to display the logs.nginx: Specifies the service for which to display the logs (in this case, Nginx web server).
Example output:
==> /var/log/gitlab/nginx/gitlab_access.log <==
2021-09-01 10:00:01 - [info] GET /users/sign_in (Status: 200) (Duration: 0.456s)
2021-09-01 10:00:02 - [info] POST /projects (Status: 201) (Duration: 0.567s)
2021-09-01 10:00:03 - [info] PUT /projects/123 (Status: 200) (Duration: 0.678s)
...
Conclusion:
The ‘gitlab-ctl’ command is a powerful tool for managing GitLab Omnibus installations. It allows you to check the status, restart services, and monitor logs. Understanding these various use cases will help you effectively manage and troubleshoot your GitLab setup.
