Importing projects from a git repository

RenkuLab
1

GitLab provides a nice interface to import projects from any git repos.
However, in case a .gitlab-ci.yml file is included in the imported project, the CI jobs do not start upon import.
This is inconvenient and confusing when importing a project set to build a docker image through the CI for example (just like any project set for RENKU).
A simple way to launch the CI jobs then is to do a first commit, yet this is inconvenient and not trivial.

A convenient solution could be to add an “Import project” button to the RENKU UI, which would do the following:

  1. Import a git project
  2. Trigger the CI if a .gitlab-ci.yml file is found.
  3. Perhaps setting up an upstream remote to the original project?

It seems that a similar feature was already integrated in the RENKU UI with the “fork” button:

Any alternative solutions in mind or thoughts on this topic?

2

Hi @alexisrapin thanks for the suggestion, it’s a highly-desired feature! We have had several discussions on this in the past and have recently created some issues (e.g. https://github.com/SwissDataScienceCenter/renku-ui/issues/843). We are currently implementing some backend pieces that are needed for this to work, but they should be done during the next few weeks. Hopefully the web UI parts will follow shortly thereafter.