gitlab-ce/doc/user/project/repository/web_editor.md

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Create	Editor	To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments

Web Editor (FREE)

You can use the Web Editor to make changes directly from the UI instead of cloning a project and using the command line. From any project page, you can create a file, directory, branch, or tag.

Create a file

To create a text file in the Web Editor:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the project page, next to the branch name, select the plus icon ({plus}).
3. From the dropdown list, select New file.
4. Complete the fields.
   • From the Select a template type dropdown list, you can apply a template to the new file.
   • To create a merge request with the new file, ensure the Start a new merge request with these changes checkbox is selected.
5. Select Commit changes.

Edit a file

To edit a file in the Web Editor:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. Go to your file.
3. Next to the display buttons, select Edit.

Keyboard shortcuts

When you edit a file in the Web Editor, you can use the same keyboard shortcuts for the Web IDE. See the available shortcuts.

Preview Markdown

Introduced in GitLab 15.6.

To preview Markdown content in the Web Editor:

1. Edit a file.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Select the Preview tab.
   • From the context menu, select Preview Markdown.

In the Preview tab, you can see a live Markdown preview alongside your content.

To close the preview panel, do one of the following:

• Select the Write tab.
• From the context menu, select Hide Live Preview.

Highlight lines

• Introduced in GitLab 13.10 for GitLab SaaS instances.
• Introduced in GitLab 13.11 for self-managed instances.

To highlight single or multiple lines in the Web Editor, add hash information to the filename segment of the URL. For example:

• MY_FILE.js#L3 highlights line 3 in MY_FILE.js.
• MY_FILE.js#L3-10 highlights lines 3 to 10 in MY_FILE.js.

To highlight a single line, you can also:

1. Edit a file.
2. Select a line number.

Upload a file

To upload a binary file in the Web Editor:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the project page, next to the branch name, select the plus icon ({plus}).
3. From the dropdown list, select Upload file.
4. Complete the fields. To create a merge request with the uploaded file, ensure the Start a new merge request with these changes toggle is turned on.
5. Select Upload file.

Create a directory

To create a directory in the Web Editor:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the project page, next to the branch name, select the plus icon ({plus}).
3. From the dropdown list, select New directory.
4. Complete the fields. To create a merge request with the new directory, ensure the Start a new merge request with these changes toggle is turned on.
5. Select Create directory.

Create a new branch

There are multiple ways to create a branch from the GitLab web interface.

NOTE: Use branch naming patterns to streamline merge request creation.

Create a new branch from an issue

The Create merge request button changed to open the merge request creation form in GitLab 14.8.

If your development workflow requires an issue for every merge request, you can create a branch directly from the issue to speed the process up. The new branch, and later its merge request, are marked as related to this issue. After merging the merge request, the issue is closed automatically, unless automatic issue closing is disabled. You can see a Create merge request dropdown below the issue description.

NOTE: In GitLab 14.8 and later, selecting Create merge request redirects to the merge request creation form instead of immediately creating the merge request.

The Create merge request button doesn't display if:

• A branch with the same name already exists.
• A merge request already exists for this branch.
• Your project has an active fork relationship.
• Your project is private and the issue is confidential.

To make this button appear, one possible workaround is to remove your project's fork relationship. After removal, the fork relationship cannot be restored. This project can no longer be able to receive or send merge requests to the source project, or other forks.

This dropdown contains the options Create merge request and branch and Create branch.

After selecting one of these options, a new branch or branch and merge request is created based on your project's default branch. The branch name is based on an internal ID, and the issue title. The example screenshot above creates a branch named 2-make-static-site-auto-deploy-and-serve.

When you select the Create branch button in an empty repository project, GitLab performs these actions:

• Creates a default branch.
• Commits a blank README.md file to it.
• Creates and redirects you to a new branch based on the issue title.
• If your project is configured with a deployment service like Kubernetes, GitLab prompts you to set up auto deploy by helping you create a .gitlab-ci.yml file.

After the branch is created, you can edit files in the repository to fix the issue. When a merge request is created based on the newly-created branch, the description field displays the issue closing pattern Closes #ID, where ID is the ID of the issue. This closes the issue when the merge request is merged.

Create a new branch from a project's dashboard

If you want to make changes to several files before creating a new merge request, you can create a new branch upfront.

1. From a project's files page, choose New branch from the dropdown list.

   

2. Enter a new Branch name.

3. Optional. Change the Create from field to choose which branch, tag, or commit SHA this new branch originates from. This field autocompletes if you start typing an existing branch or tag.

4. To return to the file browser on this new branch, select Create branch.

   

You can now make changes to any files, as needed. When you're ready to merge the changes back to your default branch, you can use the widget at the top of the screen. This widget only appears for a period of time after you create the branch or modify files.

Create a tag

You can create tags to mark milestones such as production releases and release candidates. To create a tag in the Web Editor:

1. On the top bar, select Main menu > Projects and find your project.
2. On the project page, next to the branch name, select the plus icon ({plus}).
3. From the dropdown list, select New tag.
4. Complete the fields. From the Create from dropdown list, select an existing branch, tag, or commit SHA.
5. Select Create tag.

Tips

When creating or uploading a new file or creating a new directory, you can trigger a new merge request rather than committing directly to your default branch:

1. Enter a new branch name in the Target branch field.

2. GitLab displays the Start a new merge request with these changes checkbox.

3. Commit your changes, and GitLab redirects you to a new merge request form.

   

If you'd prefer to not use your primary email address for commits created through the web editor, you can choose to use another of your linked email addresses from the User Settings > Edit Profile page.