Q. What is changing with user limits?
A. GitLab announced updates to the user limits for the free tier of the GitLab SaaS offering. The new limits are as follows:
| GitLab SaaS Tier | Free |
|---|---|
| Price | $0 |
| Users (per top level namespace) | 5 |
Q. Who do these changes apply to?
A. These user limits are applicable only to users of the free tier of the GitLab SaaS offering. These changes do not apply to the paid tiers, the free tier of the self-managed offering and community programs, including GitLab for Open Source, GitLab for Education, and GitLab for Startups users.
Q. Do these changes apply to Trials?
A. No. These user limits do not apply to Trials during the trial period.
Q. Do these changes apply to public projects as well?
A. Yes. these changes are applicable to both public and private projects. Free-tier users using GitLab for public open source projects should consider applying for the GitLab for Open Source Program, which provides access to the GitLab Ultimate features and entitlements for free.
Q. When are these changes effective?
A. The new user limit on the free tier will be enforced on new and existing free SaaS namespaces starting September 15, 2022.
Q. Will I be personally notified of the changes?
A. Namespaces impacted by this change will receive an in-product notification in the coming weeks. Those who do not engage with the in-app notification will also receive an email notification approximately four weeks prior to the effective date.
Q. What does namespace in the context of user limits refer to?
A. In GitLab, a namespace is a unique name for a user, a group, or subgroup, under which a project can be created. User limits are implemented at the top level group or personal namespace.
Q. How are the total number of users in my namespace calculated?
A. We count the sum of unique users within a namespace which includes the users in the parent namespace (group), subgroups, and projects. For example:
If a user has a group named top and two sub-groups under top named child1 and child2 with 4 different unique users in each group, then the top namespace will have a total of 8 users, which is above the user limit of 5. If the two sub-groups contain the same 4 users, then top would only have 4 total users.
Q. Where can I view and manage the number of users in my namespace?
A. Users can view and manage the users in their namespace by going to Group > Group Settings > Usage Quotas > Seats. Only Group Owners can add or remove users from the Usage Quotas page. Owners and Maintainers of individual sub-groups and projects can still manage the specific users in their sub-groups/projects.
Q. How can I view and manage my users if my project is not located within a group?
A. If your project is not located within a group, you can manage the users in each of your personal projects but the sum of the unique users within all your personal projects cannot exceed 5.
GitLab strongly encourages personal projects to be moved into Groups which will allow these projects to access all GitLab features as well as give you the ability to manage all users from the Usage Quotas page, start a trial, and purchase a subscription.
Q. What happens if I don’t reduce my user count before the enforcement date?
A. When the 5 user limit is applied, only the most recently active 5 users can continue to access the namespace. The remaining users will be moved to the over-limit user state. These users will not be able to access the namespace. The namespace owner will be able to manage users from the Usage Quotas page - including deleting users, moving users from over-limit to active and vice versa.
Q. How can I add users beyond the limit of 5 users?
A. The free tier has a limit of 5 users which cannot be increased. GitLab recommends the paid tiers - Premium or Ultimate - for larger teams as there are no user limits and they contain features designed to increase your team’s productivity. We recommend starting a free trial of GitLab Ultimate to experience the value of the paid features while also getting access to unlimited users for the trial period.
Free tier users can also consider using the self-managed deployment option that does not have user limits. GitLab also has special programs for Open Source projects and students/educators granting access to GitLab Ultimate. If you believe you could qualify for one of these programs you can learn more here.
GitLab Premium and Ultimate have advanced capabilities and higher limits. Consider starting a free trial to experience GitLab Ultimate for 30 days or upgrading to a paid GitLab.com Tier by purchasing online or contacting GitLab Sales to unlock the full capabilities.
To address your questions and feedback, we have created a space in the GitLab Community Forum, which is actively monitored by GitLab team members and product managers involved with this change.
Q. What is changing with public projects?
The GitLab for Open Source Program was created to give back to the open source community by encouraging individuals and teams to contribute to open source. Public open source projects will need to be part of the GitLab for Open Source program to continue to receive GitLab Ultimate features.
As previously announced, all free tier public projects will not receive Ultimate by default, and all public projects will be subject to CI/CD minutes quotas applicable to their plan. Free tier users using GitLab for public open source projects should consider applying to the GitLab for Open Source program to continue to take advantage of GitLab Ultimate features such as portfolio management, advanced security testing, security risk mitigation, and compliance.
Q. Which users are these changes applicable to?
A. These changes are applicable to users with public projects on the free tier of GitLab SaaS. These changes do not apply to self-managed free and paid tier users, SaaS paid tier users, and community programs - including GitLab for Open Source, Education and Startups users.
Q. What is the effective date of the changes?
A. The CI/CD limits on public projects will be enforced for all users including paid and free tier with public projects starting June 1, 2022.
Public projects on the free tier will stop receiving Ultimate entitlements by default starting July 1, 2022.
Q. How can I retain the Ultimate entitlements for my public projects?
A. There are two ways:
Q. What happens when my namespace has used all of the month’s allocated CI/CD Minutes limit of 400 minutes?
A. You will not be able to run new jobs until you purchase additional CI/CD Minutes, or until the next month when you receive your monthly allotted CI/CD Minutes. Running jobs will be cancelled when a namespace reaches its limit while a pipeline is running.
Q. How can I manage my CI/CD usage to stay under the limit?
A. This detailed FAQ covers how to manage your CI/CD usage.
Watch this deep dive video on how you can manage your CI/CD Minutes usage.
Q. I am an active contributor to GitLab. Will the same limits be applicable to me as well?
A. All free tier users receive 50,000 CI/CD minutes for running pipelines on public forks of public open source projects, like GitLab. Contributions to all other projects by free tier users are subject to the new limits.
Q. How can I apply for the GitLab for Open Source program?
A. The GitLab for Open Source Program gives access to unlimited seats per license of GitLab Ultimate (SaaS or Self-Managed), including 50,000 CI/CD minutes, excluding support. View the program requirements and apply for the GitLab for Open Source program online here. In most cases, GitLab will respond with a decision or request for additional information within 15 business days.
Q. What happens to my account if I do not enroll in the GitLab for Open Source program or I am not accepted into the program?
A. If you are not part of the GitLab for Open Source program, after July 1, 2022, your account will stop receiving GitLab Ultimate capabilities and will receive the entitlements available to the free tier.
You will not lose any data, but you will not be able to create any new jobs or artifacts nor access Ultimate features if you have exceeded the usage limits of the free tier.
Q. Can I apply for GitLab’s Open Source program with some public projects and some private projects in my group?
A. No. In order to meet the requirements of the Open Source Program, all of the code you host in this GitLab group must be published under OSI-approved open source licences. All projects under this group must have public visibility. Individual projects are not eligible for the Open Source Program. Additionally, your organization must not seek to make a profit. Please check all the eligibility requirements for the Open Source program here.
Q. Do I need to apply for GitLab for Open Source Program for each individual project?. A. No. You will need to apply for GitLab for Open Source Program at the top level namespace.
username. Projects within the personal namespace username will not be considered. If username creates a group user-group and has open source projects within that group, then user-group can be considered for the Open Source program)open source project (for example, personal projects), you will need to move out the unrelated projects to a different group to be eligible for the GitLab for Open Source Program.Click here to join the GitLab for Open Source program Purchase online or contact GitLab Sales to upgrade to a paid GitLab.com tier - which have advanced capabilities and higher usage limits.
To address your questions and feedback, we have created a space in the GitLab Community Forum, which is actively monitored by GitLab team members and product managers involved with this change.