Install gitlab-gem with Homebrew, Nix, pacman

install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install gitlab-gem

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#gitlab

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/gi/gitlab/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S gitlab

Arch Linux sync databases · gitlab · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Ruby client and CLI for GitLab API

Project links

Commands and aliases

gitlab

history

Project history and usage

GitLab Ruby Gem, packaged by Homebrew as `gitlab-gem`, is a Ruby client library and command-line interface for the GitLab REST API. It lets Ruby programs and terminal users call GitLab API methods for users, projects, merge requests, branches, groups, and related resources.

Project history

The NARKOZ/gitlab repository was created in September 2012, making it one of the earlier third-party client libraries for GitLab automation. The README describes the package as both a Ruby wrapper and a CLI for the GitLab API, with installation through RubyGems, Bundler, and Homebrew.

The gem evolved with GitLab's API versions and Ruby packaging norms. Its README documents endpoint and token configuration, client initialization, pagination helpers, CLI command dispatch to client methods, an interactive CLI shell, and development against either a Dockerized GitLab instance or an external GitLab instance.

Adoption history

The package's adoption is visible in RubyGems metadata: the API response collected for this enrichment reported over 112 million gem downloads. That scale reflects long-running use in Ruby automation, scripts, internal tools, and CI jobs that need GitLab API access without hand-written HTTP calls.

Homebrew's `gitlab-gem` formula exists because the gem also exposes a `gitlab` executable, giving non-Ruby specialists a packaged CLI route to the same API client.

How it is used

Practitioners configure `GITLAB_API_ENDPOINT` and `GITLAB_API_PRIVATE_TOKEN`, or configure those values in Ruby with `Gitlab.configure`. CLI users call client methods as commands, such as `gitlab users`, `gitlab user`, and `gitlab create_merge_request`, with YAML-style option hashes where needed.

Why package nerds care

For package maintainers, `gitlab-gem` is a reminder that language packages can become general-purpose command-line tools. The Homebrew formula wraps a RubyGem so developers can install a GitLab API CLI without thinking about Bundler, while Ruby users still get the library through the normal gem ecosystem.

Timeline

2012: Repository created for a Ruby GitLab API wrapper.
2012: Package documented Ruby library and CLI usage against GitLab.
2024: v5.x releases continued API-client maintenance.
2025: v6.1.0 release published on GitHub.

Related projects

Related surfaces include GitLab's REST API, RubyGems, RubyDoc, Bundler, Homebrew, HTTParty, and GitLab CE or EE instances used for development and testing.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:client

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 1 runtime dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`gitlab`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version6.1.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv6.1.0

https://github.com/NARKOZ/gitlab

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:gitlab-gem
Version	6.1.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/gitlab-gem
Homepage	https://narkoz.github.io/gitlab/
Repository	https://github.com/NARKOZ/gitlab
Upstream docs	https://narkoz.github.io/gitlab
License	BSD-2-Clause
Source archive	https://github.com/NARKOZ/gitlab/archive/refs/tags/v6.1.0.tar.gz
Dependencies	ruby
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	gitlab-gem
Version Scheme	0
Revision	1
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix92%

gitlab

nix profile install nixpkgs#gitlab

installed executable or alias match
Matched by: Gitlab

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/gi/gitlab/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

pacman92%

gitlab 19.0.2-1

Project management and code hosting application

https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss

sudo pacman -S gitlab

License: MIT
Architecture: x86_64
21 dependencies
1 provides
3 optional deps
installed executable or alias match
Matched by: Gitlab

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: gitlab from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/gitlab-gem.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment