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For a static website, the simplest GitLab-native deployment is GitLab Pages: a CI/CD pipeline builds the site, publishes its output, and makes it available at a Pages URL. This approach suits static HTML and client-rendered applications, including frameworks configured to generate static files. A dynamic application or a site being sent to another hosting service needs a deployment job aimed at that target instead.
Choose the deployment path that fits your site
| What you are deploying | GitLab approach |
|---|---|
| A static site or a framework build configured to produce static files | Use GitLab Pages. The pipeline publishes the generated files. |
| A dynamic application or a site destined for a different hosting service | Use a CI/CD deployment job and environment configured for the intended target. GitLab’s general deployment workflow is described in its environment documentation. |
Pages publishes static output; it does not turn a dynamic application into a static site. The project’s hosting target is a separate decision from where its source code is stored.
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Set up a GitLab Pages deployment
- Identify the build output. Confirm that the application can generate static files and determine which directory contains the finished site. GitLab’s Pages setup UI expects output in a repository-root
publicdirectory. A pipeline can create this directory during the build; you do not need to commit generated files. See GitLab’s Pages UI setup guide. - Check Pages and runner availability. GitLab.com has instance runners enabled by default. On a self-managed GitLab instance, an administrator must configure Pages; availability depends on that instance’s setup. See Pages overview and Pages administration.
- Add a Pages pipeline configuration. In an existing repository, use an appropriate Pages CI/CD template for your static-site generator or plain HTML, or write a Pages job yourself. GitLab documents the template workflow in its Pages CI/CD template guide.
- Build and publish the files. Configure the job to build the site and publish the resulting directory. Follow the current Pages configuration guidance: the publish setting belongs under
pages. GitLab deprecated top-levelpublishin GitLab 17.9, so older YAML examples may need updating. - Run the pipeline. Commit or merge the configuration, then follow the job under
Build > Pipelines. Once the pipeline succeeds, find the site URL underDeploy > Pages. GitLab notes that it can take a few minutes after pipeline completion for the site to become available. - Check the URL path before adjusting the site. Project Pages sites normally appear beneath the namespace and project slug. A user or group site uses the domain root instead. If the project site is hosted under a subpath, set the static-site generator’s base URL to match it so asset and internal links resolve correctly. GitLab explains URL patterns in its Pages getting-started guide.
- Add a custom domain only if you need one. GitLab.com Pages supports custom domains and TLS. On a self-managed instance, the administrator may need to configure the Pages domain, DNS, network topology, and certificates. See the Pages documentation and Pages administration guide.
Match the generator to the published URL
A successful build can still produce a broken site if its asset URLs assume the wrong location. For example, a project site may be served from a path such as /project-slug, rather than from the domain root. Configure the generator’s base URL for the actual Pages URL, then check links to stylesheets, scripts, images, and other pages in the deployed site.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsUser and group sites use the domain root, so they have a different path assumption from project sites. Confirm the URL shown in Deploy > Pages and use GitLab’s URL guidance when choosing the base path.
GitLab.com and self-managed Pages have different prerequisites
On GitLab.com, instance runners are enabled by default and GitLab provides the Pages service and its domain. Self-managed Pages depends on the organization’s GitLab administrator: Pages must be configured, and the domain, DNS, network requirements, and TLS certificates may need local setup. That distinction affects whether a pipeline can run and whether its published URL can be reached; check the instance configuration before troubleshooting the site itself.
Troubleshoot a Pages deployment
- The pipeline cannot find the site files: verify that the build actually creates the configured publish directory. For the Pages UI setup, the expected path is the repository-root
publicdirectory. - The pipeline succeeds but links or assets are broken: check whether the site is published under a project subpath and update the generator’s base URL accordingly.
- The URL is not reachable immediately after a successful pipeline: check
Deploy > Pagesfor the active URL and allow a few minutes for availability. - An older YAML example does not work as expected: check that the configuration uses
pages.publish. GitLab deprecated top-levelpublishin GitLab 17.9. - A self-managed site has a domain or TLS problem: ask the GitLab administrator to verify Pages configuration, DNS, network requirements, and certificate setup.
Use credentials and deployment controls deliberately
If automation needs to access GitLab resources, a scoped deploy token may be appropriate. Store credentials as protected CI/CD variables and follow GitLab’s documented token scopes, including any group-token scope relevant to the job. See GitLab deploy tokens.
Pages also supports controls such as branch rules, redirects, custom error pages, pre-compressed assets, and unique domains. Their behavior can depend on the instance and URL arrangement, so check the current Pages documentation before relying on a specific domain or subdomain pattern.
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