Connecting to The Open Group GitLab Site Once you are familiar with the basic concepts of Git and the GitLab platform, you need to set up your own account on The Open Group GitLab server and connect to your projects. Getting an Account The first step in using the GitLab platform at The Open Group is to create an account on the site, and obtain memberships in the group(s) you will be working in. If you have an account to log in to The Open Group main website www.opengroup.org, then you should be able to log in using the same credentials to gitlab.opengroup.org via a single sign-on. You may also need to setup two factor authentication (2FA). The method to gain access to specific projects can vary; some areas are set for members of a Forum to access. If you need assistance to join a specific project please send an email requesting access to the Forum Director for the Forum, Work Group, or Consortium that is the home for the project; see Group and Project Structure. The Web Interface versus Local Working If you are going to be a contributor to the project, or are primarily interested in viewing content, issues etc., access via your browser may be all you need. You will have the ability to browse your projects, contribute changes, add new content, view and respond to issues, and view and download individual files. However, if you plan to become an advanced user – for example, working offline, or editing a large amount of content – you will want to complete the setup using the steps in Enabling Local Working so you have a full copy of the project files synced on your local machine. GitLab Profile Settings Once logged in you should confirm your profile settings, as shown in Figure 1 (note that in earlier GitLab releases the layout had the avatar on the top right): 1 Access your profile by clicking on your avatar, then selecting Edit Profile, click on your avatar to change it, then scroll down to Main Settings 2 Your full name to be displayed for your profile 3 Your email address for notifications 4 The email to be associated with web-based GitLab operations Figure 1. Profile Settings Getting Started Using GitLab in the Browser