Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • Working with a restricted repository (ie. ‘internal only’, or ‘private’)

    • If you set viewing restrictions on a repository (‘internal only’, or ‘private’) then it is recommended to access to the repository using the git://git@code.jlab.org/... URL not the https://code.jlab.org/... URL. Authentication and access are then handled using the SSH key exchange method.

    • See Clone with SSH for details.

    • If https://... access is required, then a Personal Access Tocken should also work.

  • Cloning a Repository

    • The git@code.jlab.org in the git://git@code.jlab.org/... URL is the correct username@host for the SSH git: protocol. Authentication (when needed) is done via SSH key exchange. You must upload a public key to your account.

    • See Clone with SSH for details.

  • Cleanup Instructions for Containers

    • Avoid running dnf install ... or dnf update directly in your Dockerfile or container unless absolutely necessary.

    • Instead, ensure you are starting from an up-to-date base image. For example, use:

      FROM registry.access.redhat.com/ubi8/ubi:latest

      Update the base image periodically to incorporate the latest patches.

    • If you must install or update packages, clean up after yourself to minimize image size and layer bloat:

      RUN dnf install -y <package> && \
    dnf clean all

    • Be mindful of large updates being pulled in. This generates bloat and can greatly increase the run time of your CI/CD jobs. If updates are significant, consider rebuilding the container with an updated base image instead of performing in-place updates.

  • Limited CVMFS support within CI/CD jobs

    • OpenShift (RedHat’s Kubernetes implementation) complicates the use of CVMFS within the GitLab CI/CD runners.

    • As a result only the JLab-managed CVMFS software under the path /cvmfs/oasis.opensciencegrid.org/jlab/ is available for now. The usual module commands will without modification. For example:

      module use /cvmfs/oasis.opensciencegrid.org/jlab/scicomp/sw/el9/modulefiles
module use /cvmfs/oasis.opensciencegrid.org/jlab/geant4/ceInstall/modulefiles
module use /cvmfs/oasis.opensciencegrid.org/jlab/halla/modulefiles
module use /cvmfs/oasis.opensciencegrid.org/jlab/hallb/clas12/sw/modulefiles

etc...