Frontend Development Guidelines
Notice: We are currently in the process of re-writing our development guide to make it easier to find information. The new guide is still WIP but viewable in development/new_fe_guide
This document describes various guidelines to ensure consistency and quality across GitLab's frontend team.
Overview
GitLab is built on top of Ruby on Rails using Haml and also a JavaScript based Frontend with Vue.js. Be wary of the limitations that come with using Hamlit. We also use SCSS and plain JavaScript with modern ECMAScript standards supported through Babel and ES module support through webpack.
Javascript development
Vue.js is used for particularly advanced, dynamic elements and based on previous iterations jQuery is used in lot of places through the application's JavaScript.
We also use Axios to handle all of our network requests.
We also utilize webpack to handle the bundling, minification, and compression of our assets.
Working with our frontend assets requires Node (v8.10.0 or greater) and Yarn (v1.10.0 or greater). You can find information on how to install these on our installation guide.
Browser Support
For our currently-supported browsers, see our requirements.
Development Process
How we plan and execute the work on the frontend.
Architecture
How we go about making fundamental design decisions in GitLab's frontend team or make changes to our frontend development guidelines.
Testing
How we write frontend tests, run the GitLab test suite, and debug test related issues.
Design Patterns
Common JavaScript design patterns in GitLab's codebase.
Vue.js Best Practices
Vue specific design patterns and practices.
Vuex
Vuex specific design patterns and practices.
Axios
Axios specific practices and gotchas.
GraphQL
How to use GraphQL
Icons and Illustrations
How we use SVG for our Icons and Illustrations.
Components
How we use UI components.
Style Guides
JavaScript Style Guide
We use eslint to enforce our JavaScript style guides. Our guide is based on the excellent Airbnb style guide with a few small changes.
SCSS Style Guide
Our SCSS conventions which are enforced through scss-lint.
Performance
Best practices for monitoring and maximizing frontend performance.
Security
Frontend security practices.
Accessibility
Our accessibility standards and resources.
Internationalization (i18n) and Translations
Frontend internationalization support is described in this document. The externalization part of the guide explains the helpers/methods available.
DropLab
Our internal DropLab dropdown library.