# GitLab integration in the TeachCenter *Using the Git activity, teachers can create and manage GitLab repositories for students in the TU Graz Teaching GitLab directly via the TeachCenter. Students can access their repositories directly via the TeachCenter.* *Published: 8 October 2026* ## Creating and managing GitLab repositories via the TeachCenter ## Creating a Git activity - Enable **edit mode** in your course using the slider in the top right-hand corner. - Click on the **plus icon** where you want to insert the activity, then select **Activity or Resource**. - Select **Git**. *Git activity in the activity chooser* Configure the settings as required: - **Name**: The name shown in the course - **Additional files**: You can upload files here, such as a handout. - **Start date**: If a date is set here, student repositories will be automatically created at this time if they do not already exist, and students will be granted write access. If no date is set, the repositories must be created manually and the permissions granted manually. - **Due date**: Assignment deadline. Students do not yet lose their write access, but any commits made after this time will be marked as late in the overview for teachers. If a due date is set, a cut-off date must also be set. - **Cut-off date**: At this time, students lose write access to their repository.  - **Group work settings**: In the current version, only individual submissions are possible; therefore, there are no settings for group work yet. - **Version control system**: At TU Graz, the activity is linked to [GitLab for Teaching](https://gitlab-teaching.tugraz.at/). This setting cannot be changed. - **Initialise with Readme**: If this checkmark is ticked, a default GitLab Readme and a main branch will be created in all repositories. If you want to create empty repositories without branches or content, untick this checkmark.  - Click **Save and display**. - You will be taken to an **overview page**. It shows the two expandable sections Description (if specified in the activity settings) and GitLab (with information about roles and when content in GitLab is deleted), as well as a **list of students** with filtering options. On this page, you can now **create and manage repositories**.  ## Creating repositories and managing access rights ### Creating repositories If a start date has been set, repositories will be **automatically created and write permissions granted** at that time. However, you can also **create repositories manually**. - Go to the **Git tab**. - To create a **repository for individual students**, click **Create repository** in the Actions column for this person and confirm the action.  - To **create multiple repositories**, **select** the relevant students and click the **Create repositories** button in the Selected Users menu. Note: The time it takes to create repositories may vary. You will see a loading icon in the GitLab activity, but you can continue working on your TeachCenter course.  - As soon as repositories for students are available, you will see a **link to the respective person****’****s repository** in the overview (URL to the repository). - **Write access** is granted **automatically on the start date**. If no start date has been set, **write access must be granted manually**. ### Managing permissions - If you have set a **date (start or cut-off date)** in the settings, **write access is automatically granted and revoked**. However, you can also change the permissions manually. - To change the **permissions for individual** users, click **Set access to write** or **Set access to read** next to the relevant person in the list of students.  - To **change access rights in bulk**, select the relevant students and click the **Set access to write** or **Set access to read** button in the Selected users menu.  ### Note on roles: - **Read access** correspond to the **Reporter role** in GitLab. Pushing and merging are not allowed, but students can clone a repository or create issues. - **Write access** correspond to the **Developer role** in GitLab. Pushing and merging are allowed. - **Maintainer** **access** correspond to the **Maintainer role** in GitLab. Individuals with the teacher and tutor roles in the TeachCenter are assigned this role to allow them to view the students‘ repositories. ## Deleting repositories Please note: If the **Git activity is deleted from the TeachCenter course, all repositories associated with that activity will also be deleted!** You can also delete individual students‘ repositories: - In the Git tab, in the list of students, click **Delete repository** in the Actions column for this student.  - To delete several repositories at once, select the relevant students and click the **Delete repositories** button in the Selected users menu.  The repositories will also be deleted as soon as the **TeachCenter course is deleted or reset**. ## Features planned for future updates ## Group repositores In a future version, it will also be possible to create repositories for groups from the TeachCenter and to enable group submissions. ## Using upstream repositories In a future version of the activity, it will also be possible to use **upstream repositories** to provide content for all students. At present, only empty repositories or repositories containing a standard README file and a main branch are created. ## Transferring grades In a future version of the activity, it will be possible to **transfer grades from GitLab back into the TeachCenter**. If you currently wish to add a grade to the GitLab activity in the TeachCenter, you can do so via an additional **manually created grade item**. Please see the [Grading guide](https://telucation.tugraz.at/en/guides/grading-tc-exam/) for further details. ## Course repositories for GitLab pages In a future version, it will be possible to automatically create course-level repositories with reporter access for students. Such a repository can be used for [GitLab Pages in teaching](https://tc-pages.tugraz.at/). ## Guide for students ## GitLab activity in the TeachCenter for students - To access your repository, **open the Git TeachCenter activity**. - There you will find a **link to your repository in** [GitLab for teaching](https://gitlab-teaching.tugraz.at/), as well as information about the start date and deadline, additional files and a description, if provided by your teacher(s).  - On the start date, you will **automatically be granted write access to your repository**, unless teachers have set different permissions. - On the cut-off date, **you will automatically lose write access** to your repository. Teachers may also set a grace period, meaning you will not immediately lose access on the due date, but your commits will be marked as late. ## Help & contact For questions about the TeachCenter / TeachCenter Exam: [tc@tugraz.at](mailto:tc@tugraz.at)