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Unlock the full power of GitLab with the Ultimate subscription. In this guide, we’ll walk through activating a 30-day Ultimate trial and exploring key Ultimate-only features:
  • Environment Dashboard
  • Operations Dashboard
  • Security Dashboard
  • Protected Environments
Each section includes step-by-step instructions, screenshots, and best practices.

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Activate Your 30-Day Ultimate Trial

By default, the Environment, Operations, and Security dashboards are exclusive to Premium and Ultimate tiers. To test them on a Free account, start a 30-day Ultimate trial:
Starting a trial does not commit you to a paid plan—your account reverts to Free when the trial ends.
  1. Go to Help → Documentation in the top menu.
  2. Click Start an Ultimate trial and fill in your details: name, company, employee count, country, and phone.
The image shows a GitLab documentation page for the "Environments Dashboard," detailing its features and providing instructions on how to access it. The page includes a sidebar menu and a section displaying environment details.
  1. Choose the group for the trial, for example, demos-group.
  2. Submit the form.
The image shows a GitLab sign-up page for a free 30-day trial, with fields for personal and company information. There is also an illustration of a web interface surrounded by various icons.
The image shows a GitLab webpage where a user can apply a trial to a new or existing group, with a dropdown menu listing group options. On the right, there's an illustration of a web interface surrounded by icons like a rocket, lightbulbs, and a clock.
Once the trial is active, a confirmation dialog displays your start and end dates. After activation, head back to Groups → demos-group to see the new dashboards and features.
The image shows a GitLab interface for a group named "demos-group," displaying recent activity, merge requests, and a list of projects. It also includes a notification about inviting colleagues to collaborate.

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Ultimate-Tier Dashboards at a Glance

DashboardPurposeLocation
Environment DashboardCross-project deployment status overviewGroup → Environments
Operations DashboardPipeline health, alerts, and metricsGroup → Operations → Dashboard
Security DashboardVulnerability tracking and compliance statusSecurity & Compliance → Dashboard
Protected EnvironmentsDeployment approval and access controlProject → Settings → CI/CD → Protected Environments

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Environment Dashboard

The Environment Dashboard aggregates deployments across all your projects:
  1. In the group view, click Manage Environments.
  2. Select projects (e.g., solar-system, solar-system-auto-devops).
  3. Click Add.
The image shows a GitLab Environments Dashboard with sections for production, staging, and development environments. It includes deployment details and warnings for each environment.
You’ll see the latest production, staging, and development deployments in one place.

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Operations Dashboard

Monitor operational health, pipeline status, and incident alerts for each project:
  1. Navigate to Operations → Dashboard in your group.
  2. Click Add projects and choose the ones you want to track.
The image shows a GitLab documentation page about the Operations Dashboard, detailing how to access and add projects to it. The sidebar includes navigation links for various GitLab features.
The image shows a GitLab Operations Dashboard with two projects listed, one with a warning and another without an active pipeline configuration. The sidebar includes options like Projects, Groups, and Issues.

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Security Dashboard

Track vulnerabilities and compliance status across projects:
  1. Go to Security & Compliance → Dashboard.
  2. Add your projects (e.g., solar-system, solar-system-auto-devops).
  3. Run a pipeline with security scanning enabled.
The image shows a security dashboard from GitLab, displaying vulnerabilities over time and project security status, with no vulnerabilities or projects listed.
After the pipeline completes, this view updates with any findings from the last 30 days.

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Protected Environments in CI/CD

Give only specific users or approvers the right to deploy to sensitive environments:
  1. Open your project (e.g., solar-system-auto-devops).
  2. Go to Settings → CI/CD and expand Protected Environments.
The image shows a GitLab CI/CD settings page with options for configuring Auto DevOps and deployment strategies. The sidebar includes navigation options like Secure, Deploy, and Monitor.
Protecting an environment is irreversible without removing rules—be cautious when specifying approvers.
Refer to the official documentation for full details: Protected Environments Documentation
The image shows a GitLab documentation page about protecting environments, with instructions and a sidebar menu for navigation.
If Protected Environments doesn’t appear, refresh the page. Then click Protect to set a rule:
The image shows a GitLab interface for setting up protected environments in CI/CD settings, where users can select environments, specify deployment permissions, and set approvers.
  • Select environment (e.g., production).
  • Define who can deploy.
  • Assign approvers and disable “Allow the person who triggered the pipeline to approve the deployment” for stricter controls.
After saving, you’ll see your deployment and approval rules listed:
The image shows a GitLab CI/CD settings page for managing protected environments, with options for approval and deployment rules. A notification at the bottom indicates successful updates to the pipeline settings.

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Next Steps

Trigger another Auto DevOps pipeline to explore additional Ultimate-tier features and integrations. Stay tuned for guides on advanced security scanning, compliance reports, and performance insights.
The image shows a GitLab CI/CD settings page for protected environments, with a pop-up message about a GitLab Ultimate Trial. It includes user permissions and approval settings.

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