Case Study: CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) achieves rapid, large-scale code hosting and CI adoption with GitLab

Particle physics laboratory uses GitLab to connect researchers from across the globe

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, needed a scalable, cost‑effective platform to host software projects and configuration‑management code for thousands of scientists and developers distributed across its member states. Preferring open‑source solutions and looking to lower costs, CERN adopted GitLab as one of its main code hosting and CI platforms to support experiment frameworks and distributed development workflows.

By running a CERN‑hosted GitLab instance, the organization saw rapid adoption—more than 2,000 projects created in a few months and roughly 2,500 active developers—and moved key projects such as the Gaudi framework onto the platform while increasing CI usage. CERN also contributed SAML code upstream, enabling GitLab to operate as a SAML 2.0 Service Provider (included since release 7.12), which further smoothed integration and helped drive broader, proactive migration to GitLab.

CERN

Alexandre Lossent

Service Manager