Freeze a branch

About

Freezing a branch in GitLab isn't a built-in GitLab feature per se, but we can prevent changes to a branch by using a combination of GitLab settings and permissions. This is commonly done when we want to lock or freeze a release or production branch.

Here are common methods to "freeze" a branch in GitLab:

Option 1: Protect the Branch (Recommended for Freezing)

This will prevent anyone (or certain roles) from pushing or force-pushing to the branch.

Steps:

1. Go to your GitLab project.

2. Navigate to: Settings → Repository.

3. Scroll to Protected Branches.

4. In the "Protect a branch" section:

   • Choose the branch you want to freeze (e.g., release, main).

   • Set:

     • Allowed to push: No one

     • Allowed to merge: No one (or keep Maintainers if needed for hotfixes)

   • Click Protect.

This effectively freezes the branch: no one can push, force push, or merge into it unless you modify these settings.

Option 2: Tag the Branch Instead of Freezing

If the goal is to preserve the current state for a release, you can create a Git tag (e.g., v1.0.0) and treat that as frozen.

git checkout release
git tag -a v1.0.0 -m "Release version 1.0.0"
git push origin v1.0.0

Tags are immutable by default in GitLab (unless explicitly allowed to be moved), so this provides a "freeze snapshot" without freezing the actual branch.

Option 3: Use Code Owners + Merge Request Rules (Premium+)

If you have GitLab Premium or higher, you can:

• Define CODEOWNERS file for the branch.

• Require approval from code owners before merging.

• Combine this with protected branches.

This doesn’t freeze the branch but controls who can change it, useful for controlled release branches.