# Create a project

[Projects](../user/project/index.md) combine many features of GitLab together.

NOTE: **Note:**
For a list of words that cannot be used as project names see
[Reserved project and group names](../user/reserved_names.md).

To create a project in GitLab:

1. In your dashboard, click the green **New project** button or use the plus
   icon in the navigation bar. This opens the **New project** page.
1. On the **New project** page, choose if you want to:
   - Create a [blank project](#blank-projects).
   - Create a project using with one of the available [project templates](#project-templates).
   - [Import a project](../user/project/import/index.md) from a different repository,
     if enabled on your GitLab instance. Contact your GitLab admin if this
     is unavailable.

## Blank projects

To create a new blank project on the **New project** page:

1. On the **Blank project** tab, provide the following information:
    - The name of your project in the **Project name** field. You can't use
      special characters, but you can use spaces, hyphens, underscores or even
      emoji.
    - The **Project description (optional)** field enables you to enter a
      description for your project's dashboard, which will help others
      understand what your project is about. Though it's not required, it's a good
      idea to fill this in.
    - Changing the **Visibility Level** modifies the project's
      [viewing and access rights](../public_access/public_access.md) for users.
    - Selecting the **Initialize repository with a README** option creates a
      README file so that the Git repository is initialized, has a default branch, and
      can be cloned.
1. Click **Create project**.

## Project templates

Project templates can pre-populate your project with necessary files to get you started quickly.

There are two types of project templates:

- [Built-in templates](#builtin-templates), sourced from the [`project-templates`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/project-templates) group.
- [Custom project templates](#custom-project-templates-premium-only), for custom templates configured by GitLab administrators and users.

### Built-in templates

Built-in templates are project templates that are:

- Developed and maintained in the
  [`project-templates`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/project-templates) group.
- Released with GitLab.

To use a built-in template on the **New project** page:

1. On the **Create from template** tab.
1. From the list of available built-in templates, click the:
    - **Preview** button to look at the template source itself.
    - **Use template** button to start creating the project.
1. Finish creating the project by filling out the project's details. The process is the same as for
   using a [blank project](#blank-projects).

TIP: **Tip:**
You can improve the existing built-in templates or contribute new ones on the
[`project-templates`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/project-templates) group.

### Custom project templates **[PREMIUM ONLY]**

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ee/issues/6860) in
[GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing) 11.2.

Creating new projects based on custom project templates is a convenient option to bootstrap a project.

Custom projects are available from the **Instance** or **Group** tabs under the **Create from template** tab,
depending on the type of template.

To use a custom project template on the **New project** page:

1. On the **Create from template** tab, select the **Instance** tab or the **Group** tab.
1. From the list of available custom templates, click the:
    - **Preview** button to look at the template source itself.
    - **Use template** button to start creating the project.
1. Finish creating the project by filling out the project's details. The process is the same as for
   using a [blank project](#blank-projects).

For information on configuring custom project templates, see:

- [Custom instance-level project templates](../user/admin_area/custom_project_templates.md), for instance-level templates.
- [Custom group-level project templates](../user/group/custom_project_templates.md), for group-level templates.

## Push to create a new project

> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/26388) in GitLab 10.5.

When you create a new repo locally, instead of going to GitLab to manually
create a new project and then push the repo, you can directly push it to
GitLab to create the new project, all without leaving your terminal. If you have access to that
namespace, we will automatically create a new project under that GitLab namespace with its
visibility set to Private by default (you can later change it in the [project's settings](../public_access/public_access.md#how-to-change-project-visibility)).

This can be done by using either SSH or HTTPS:

```sh
## Git push using SSH
git push --set-upstream git@gitlab.example.com:namespace/nonexistent-project.git master

## Git push using HTTPS
git push --set-upstream https://gitlab.example.com/namespace/nonexistent-project.git master
```

Once the push finishes successfully, a remote message will indicate
the command to set the remote and the URL to the new project:

```text
remote:
remote: The private project namespace/nonexistent-project was created.
remote:
remote: To configure the remote, run:
remote:   git remote add origin https://gitlab.example.com/namespace/nonexistent-project.git
remote:
remote: To view the project, visit:
remote:   https://gitlab.example.com/namespace/nonexistent-project
remote:
```
