FlexLab

Applies to: FlexLab

Overview

FlexLab is FlexSite’s tier for developers and agencies. Your website’s code lives in Git (version-controlled source files). When developers push changes, automated pipelines build and deploy the site to environments linked to Git branches.

Who is FlexLab for?

• Drupal developers shipping custom modules, themes, or Composer dependencies.
• Teams that use merge requests, code review, and branch-based staging → production workflows.
• Organizations comfortable with tools like GitLab, terminals, and the FlexSite CLI.

Key concepts

• Repository (repo) — the stored codebase FlexSite provisions on GitLab. Clone it to your laptop to work locally.
• Branch — a line of development (e.g. main for production, develop for testing). Each FlexLab environment maps to one branch.
• Pipeline — automated steps (build, test, deploy) that run when code is pushed.
• Composer — PHP’s package manager for installing Drupal modules from the ecosystem into your repo.

Guides in this book

• Creating a FlexLab Project
• Repository Access and Clone
• Branch per Environment
• Deployments and Pipelines
• FlexSite CLI Setup
• FlexSite CLI Reference
• Profile, Tokens, and SSH Keys
• Post-Deployment Automation
• Environment Variables
• Merge Request Preview Environments
• Composer Module Installation
• Build Settings
• Quality Metrics Overview
• SSH Keys
• Why Theme Marketplace Is Not Available

Dashboard areas you will use

• Code — clone URL and GitLab links.
• Environments — which branch deploys where.
• Automation — scripts FlexSite runs after a successful deploy.
• Build Settings, Quality, Backups — same ideas as Codeless, plus CLI tools for database downloads.

Create a FlexLab project

Projects → New Project → Drupal 11 (Flexlab) → Blank or your agency template.

FlexLab vs Codeless

Use Codeless when editors should never touch Git. Use FlexLab when custom code is the product — Theme Marketplace is intentionally unavailable because themes belong in your repository.