GitLab is a self-hosted code repository system that is (you guessed it) inspired by GitHub.
While GitLab now comes with a built-in installation system, also based on Chef, in 2013, installing by hand was basically a 10-step process.
Opscode Chef is a powerful deployment automation tool that allows users to write "Cookbooks" that describe how to install a piece of software, configure a server, etc. While there was an existing cookbook for installing GitLab at the time, it was out of date and did not appear to be maintained.
GitLab server was my entry into the mix, completely rebuilt and incorporating several additional features and configuration options while still being designed to work completely out of the box.
This project is currently obsolete, as the GitLab team now maintains their own cookbook as part of the Ominbus GitLab project. Omnibus remains the primary way GitLab is deployed in most installs.