GitLab allows you to open selected projects to be accessed **publicly** or **internally**.
GitLab allows you to change your projects' visibility in order be accessed
**publicly** or **internally**.
Projects with either of these visibility levels will be listed in the [public access directory](/public).
Projects with either of these visibility levels will be listed in the
public access directory (`/public` under your GitLab instance).
Here is the [GitLab.com example](https://gitlab.com/public).
Internal projects will only be available to authenticated users.
## Public projects
## Visibility of projects
### Public projects
Public projects can be cloned **without any** authentication.
It will also be listed on the [public access directory](/public).
They will also be listed on the public access directory (`/public`).
**Any logged in user** will have [Guest](../permissions/permissions) permissions on the repository.
**Any logged in user** will have [Guest](../permissions/permissions)
permissions on the repository.
## Internal projects
### Internal projects
Internal projects can be cloned by any logged in user.
It will also be listed on the [public access directory](/public) for logged in users.
They will also be listed on the public access directory (`/public`) for logged
in users.
Any logged in user will have [Guest](../permissions/permissions) permissions on the repository.
Any logged in user will have [Guest](../permissions/permissions) permissions on
the repository.
## How to change project visibility
### How to change project visibility
1. Go to your project dashboard
1. Click on the "Edit" tab
1. Change "Visibility Level"
1. Go to your project's **Settings**
1. Change "Visibility Level" to either Public, Internal or Private
## Visibility of users
The public page of users, located at `/u/username` is visible if either:
The public page of a user, located at `/u/username`, is always visible whether
you are logged in or not.
When visiting the public page of a user, you can only see the projects which
you are privileged to.
- You are logged in.
- You are logged out, and the target user is authorized to (is Guest, Reporter, etc.) at least one public project.
## Visibility of groups
Otherwise, you will be redirected to the sign in page.
The public page of a group, located at `/groups/groupname`, is always visible
to everyone.
When visiting the public page of an user, you will only see listed projects which you can view yourself.
Logged out users will be able to see the description and the avatar of the
group as well as all public projects belonging to that group.
## Restricting the use of public or internal projects
In the Admin area under Settings you can disable public projects or public and internal projects for the entire GitLab installation to prevent people making code public by accident. The restricted visibility settings do not apply to admin users.
In the Admin area under **Settings** (`/admin/application_settings`), you can
restrict the use of visibility levels for users when they create a project or a
snippet. This is useful to prevent people exposing their repositories to public
by accident. The restricted visibility settings do not apply to admin users.
