-[Environment variables](environment_variables.md): Supported environment variables that can be used to override their defaults values in order to configure GitLab.
-[Plugins](plugins.md): With custom plugins, GitLab administrators can introduce custom integrations without modifying GitLab's source code.
-**(Starter/Premium)**[Elasticsearch](../integration/elasticsearch.md): Enable Elasticsearch to empower GitLab's Advanced Global Search. Useful when you deal with a huge amount of data.
**Note:** Plugins must be configured on the filesystem of the GitLab
server. Only GitLab server administrators will be able to complete these tasks.
Please explore [system hooks] or [webhooks] as an option if you do not
have filesystem access.
> Introduced in GitLab 10.6.
Introduced in GitLab 10.6.
With custom plugins, GitLab administrators can introduce custom integrations
without modifying GitLab's source code.
A plugin will run on each event so it's up to you to filter events or projects within a plugin code. You can have as many plugins as you want. Each plugin will be triggered by GitLab asynchronously in case of an event. For a list of events please see [system hooks] documentation.
NOTE: **Note:**
Instead of writing and supporting your own plugin you can make changes
directly to the GitLab source code and contribute back upstream. This way we can
ensure functionality is preserved across versions and covered by tests.
NOTE: **Note:**
Plugins must be configured on the filesystem of the GitLab server. Only GitLab
server administrators will be able to complete these tasks. Explore
[system hooks] or [webhooks] as an option if you do not have filesystem access.
A plugin will run on each event so it's up to you to filter events or projects
within a plugin code. You can have as many plugins as you want. Each plugin will
be triggered by GitLab asynchronously in case of an event. For a list of events
see the [system hooks] documentation.
## Setup
Plugins must be placed directly into `plugins` directory, subdirectories will be ignored.
There is an `example` directory inside `plugins` where you can find some basic examples.
The plugins must be placed directly into the `plugins` directory, subdirectories