GitLab: disable 2FA via console

Sometimes a self-hosted GitLab server has trouble with its 2FA system. When that happens, you can’t get past the 2FA step on the sign-in page, and you’re locked out. The quick fix I use is to temporarily turn off 2FA for the account that’s stuck. Here’s how I do it.

Step 1 — Open the GitLab Rails console

SSH into your GitLab server, then run:

gitlab-rails console

Give it a moment. You should see something like this:

root@my-server:~# gitlab-rails console
Loading production environment (Rails 4.2.7.1)
irb(main):001:0>

Step 2 — Find the user

Look up the account you want to fix:

User.where(username: "my-username")

Take a quick look at the response to make sure you’ve got the right user before moving on.

Step 3 — Disable 2FA

Now turn 2FA off for that user:

User.where(username: "my-username").each(&:disable_two_factor!)

That’s it, 2FA is now disabled on the account.

What’s next?

Try signing in from your browser to confirm it works, and re-enable 2FA later if you need it.

Happy Coding!