diff --git a/pkgs/applications/version-management/gitlab/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/version-management/gitlab/default.nix
index f1cf80ead01ef..bf9353f5d15a7 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/version-management/gitlab/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/version-management/gitlab/default.nix
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ let
     FOSS_ONLY = !gitlabEnterprise;
 
     SKIP_YARN_INSTALL = 1;
+    NODE_OPTIONS = "--max-old-space-size=8192";
 
     configurePhase = ''
       runHook preConfigure