Whenever I start a new project I add it to my Gitlab VCS (on-premise):
git init
git add .
git commit -m \"Commit message\"
git remote add origin git@git.example.
Official docs say's no. Project's created from command line always set to Private by default.
https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/gitlab-basics/create-project.html#push-to-create-a-new-project
If you have access rights to the associated namespace, GitLab will automatically create a new project under that GitLab namespace with its visibility set to Private by default (you can later change it in the project’s settings)
You can change project level from UI or using Gitlab API.