gitlabAug 6, 2026

Confidential AI for GitLab Self-Hosted (opens in new tab)

Privatemode AI enables GitLab Duo Self-Hosted to provide modern coding agents without exposing source code to GitLab, a cloud provider, or an AI operator. It uses confidential computing and remote attestation to keep prompts, code, and completions encrypted even during inference, avoiding both the compliance risks of public AI services and the operational burden of running private GPU infrastructure. ## The productivity gap for regulated teams - GitLab Duo supports more than autocomplete, including: - Merge request reviews - Cross-file refactoring - Test generation and execution - Agentic workflows running in CI - These features normally require sending source code and prompts to an external model provider. - For organizations handling regulated software or proprietary intellectual property, that data transfer may violate contracts, regulations, or internal policy. ## Why self-hosting is difficult - Affected sectors include finance, healthcare, defense, government, and critical infrastructure. - Requirements may come from NIS2, DORA, GDPR, BaFin, BSI C5, healthcare rules, and broader data-sovereignty expectations. - Public AI SaaS is often unacceptable because code leaves the organization. - Private-cloud or VPC services reduce exposure but still require trusting the cloud and service operators with plaintext. - Running models internally preserves privacy but requires expensive GPUs, specialized staff, and ongoing model operations, while often lagging behind frontier models. ## Confidential computing as the solution - Confidential computing uses hardware-based trusted execution environments (TEEs) to encrypt data while it is being processed. - The architecture relies on technologies such as: - AMD SEV or Intel TDX for CPU protection - NVIDIA Confidential Computing for GPU protection - AES-256 encryption for data in transit and at rest - Remote attestation verifies that approved code is running inside the TEE before any data is sent. - Prompts, source code, context, and completions are decrypted only inside the protected environment. - The operator and underlying cloud provider cannot inspect the data through normal system or infrastructure access. ## Privatemode AI - Privatemode, developed by Germany-based Edgeless Systems, provides confidential inference through an OpenAI-compatible API. - Its client-side proxy manages encryption and remote attestation transparently. - Existing tools and SDKs using the standard `/v1` API can work without major changes. - The current highlighted coding model is Kimi K2.6 with a 256K context window; Kimi K3 and GLM are expected to follow. - The service is presented as production-ready and already used by public-sector, financial, defense, and regulated-industry organizations. - Its post-quantum-safe cryptography is intended to protect against “harvest now, decrypt later” attacks. ## GitLab Duo integration - GitLab Duo Self-Hosted connects to a self-hosted AI Gateway. - The Gateway forwards requests to the Privatemode proxy as an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. - The proxy: - Encrypts requests before they leave the organization’s network - Verifies the remote TEE through attestation - Forwards only after verification succeeds - Developers continue using Duo features such as Code Suggestions, Chat, Code Review, and agentic workflows without changing their experience. The recommended approach for regulated organizations is to combine GitLab Duo Self-Hosted with a confidential-computing provider such as Privatemode. This provides modern AI coding capabilities while replacing contractual privacy promises with hardware-enforced protection, without requiring the organization to operate its own LLM infrastructure.

gitlab-duoai-coding-agentsconfidential-computingtrusted-execution-environment+3

gitlabJul 31, 2026

How to govern agentic AI, MCPs, and AI code assistants (opens in new tab)

Agentic AI changes software governance because agents can independently modify code, call tools, alter CI/CD configurations, and deploy without line-by-line human review. The central control model must therefore focus on agent identity, permissions, data handling, human approval points, and auditable activity. Organizations should treat agents like privileged users, with consistent policies governing what they can access, which models they may use, and when humans must intervene. ## Why Agentic AI Requires New Governance - Traditional code assistants keep humans involved in accepting or rejecting each suggestion. - Agentic systems can perform multi-step actions autonomously across the software delivery lifecycle. - Governance must answer: - What can the agent access? - What is it authorized to do? - What actions did it take, and can those actions be proven later? - Major organizational concerns include: - Distinguishing AI-generated code from human-written code. - Linking generated code to the business requirement or intent behind it. - Maintaining documentation as AI-generated code scales. - The article cites research showing widespread concern about maintainability, technical debt, and governance challenges. ## Controlling Agents, MCPs, and Tools Permissioning becomes especially important when agents use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect to external tools and data. - A governance model should define: - Which agents and workflows are approved. - Where those agents may operate. - Which models they may use. - Recommended controls include: - **Central agent catalog:** Administrators publish and manage approved agents and flows. - **Composite identity:** Actions should be linked both to the agent and the human who initiated it. - **Tool approval guardrails:** Tools can run autonomously, require human approval, or be blocked. - **Prompt guardrails:** Systems should detect attempts to manipulate agents through untrusted webpages, files, or issue comments. - The objective is a role-based, auditable control plane for agents that is as consistent as existing human access management. ## Data Privacy and Self-Hosted AI Because source code is highly sensitive, organizations should establish clear data-handling policies before broad AI adoption. - Key questions include: - Whether the vendor trains models on company code. - Who owns prompts, inputs, and outputs. - Where subprocessors are located and how changes are communicated. - Self-hosted AI can keep agents and data within infrastructure controlled by the organization, which is particularly important for regulated industries. - Bring-your-own-model capabilities allow administrators to: - Use internally validated models. - Assign different models to specific agent workflows. - Reserve trusted models for sensitive operations while using managed models for lower-risk tasks. ## Defining Human Review Boundaries Governance should not eliminate autonomy; it should deliberately establish where autonomy ends. - **Interactive workflows:** Developers review and approve suggestions directly. - **Headless workflows:** Agents operate in CI/CD or other automated environments, requiring approval before sensitive actions or inspection afterward through audit trails. - Organizations should define approval requirements for: - Code review. - Testing and validation. - Deployment. - Enforcement mechanisms can include: - Merge request approval policies that apply equally to human- and agent-created changes. - Tool-level approval settings. - Scanner and pipeline controls that block changes failing security or quality checks. - An organization-wide AI governance policy is preferable to informal team-by-team practices because it promotes consistency and simplifies auditing. ## Practical Recommendation Treat agentic AI as a privileged software participant: give every agent a controlled identity, least-privilege permissions, approved model and tool access, strong privacy protections, and complete auditability. Keep human approval at security-sensitive decision points, while allowing lower-risk actions to proceed autonomously under enforced policies.

gitlab-duoci-cdmodel-context-protocoldevsecops+4

gitlabJul 16, 2026

GitLab 19.2 release notes | GitLab Docs (opens in new tab)

GitLab 19.2, released July 16, 2026, focuses heavily on AI-assisted development, workflow automation, and centralized security controls. Major additions include the generally available GitLab Duo CLI and custom flows, scheduled pipeline execution policies, and Agentic Chat integrations. Several security features remain in beta, including automated dependency remediation and vulnerability tracking on non-default branches. ## AI-Assisted Development - **GitLab Duo CLI is generally available** for Premium and Ultimate users across GitLab.com, Self-Managed, and Dedicated. - Provides interactive chat and headless CI/CD modes. - Understands GitLab projects, pipelines, and agent configurations. - Supports model selection, shared sessions, tool approvals, MCP connections, slash commands, skills, and `AGENTS.md`. - Can be installed through `glab` or as a standalone tool. - **Custom flows are generally available** across all tiers. - Define reusable, YAML-based workflows for complex multi-step tasks. - Support multi-agent orchestration and human approval checkpoints. - Trigger from mentions, assignments, pipelines, and merge request events. - Offer project or AI Catalog management, visibility controls, secure service-account execution, and YAML validation. - **Foundational flows can now start from Agentic Chat.** - Developer Flow can implement changes or open merge requests. - Code Review Flow can review merge requests. - Fix CI/CD Pipeline Flow can diagnose and repair failed pipelines. - Users approve the handoff and monitor progress in chat or under AI sessions. ## Centralized Pipeline Automation - **Scheduled pipeline execution policies are generally available for Ultimate.** - Define schedules centrally in a security policy project. - Apply them across projects without modifying each project’s `.gitlab-ci.yml`. - Run compliance scripts, security scans, and other jobs independently of commit activity. - Support daily, weekly, or monthly schedules, time zones, time windows, and branch targeting. - Each policy creates a separate pipeline. ## Dependency and Vulnerability Management - **Dependency scanning auto-remediation is in beta.** - Automatically opens merge requests for vulnerable dependency upgrades. - Defaults to patch and minor version updates. - Agentic Breaking Change Resolution can address failed pipelines caused by complex or major upgrades. - GitLab Duo analyzes errors, changelogs, and code usage, commits fixes to the same merge request, and reruns the pipeline. - The feature creates an end-to-end remediation loop, from vulnerability detection through upgrade and repair. - **Non-default branch vulnerability tracking is in beta.** - Supports long-lived branches such as `project-qa`, `project-prod`, `project-iOS`, and `project-android`. - Allows branch-specific filtering in vulnerability reports and dashboards. - Tracks all vulnerability types, including CVEs. - Preserves vulnerability metadata when branches merge into the default branch. - Allows up to twice as many tracked branches as projects in the namespace. ## Governance and Administration - **Selective GitLab Duo availability is available for GitLab Dedicated and Dedicated for Government.** - Administrators can lock selected subgroups and descendants into an “Always off” state. - Other subgroups can retain the option to enable Duo according to their permissions. - The model provides a per-subgroup allowlist rather than disabling AI for the entire instance. - Owners receive clear messaging when a parent group has disabled the features. ## Contributor Recognition - GitLab recognized **vivekshukl007** as the month’s Notable Contributor. - Their contribution added Scala language support to GitLab Orbit, improving code graph capabilities for Scala projects. GitLab 19.2 is especially valuable for teams adopting AI-driven development and centralized security automation. Organizations should evaluate Duo CLI and custom flows for productivity gains, while testing the dependency remediation and non-default branch features carefully because they remain in beta.

gitlab-duogitlabmodel-context-protocolvulnerability-management+4

gitlabJul 16, 2026

GitLab Duo Security Review spots logic flaws scanners miss (opens in new tab)

GitLab’s Duo Security Review uses AI-driven reasoning to identify authorization gaps, data exposure, business-logic errors, and race conditions that pattern-based scanners often miss. It reviews merge requests in context, validates findings to reduce false positives, and reports issues before they reach production. The feature complements—not replaces—automated scanners and human security review. ## Where Traditional Scanners Fall Short - Static scanners detect recognizable patterns such as unsanitized inputs, secrets, and unsafe deserialization. - Logic flaws depend on application-specific context, including: - Broken object- or function-level authorization - Sensitive data exposed through otherwise normal serialization - Incorrect workflow order, manipulated prices, checkout bypasses, and race conditions - Manual reviews, penetration tests, and bug bounties are difficult to scale or may happen too late. ## AI-Powered Review for Merge Requests - Security Review Flow analyzes the diff alongside original files, related code, and MR discussion. - It can detect missing authorization, information disclosure, mass assignment, business-logic flaws, and stateful workflow races. - An independent validation pass reviews findings to filter likely false positives. - GitLab’s application security team has used it on internal merge requests. ## Findings and Review Workflow - Findings appear as diff threads and an internal summary; public projects keep security details in the internal note. - Each finding includes: - Vulnerability type and CWE reference - Severity from critical to low - Tier: exploitable, logic flaw, or design issue - Explanation and suggested remediation - Critical and high findings request changes; medium and low findings generate comments. - The tool never approves an MR, leaving the final decision to a human. - Developers can discuss findings, apply suggested fixes, dismiss false positives, accept risks, and request another review after changes. ## Availability and Cost - The feature is in public beta for GitLab Ultimate customers on GitLab.com, Self-Managed, and Dedicated. - Access is available through a Duo Agent Platform trial or included GitLab Credits. - Pricing depends on diff complexity and model selection, so GitLab recommends testing it on a limited number of MRs first. Organizations should use Security Review Flow as an additional layer alongside scanners and expert review, applying it early in the merge-request process when security fixes are least expensive.

gitlab-duodevsecopsai-securitystatic-analysis+4

gitlabJun 18, 2026

AI Catalog updates for governance and operations (opens in new tab)

GitLab 19.1 expands the AI Catalog from a manually triggered tool into a governed automation platform. New event-driven Duo Flow triggers, configuration validation, agent restrictions, and model allowlists help enterprises run AI workflows continuously while maintaining security and operational control. The release is designed to make agentic automation safer and more reliable at production scale. ## Event-Driven Duo Flow Automation - Four new triggers let flows respond automatically to GitLab events: - Merge request code conflicts - Draft merge requests becoming ready for review - Merge request approvals - New work item creation - These triggers enable automated conflict summaries, compliance checks, deployment readiness checks, notifications, triage, labeling, and routing. - Pipeline triggers can now filter for specific states: failure, success, or cancellation. - Conflict-detected and draft-to-ready triggers are enabled by default. - A beta pattern-based approval tier lets developers approve repeated tool uses for an entire session instead of approving each invocation individually. ## Governance for Agents and Flows - Instance administrators and top-level group owners gain controls over which AI content users can run. - **Disable custom agents and flows** prevents users from creating or enabling custom-built content. - **Restrict the AI Catalog to your group hierarchy** blocks AI Catalog items from outside the organization’s namespace, including community and third-party contributions. - These controls help prevent unapproved agents and workflows from entering regulated or production environments. ## Pre-Save Flow Configuration Validation - GitLab now validates AI Catalog flow configurations against the Duo Workflow Service before saving them. - Errors such as missing inputs or invalid tool parameters appear directly in the UI. - This moves troubleshooting to configuration time, reducing the risk of broken or overly active flows running in production. ## Approved AI Model Controls - A public beta lets administrators define an allowlist of approved AI models. - Organizations can also set an organization-wide default model. - Teams retain flexibility within approved boundaries while meeting provider, compliance, or data-residency requirements. - The first version applies to GitLab Duo Agentic Chat, with broader coverage planned. Overall, GitLab 19.1 recommends treating AI workflows like production automation: trigger them from real events, validate them before deployment, and govern both the agents and models they use. Enterprises adopting the AI Catalog should configure the new restrictions and model policies before enabling widespread automated flows.

gitlab-duoai-agentgitlabci-cd+3

gitlabJun 18, 2026

GitLab 19.1 release notes | GitLab Docs (opens in new tab)

GitLab 19.1, released June 18, 2026, focuses heavily on AI governance, security scanning, and compliance automation. The release adds AI-assisted false-positive detection for secrets, centralized controls for GitLab Duo, stronger approval guardrails for agents, and broader secret detection in feature branches. It also streamlines code review and compliance setup through automatic Code Owner assignment and framework templates. ## Security and Secret Detection - **GitLab Duo secret false-positive detection** is generally available for Ultimate users. - Automatically analyzes critical and high-severity secret detection findings after scans. - Provides reasoning and confidence scores directly in vulnerability reports. - Supports manual analysis from individual vulnerability pages. - Helps security teams prioritize real threats and reduce alert fatigue. - **Improved feature branch secret detection** scans every commit from the branch’s divergence point from the default branch through the latest commit. - Previously, new branches or existing branches could leave secrets in earlier commits undetected. - The broader scan helps identify leaked credentials before they reach shared branches or production. ## GitLab Duo Administration and AI Governance - **Always-on availability mode** lets instance and top-level group administrators require GitLab Duo to remain enabled. - Project, subgroup, and group owners cannot disable Duo when this policy is active. - This complements the existing “always off” setting and supports centralized governance. - **Tool approval guardrails for Duo agents** introduce three policy modes for individual tools: - **Allow:** execute without user interaction. - **Ask:** require inline human approval. - **Deny:** block the tool entirely. - Approval decisions generate audit events. - The beta applies to Agentic Chat, IDE integrations, and flows. - **Custom and external AI feature controls** allow administrators and top-level group Owners to: - Prevent users from creating or enabling custom agents and flows. - Block agents and flows owned outside the organization’s group hierarchy. - **Custom flow YAML validation** checks configurations when flows are saved or updated. - Errors such as missing inputs or invalid tool parameters are reported before runtime. - This avoids discovering configuration problems only after a CI job begins. - **Pattern-based tool approval for Agentic Chat** is also introduced in the Agentic Core updates, extending administrative control over how agent tools can be used. ## Code Review and Compliance - **Automatic Code Owner reviewer assignment** removes the need to manually select reviewers for merge requests. - GitLab assigns all Code Owners matching the changed files. - Assignment occurs when a merge request is created as ready or when a draft becomes ready. - Existing reviewer selections are preserved. - **Compliance framework templates** are available in beta for Ultimate users. - Teams can create frameworks from predefined requirements and controls. - Templates can be previewed and customized before being applied. - Nineteen templates are available, including ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2, FedRAMP, NIST, CIS, and TISAX. ## Contributor Recognition - GitLab recognizes **Pishel65** as the month’s Notable Contributor. - The Level 3 contributor had 19 merged merge requests and nine additional open merge requests since joining in October 2025. GitLab 19.1 is particularly valuable for organizations adopting AI at scale: enable centralized Duo policies, require approval for sensitive agent actions, validate flows before execution, and use the expanded security and compliance features to reduce operational risk.

gitlab-duoai-agentgitlabci-cd+4

gitlabMay 28, 2026

Claude Opus 4.8 on GitLab: Complex agentic work, less disruption (opens in new tab)

Claude Opus 4.8 is now available in GitLab Duo Agent Platform for complex, multi-step coding and agentic workflows. The model is designed to follow instructions more precisely over extended autonomous runs, reducing the need for human correction and intervention. It also supports mid-conversation system-prompt updates without invalidating the prompt cache, making it better suited to changing contexts. ## Improved Long-Horizon Agentic Execution - Handles complex workflows involving multiple tools and extended sequences. - Provides more comprehensive planning and reasoning. - Produces more accurate end states with fewer interruptions or redirects. - Interprets instructions more precisely than previous models. - Supports professional tasks beyond coding, including: - Document drafting - Data analysis - Structured knowledge work ## Mid-Conversation System Prompts - System instructions can change during an active session. - Prompt-cache validity is preserved when context changes. - This is useful when: - Files change on disk - Token budgets shift - User context is updated - Asynchronous information arrives ## Availability and Pricing - Available through model selection in Agentic Chat and across GitLab Duo agent workflows. - Runs on GitLab Credits. - GitLab Premium and Ultimate subscribers can use included credits. - New users can access it through a GitLab Duo Agent Platform trial or the GitLab Free tier. Teams seeking more reliable autonomous coding and documentation workflows can use Opus 4.8 in GitLab Duo to reduce manual oversight while agents complete longer, more complex tasks.

gitlab-duoagentic-aiapidata-analysis+3

gitlabMay 21, 2026

GitLab 19.0 | GitLab Docs (opens in new tab)

GitLab 19.0, released May 21, 2026, expands AI-assisted development, work-item customization, secrets management, and dependency security. Major changes include group-level Duo review instructions, configurable work-item types, open beta access to GitLab Secrets Manager, and generally available SBOM-based dependency scanning. GitLab also introduces usage-based billing for Duo Core and adds new agent, search, model, and workflow capabilities. ## Customization and Project Management ### Group-level custom review instructions for GitLab Duo - Premium and Ultimate feature for GitLab.com, Self-Managed, and Dedicated. - Groups and subgroups can share review guidance through: ```text .gitlab/duo/mr-review-instructions.yaml ``` - A project in the group serves as the template. - Group instructions are combined with project-specific instructions. - Supported by both Code Review Flow and GitLab Duo Code Review. ### Configurable work item types - Projects can define custom types such as User Story, Bug, or Maintenance instead of using only Issues and Tasks. - Each type has its own name and icon. - Types support custom fields, status lifecycles, saved views, and issue boards. - Configuration at the top-level group or organization cascades to projects. - Administrators can enable or disable types globally or allow project-level control. - Disabling a type does not affect existing work items. ## Security and Dependency Management ### GitLab Secrets Manager enters open beta - Available to Premium and Ultimate customers on GitLab.com and GitLab Self-Managed. - Project and group Owners can store and reference CI/CD secrets in GitLab. - Secrets are scoped to projects or groups and available only to jobs that explicitly request them. - The feature remains subject to beta support policies and may not be production-ready. ### SBOM-based dependency scanning becomes generally available - Available for Ultimate customers across GitLab offerings. - Maven, Gradle, and Python projects receive visibility into transitive dependencies and their vulnerabilities. - Automatic dependency resolution runs when no lockfile or dependency graph is available. - If resolution is unavailable, manifest scanning examines direct dependencies in files such as: - `pom.xml` - `requirements.txt` - `build.gradle` - `build.gradle.kts` - Manifest scanning is enabled by default, while full transitive coverage requires dependency resolution, a lockfile, or a manually supplied dependency graph. ## GitLab Duo and Agentic Development ### Duo Developer enhancements - GitLab Duo Developer can be triggered by: - Assigning it to an issue - Selecting **Generate MR** - Mentioning it with `@mention` in an issue or merge request discussion - It can turn feedback, to-do items, and design questions into code changes, follow-up merge requests, or research summaries. - With `AGENTS.md` and `agent-config.yml`, it can run tests and checks before committing. - Administrators can enable mention and assignment triggers for eligible projects. ### Duo Core adopts usage-based billing - Code Suggestions in the Web IDE and desktop IDEs now consume GitLab Credits. - Duo Chat becomes agentic for Duo Core users and runs on the GitLab Duo Agent Platform. - Administrators must enable the Agent Platform for the instance or top-level group to use Chat in GitLab or desktop IDEs. ### New agent and search capabilities - Exact code search supports repository filtering with the `repo:` syntax: ```text def authenticate repo:my-group/my-project ``` - Flows and external agents can trigger when a draft merge request is marked ready for review. - The merge request ready trigger is controlled by the `merge_request_ready_flow_trigger` feature flag and is disabled by default. - Claude Opus 4.7 is available in the Duo Agent Platform for complex, multistep tasks involving code review, CI/CD, and vulnerability resolution. - GitLab Duo Agent Platform Self-Hosted adds compatibility with Gemini models and supports multiple flows, including Code Review Flow and SAST vulnerability workflows. GitLab 19.0 is particularly significant for teams adopting AI agents and centralized development governance. Organizations should review Duo’s new billing model, test Secrets Manager carefully during its beta period, and enable dependency resolution to obtain comprehensive vulnerability coverage.

gitlab-duogitlabci-cdpython+4

gitlabFeb 26, 2026

GitLab Duo Agent Platform with Claude accelerates development (opens in new tab)

GitLab Duo Agent Platform integrates external AI models such as Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s Codex directly into GitLab workflows. Instead of operating as isolated coding assistants, these agents use project context and organizational standards to handle multi-step development tasks. The result is faster delivery, more consistent quality, and less manual work across the software development lifecycle. ## From an Idea to a Working Application - An agent can use an issue’s title and detailed requirements as the foundation for a complete application. - It analyzes project context and related assets, then generates: - Backend Java classes - Frontend HTML, CSS, and JavaScript - Business logic and UI components - Build configuration - The agent creates a merge request containing the implementation for developers to test and refine through natural-language interaction. ## Automated Code Review - Developers can mention the external agent in a merge request to request a review. - The review can cover: - Code strengths and critical issues - Medium- and low-priority improvements - Security risks - Testing gaps and code metrics - Recommendations and an approval status - This provides consistent review coverage while allowing senior developers to focus on architecture and complex decisions. ## Pipeline and Container Image Creation - When a project lacks CI/CD configuration, the agent can generate the required pipeline. - It creates a Dockerfile with a suitable base image for the project’s Java version. - The pipeline can: - Build the application - Build a Docker image - Push the image to GitLab’s container registry - The resulting workflow runs automatically through build, image creation, and deployment stages. ## Broader Impact on Development - External agents remain within GitLab, reducing context switching between development tools. - They can follow project-specific coding standards and understand broader repository context. - Teams can automate work from initial requirements through implementation, review, and deployment. - Developers spend less time on repetitive tasks while maintaining stronger consistency and quality. GitLab presents Duo Agent Platform as a way to turn external AI models into integrated development collaborators. Teams can use it to accelerate coding, automate reviews, and create deployment pipelines while keeping humans focused on validation, architecture, and innovation.

gitlab-duoci-cdcode-reviewai-ml+4

gitlabJan 15, 2026

Introducing GitLab Credits (opens in new tab)

GitLab is transitioning from seat-based pricing to a usage-based model with the introduction of GitLab Credits, a virtual currency designed for the GitLab Duo Agent Platform. This shift addresses the limitations of traditional licensing, which often creates "AI haves and have-nots" by making access too expensive for light or occasional users. By pooling resources across an entire organization, GitLab aims to provide equitable access to agentic AI for every developer while ensuring costs align with actual consumption. ## The Shift from Seat-Based to Usage-Based AI * Traditional seat-based models are poorly suited for agentic AI, which can be triggered by background SDLC events rather than just direct user interaction. * The credit model allows every member of a Premium or Ultimate organization to use AI capabilities without requiring an individual "AI seat." * Usage-based pricing automatically offsets the costs of power users against lighter users, lowering the total cost of ownership for the organization. ## Mechanics of GitLab Credits * Credits function as a pooled resource consumed by both synchronous interactions (like Agentic Chat in the IDE) and asynchronous background tasks. * Supported capabilities include foundational agents (Security, Planner, Data Analyst) and specific workflows such as Code Review and CI/CD pipeline fixing. * The system integrates with external models like Anthropic Claude Code and OpenAI Codex, as well as custom agents published in the GitLab AI Catalog. * Each credit has an on-demand list price of $1, with volume discounts available for enterprise customers who sign up for annual commitments. ## Governance and Usage Controls * Administrators can monitor consumption through two dedicated dashboards: a financial oversight portal for billing managers and an operational monitoring view for administrators. * Granular controls allow organizations to enable or disable Duo Agent Platform access for specific teams or projects to prevent unexpected credit depletion. * Proactive email alerts are triggered when consumption reaches 50%, 80%, and 100% of committed monthly credits. * A sizing calculator is available to help organizations estimate their monthly credit requirements based on patterns observed during the platform's beta period. ## Transitioning and Promotional Access * Existing GitLab Duo Pro and Duo Enterprise customers can roll over their current seat investments into GitLab Credits with volume-based discounts. * As part of a limited-time promotion, GitLab is providing $12 in monthly credits per user for Premium subscribers and $24 per user for Ultimate subscribers. * Self-managed and GitLab Dedicated customers will gain access to these credit-based features starting with the 18.8 and 18.9 releases. For organizations looking to scale AI across the software development lifecycle, the credit-based model offers a more flexible and cost-effective path than rigid seat licenses. Current Premium and Ultimate subscribers should leverage their monthly promotional credits to baseline their usage before committing to larger annual credit bundles.

gitlab-duomachine-learningagentic-aigitlab-credits+4

gitlabJan 14, 2026

Understanding agents: Foundational, custom, and external (opens in new tab)

The GitLab Duo Agent Platform provides a tiered framework for integrating AI into the software development lifecycle through foundational, custom, and external agents. By combining built-in expertise with the ability to define bespoke behaviors or connect to specialized external models, the platform enables teams to automate complex tasks ranging from product planning to runtime debugging. This structured approach ensures that AI assistance is deeply integrated into GitLab’s ecosystem while remaining flexible enough to meet specific organizational standards. ## Foundational Agents These are pre-configured, GitLab-maintained agents available immediately in the IDE or Web UI for general and specialized SDLC tasks. * **GitLab Duo:** The primary general-purpose partner for code modification, merge request management, and issue triaging within the full platform context. * **Planner Agent:** Specifically designed to assist with product management by breaking down epics into structured issues and generating acceptance criteria. * **Security Analyst Agent:** Focuses on triaging vulnerabilities, identifying false positives from scans, and prioritizing risks based on actual impact. * **Data Analyst Agent:** Leverages GitLab Query Language (GLQL) to visualize platform data, such as merge request trends, team workloads, and issue resolution times. ## Custom Agents Organizations can create specialized agents tailored to internal workflows by defining unique system prompts and visibility settings. * **Configuration and Control:** Custom agents are defined by a system prompt that dictates their persona and expertise—such as a DevOps agent that correlates static code data with CI/CD logs. * **Visibility Tiers:** Agents can be set to "Private" for use within a specific project or "Public" to be listed in the AI Catalog for broader organizational discovery. * **Operational Use Cases:** Common implementations include onboarding assistants for company-specific practices, compliance monitors for regulatory requirements, and localized support agents for non-English languages. * **Deployment Best Practices:** It is recommended to start with read-only permissions and highly specific constraints before granting agents write access to the repository or platform. ## External Agents External agents operate asynchronously and are triggered by mentions or assignments within issues and merge requests, rather than through interactive chat. * **Asynchronous Automation:** These agents, such as Anthropic Claude or OpenAI Codex, execute tasks in the background when triggered by commands like `@ai-codex`. * **Managed Credentials:** GitLab handles API key management and rotation for these integrations, simplifying the security overhead for teams using third-party models. * **Specialized Performance:** External agents allow teams to leverage provider-specific strengths, such as Claude’s code analysis or Codex’s task delegation, while maintaining compliance with specific data residency requirements. * **Integrated Review:** A typical workflow involves assigning an external agent as a reviewer on a merge request, where it automatically analyzes code quality and posts improvement suggestions directly as comments. To maximize the value of the platform, teams should begin by leveraging foundational agents for immediate productivity gains before developing custom agents that encode specific organizational knowledge. External agents should be reserved for specialized automation tasks or when specific third-party large language models (LLMs) are required for compliance or advanced code generation.

gitlab-duodatabase-designci-cdai-ml+4

gitlabJan 14, 2026

How to customize GitLab Duo Agent Platform (opens in new tab)

The GitLab Duo Agent Platform provides a multi-layered framework for customizing AI behavior to align with specific team workflows and coding standards. By leveraging configuration files at the user, workspace, and project levels, teams can ensure that AI-driven assistance remains context-aware and adheres to internal development policies. This extensibility allows organizations to move from generic AI interactions to highly specialized automation that respects unique architectural patterns and security requirements. ### Levels of Customization GitLab offers a hierarchical approach to tailoring agent behavior, ensuring the right balance between global consistency and project-specific flexibility: * **User-level:** Personal preferences and rules applied across all projects, typically stored in the user’s home directory (e.g., `~/.gitlab/duo/`). * **Workspace-level:** Project-specific configurations located in the repository root that override user-level settings for that specific codebase. * **Project-level:** The creation of entirely custom agents and workflows managed within a specific project to handle complex, specialized tasks. ### Custom Rule Configuration Custom rules provide a mechanism to enforce specific coding styles and instructional sets without repeating prompts in every interaction. * **File implementation:** Rules are defined in `chat-rules.md` files located either in the user's home directory for global application or within the `.gitlab/duo/` directory for project-specific application. * **Functional scope:** They are best used for granular instructions such as forcing the use of the Vue 3 Composition API, requiring JSDoc comments for public functions, or mandating single quotes for strings. * **Governance:** Teams are encouraged to use GitLab Code Owners to manage who can approve changes to these rules, ensuring that AI behavior remains aligned with official team standards. ### Architectural Control with AGENTS.md The platform supports `AGENTS.md`, an industry-standard configuration file used to define broader agent personality, tone, and deep repository context. * **Versatility:** Unlike basic rules, `AGENTS.md` is consumed by both foundational and custom flows and can be understood by external agents like Claude Code. * **Contextual Depth:** These files can be placed in subdirectories to provide specific instructions for different parts of a monorepo, helping the agent understand complex folder structures and internal dependencies. * **Key Parameters:** It typically controls high-level preferences such as security protocols (e.g., "never suggest hardcoding secrets"), documentation requirements, and preferred tool usage. ### Technical Requirements and Deployment Implementing these customizations requires specific environment versions to ensure compatibility across the GitLab ecosystem. * **GitLab Version:** Requires GitLab 18.8 or later. * **IDE Support:** For VS Code users, the GitLab Workflow extension must be version 6.60 or later. * **Update Cycle:** Changes to `AGENTS.md` or custom rules generally require starting a new chat session or triggering a new flow to take effect. To achieve the best results, teams should adopt a "standardize-then-specialize" approach: establish global security and documentation rules at the user level, while using workspace-level `AGENTS.md` files to define the unique architectural patterns and tech stacks of individual projects.

gitlab-duodatabase-designtypescriptai-ml+4