gitlab-branch-manager

name	gitlab-branch-manager
description	Create and protect GitLab branches. Use when the user asks to create a branch, protect a branch, or set up branch protection rules on GitLab. Uses the glab GitLab CLI. The script takes three required positional args in order: repo, branch-name, ref (no --ref flag).
allowed-tools	Bash(*/gitlab-branch-manager/scripts/*.sh:*),Bash(*/tools/*/install.sh:*)

GitLab Branch Manager

Overview

Create GitLab branches and apply protection rules. Designed for release workflows but usable for any branch management scenario.

Prerequisites:

• glab command is available and authenticated
• Works with gitlab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, and GitLab Dedicated
• jq for JSON parsing

Dependency Installation: Before running any script, install required tools using the centralized installers:

../../../tools/glab/install.sh    # Install glab if not present
../../../tools/jq/install.sh      # Install jq if not present

The installers are idempotent and included in allowed-tools. Scripts assume CLIs are available after installation.

Core Concepts

• Protected Branch: A branch with restrictions on who can push, merge, force-push, and unprotect
• Access Levels: 0 = No access, 30 = Developer, 40 = Maintainer, 60 = Admin (self-managed only)

Default Protection Rules

Rule	Default	Effect
push_access_level	0 (No access)	Direct push blocked for everyone
merge_access_level	40 (Maintainer)	Only maintainers can merge MRs
allow_force_push	false	Force push blocked
code_owner_approval_required	false	No code owner approval required

All rules are configurable via flags. Defaults enforce a strict protection posture suitable for release branches, matching the pattern used in production repositories.

Note: unprotect_access_level is not set by default (uses GitLab server default). Use --unprotect-level or --rule unprotect_access_level=40 to set it explicitly.

Note: push_access_level=0 already blocks direct push and deletion for everyone.

Repo Input Format

The script accepts three input formats:

Format	Example	Resolution
Short name	my-project	Resolved via GitLab API search
Full path	my-org/my-group/my-project	Used as-is
URL	https://gitlab.com/my-org/my-group/my-project.git	Parsed to extract project path

Script Reference

create_and_protect_branch.sh

Creates a branch and applies protection rules in a single operation.

Usage:

./scripts/create_and_protect_branch.sh <repo> <branch-name> <ref> [OPTIONS]

IMPORTANT: All three positional arguments are required and must appear in this exact order. There is no --ref flag — the ref is always the third positional argument.

Positional arguments (required, in order):

Position	Argument	Description
1	<repo>	Repo name, full path, or URL
2	<branch-name>	Name for the new branch
3	<ref>	Source ref to branch from (tag, commit SHA, or branch name)

Options (all optional):

Option	Default	Description
--push-level N	0	Push access level
--merge-level N	40	Merge access level
--unprotect-level N	not set	Unprotect access level
--allow-force-push	false	Allow force push
--code-owner-approval	false	Require code owner approval
--gitlab-host HOST	gitlab.com	GitLab hostname
--rule KEY=VALUE	--	Override any protection rule by key
--dry-run	--	Show planned actions, no API calls
--human-readable	--	Human-readable output

Examples:

# Create and protect a release branch from a tag
./scripts/create_and_protect_branch.sh my-project release-1.5 v1.4.0

# Branch from main
./scripts/create_and_protect_branch.sh my-org/my-group/my-project release-1.5 main

# Custom protection levels
./scripts/create_and_protect_branch.sh my-project release-1.5 v1.4.0 --push-level 40 --merge-level 40

# Override any rule with --rule
./scripts/create_and_protect_branch.sh my-project release-1.5 v1.4.0 --rule merge_access_level=30

# Dry run - see what would happen
./scripts/create_and_protect_branch.sh my-project release-1.5 v1.4.0 --dry-run

# From a URL
./scripts/create_and_protect_branch.sh https://gitlab.com/my-org/my-group/my-project.git release-1.5 v1.4.0

Output (JSON, default):

{
  "repository": "my-org/my-group/my-project",
  "branch": "release-1.5",
  "ref": "main",
  "branch_created": true,
  "protection_applied": true,
  "protection_rules": {
    "push_access_level": 0,
    "merge_access_level": 40,
    "allow_force_push": false,
    "code_owner_approval_required": false
  }
}

Error Handling

Scenario	Behavior
Branch already exists	Exit 1 with error JSON
Protection matches requested rules	Exit 0, info logged to stderr
Protection differs from requested	Exit 1 with error JSON showing current vs requested rules
Source ref not found	Exit 1 with error JSON
Insufficient permissions	Exit 1 with error JSON
Short name matches multiple projects	Exit 1 with error JSON listing candidates

Dependencies

Required: glab, jq — installed automatically via tools/*/install.sh (see Dependency Installation above)