orbit

# Orbit skill Query GitLab Orbit (previously GitLab Knowledge Graph) through the flat `glab orbit` command tree. It needs glab v1.117.0 or later. Hosted commands handle authentication, response framing, and exit codes. Local commands use the managed binary and the local DuckDB graph. ## Prerequisites If a `glab orbit` command fails with "command not found", an auth error, or a feature-flag exit code, work through the [first-run setup](references/troubleshooting.md#first-run-setup). ## Fix inaccurate guidance If guidance is wrong or outdated (command, flag, or behavior), tell the user. With their confirmation, open a focused MR against `metadata.source-project` fixing `metadata.source-path` (one fix per MR, Conventional Commits). If they decline, note the discrepancy in one line and continue with the corrected command. ## Discovery `glab orbit help` and `glab orbit <command> --help` are the authoritative usage references. Run `glab orbit skills` to list available skills. Run `glab orbit skills get orbit` to print the composed skill (`SKILL.md` by default), or append a path such as `references/local/sql.md` to print a file. For entity properties, prefer the recipes in [`references/recipes.md`](references/recipes.md) over schema introspection. They already encode the columns and filters known to work. If you must introspect, call `glab orbit ontology <Entity...>` with explicit entity names. The unscoped form returns about 17 KB of output. Call it at most once per session, because the ontology does not change mid-session. In JSON mode, `glab orbit dsl` prints the DSL JSON Schema. In GQL mode, run `CALL db.schema()` instead. The ontology command returns an object with a `nodes` array and does not accept `--jq`, so pipe into `jq`. Per-node `outgoing_edges` and `incoming_edges` are arrays of edge type names, not objects: ```shell glab orbit ontology Project | jq '.nodes[] | select(.name == "Project") | .properties' ``` The default-off Rails `orbit_gql_queries` flag selects one mode per user: JSON objects when off, GQL strings when on. Follow only the active mode's discovery; a mismatched query rejects without parser fallback. GQL mode hides and rejects `get_query_dsl`; use `CALL db.schema()` instead. The JSON recipes below apply only when the flag is off. The named-query catalog at `GET /api/v4/orbit/query/templates` is rendered in that mode. Do not reuse discovery results across users or mode changes. Entries contain only `name`, `description`, and `raw_query`; there is no client language selector. See [catalog troubleshooting](references/troubleshooting.md#named-query-catalog). Each `glab orbit query` has fixed per-call overhead. Prefer one `aggregation` query over N traversal queries for "how many X grouped by Y", and batch related lookups. When editing Orbit docs or skills, fence executable query JSON as `json orbit-query` so docs smoke tests run it. ## Running a query Write the request body to a file and pass it to `glab orbit query --file`. Default output is `llm` (compact, agent-friendly). Pass `--response-format raw` to pipe into `jq`. Endpoints are user-scoped, so do not pass `-R owner/repo`. Many filters need a numeric project ID. For the repository you are in, let `glab` resolve it from the Git remote. ```shell PROJECT_ID=$(glab api projects/:fullpath | jq -r '.id') ``` Put the request body in `/tmp/q.json`. ```json orbit-query { "query": { "query_type": "traversal", "nodes": [ {"id": "p", "entity": "Project", "filters": {"id": {"eq": 278964}}}, {"id": "mr", "entity": "MergeRequest", "columns": ["iid", "title", "state"]} ], "relationships": [ {"type": "IN_PROJECT", "from": "mr", "to": "p"} ], "order_by": "-mr.created_at", "limit": 5 } } ``` ```shell glab orbit query --file /tmp/q.json ``` `filters` is an object keyed by property name, not an array. Every query declares its node selectors in the `nodes` array. Filter operators, multi-hop `hops`, and `path_finding` limits are in [`references/query_language.md`](references/query_language.md). Paste-ready shapes for each `query_type` are in [`references/recipes.md`](references/recipes.md). ## Common pitfalls Read the recipes before you construct a query. The same question often has one canonical shape and several wrong shapes that look correct. Four traps recur: - Pipelines for a merge request need the `source = "merge_request_event"` filter. See [the recipe](references/recipes.md#pipelines-that-ran-for-one-merge-request). - Prefer a single-node query when you can bound the target entity directly. Extra anchor nodes can change the row shape and skew `aggregation` counts. - File history needs `HAS_DIFF`, not `HAS_LATEST_DIFF`. See [the recipe](references/recipes.md#mrs-that-touched-a-file-historical-coverage). - Issues, epics, tasks, and incidents are the `WorkItem` entity. There is no `Issue` node. See [the recipe](references/recipes.md#work-items-in-a-project). ## Iteration budget Resolve a user question in at most 5 query attempts, validation errors included. Changing only `limit` or `columns` is not progress. Full rules: [`references/troubleshooting.md`](references/troubleshooting.md#iteration-budget-rules). ## Reporting results Orbit answers come from graph queries, not an authoritative source. Show the query body and its coverage gaps with every result. Full guidance: [`references/reporting.md`](references/reporting.md). ## Repository map helpers For code-structure orientation before you plan a change, use `glab orbit repo-map` on a local checkout. For a project already indexed in Orbit Remote, use the bundled remote helper script. The script path is relative to this skill root, not the user's repository. See the repository-map rows in [References](#references). <!-- orbit:include local:quick-start --> ## Managed CLI `glab orbit` downloads, verifies, and runs the Orbit binary from the `orbit-cli` package (macOS, Linux, and Windows). The command selects the backend. `index`, `grep`, `context`, `sql`, `schema`, `list`, `mcp`, and `repo-map` use the local graph. `query`, `status`, `ontology`, `dsl`, `tools`, and `graph-status` use Orbit Remote. glab handles `--install`, `--update`, and `--yes` itself and forwards everything else to the binary. `--install` and `--update` are mutually exclusive. `--yes` skips the confirmation prompts, so pass it in scripts and agent runs. `glab orbit --help` shows the wrapper help. `glab orbit help` and `glab orbit <command> --help` show the binary's. ```shell glab orbit --install --yes # install without running glab orbit --update # install the latest compatible version ``` Skip the confirmation prompts for good with `glab config set orbit_cli_auto_run true` and `glab config set orbit_cli_auto_download true`. Point glab at your own build with `glab config set orbit_cli_binary_path /path/to/orbit` or the `GLAB_ORBIT_CLI_BINARY_PATH` env var. That skips download, version checks, and updates. glab records `orbit_cli_binary_version`, `orbit_cli_binary_checksum`, and `orbit_cli_last_update_check` itself. Do not set them by hand. ## References | Topic | Location | |---|---| | First-run setup, exit codes, service health, iteration budget | [`references/troubleshooting.md`](references/troubleshooting.md) | | Empty results and query validation errors | [`references/recipes.md`](references/recipes.md#troubleshooting) | | Full DSL reference | [`references/query_language.md`](references/query_language.md) | | Paste-ready bodies per `query_type` | [`references/recipes.md`](references/recipes.md) | | Reporting results and coverage caveats | [`references/reporting.md`](references/reporting.md) | | Local repository map command (`glab orbit repo-map`) | [`references/local_repo_map.md`](references/local_repo_map.md) | | Remote repository map helper | [`references/remote_repo_map.md`](references/remote_repo_map.md) | | Maintaining this skill (contributing, doc sync) | [`references/maintaining.md`](references/maintaining.md) |