gitlab

name	gitlab
description	Create GitLab projects, push local code, manage CI/CD variables, and configure project settings — for both GitLab.com and self-hosted instances. Use this skill whenever the user wants to create a GitLab project, push code to GitLab, add CI/CD variables, set up branch protection, generate pipeline configs, or manage any GitLab project settings.
user-invokable	true
args	[{"name":"action","description":"The action to perform (create-project, push, add-variable, list-projects)","required":true},{"name":"target","description":"Project namespace/name or other target identifier","required":false}]

GitLab Skill

Create projects, push code, manage CI/CD variables, and configure pipelines on GitLab.com or self-hosted instances.

Authentication

Requires a GitLab PAT with api and write_repository scopes.

Store in secret-vault:

• gitlab.token — the PAT
• gitlab.host — instance URL (default: https://gitlab.com). Set this for self-hosted.

Or use env vars: GITLAB_TOKEN, GITLAB_HOST.

For setup instructions (GitLab.com and self-hosted), see references/pat-setup.md.

Operations

Create a project

python3 scripts/gitlab.py create-project --name <n> [--private] [--description "..."]

Push a local directory

python3 scripts/gitlab.py push --project <namespace/project> --dir <path> [--branch main]

Add a CI/CD variable

python3 scripts/gitlab.py add-variable --project <namespace/project> --key VAR_NAME --value "..."
    [--masked] [--protected]

List projects

python3 scripts/gitlab.py list-projects [--limit 20]

Pipeline Templates

Read schemas/pipeline-templates.yaml for .gitlab-ci.yml starters:

• Python: lint, test, Docker build, push to GitLab Container Registry
• Node: lint, test, Docker build
• Terraform: fmt, validate, plan, apply with manual gate
• Docker: build, push to registry

Project Defaults

Read schemas/project-defaults.yaml for default project settings.

Scripts

• scripts/gitlab.py — Main CLI. Run python3 scripts/gitlab.py --help

How This Differs from Native glab CLI

See references/vs-glab-cli.md for a full comparison.

Gotchas

• Self-hosted: if the instance uses a self-signed cert, set REQUESTS_CA_BUNDLE or --no-verify
• api scope is very broad — consider read_api + write_repository for narrower access
• CI variable masking requires the value to be at least 8 chars and match a regex
• Rate limit varies by instance — self-hosted admins may set it lower than gitlab.com

GitLab API Notes

GitLab uses PRIVATE-TOKEN header (not Authorization: Bearer). The script handles this transparently. Self-hosted instances just need gitlab.host set — all API calls route there automatically.