The company GitLab has released version 16.9 of its development platform of the same name. It expands the beta program for its AI assistant GitLab Duo Chat, offers new features in the user interface (UI) for CI/CD variables (Continuous Delivery/Continuous Integration) and brings a changed way of handling merge requests.
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AI support also for premium users
GitLab’s AI extensions are called Duo, and the beta program for GitLab Duo Chat started in November 2023. This is an agent that can create AI-powered answers around coding and platforming.
Initially, the beta program was only available to Ultimate users of self-managed GitLab instances. Now both Premium and Ultimate users can access it in self-managed or GitLab-hosted versions. Access for premium users is permitted while the feature is still in beta.
For example, GitLab Duo Chat can summarize issues, epics and code, answer specific questions about them and generate code and content. It can also help start a process, such as creating a .gitlab-ci.yml configuration file for a specific use case, and provide answers to common DevSecOps questions.
While the feature is in beta within the platform, it is also available in experimental status in the Web IDE (GitLab hosted editions only) and in the GitLab Workflow Extension for Visual Studio Code.
In the documentation There are numerous examples of the intended use of the AI feature as well as instructions for using it in GitLab, in GitLabs Web IDE and in VS Code.
UI update and more informative merge requests
For all users, version 16.9 presents an updated UI for CI/CD variables. Among other things, it provides a validation message when a variable value does not reach the minimum character count and displays helper text when creating variables. When entering a very long variable, the input field now changes size to eliminate the need for scrolling.
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GitLab 16.9: New features in the user interface for CI/CD variables
There are also innovations in the handling of merge requests. As the GitLab team describes, the final part of reviewing a merge request is communicating the result. In order to be able to better assess the comments – for example, whether they are purely informative or include a description of a required change – there are now three options to choose from: Comment, Approve and Request changes. Entering the latter does not prevent a merge request from being merged, but does provide additional information for other parties involved.
As usual, the GitLab blog provides information all highlights in the new release.
(May)