Gitlab Mr Workflow

GitLab MR lifecycle: branch, commit, open, CI, merge.

Skill metadata


Source	Bundled (installed by default)
Path	`skills/gitlab/gitlab-mr-workflow`
Version	`1.1.0`
Author	Alice Agent
License	MIT
Platforms	linux, macos, windows
Tags	`GitLab`, `Merge-Requests`, `CI/CD`, `Git`, `Automation`, `Merge`
Related skills	`gitlab-auth`, `gitlab-code-review`

Reference: full SKILL.md

info

The following is the complete skill definition that Alice loads when this skill is triggered. This is what the agent sees as instructions when the skill is active.

GitLab Merge Request Workflow

Complete guide for managing the MR lifecycle. Each section shows the glab way first, then the git + curl fallback for machines without glab.

Prerequisites

Authenticated with GitLab (see gitlab-auth skill)
Inside a git repository with a GitLab remote

Quick Auth Detection

# Determine which method to use throughout this workflow
if command -v glab &>/dev/null && glab auth status &>/dev/null; then
  AUTH="glab"
else
  AUTH="git"
  # Ensure we have a token for API calls
  if [ -z "$GITLAB_TOKEN" ]; then
    if _alice_env="${ALICE_HOME:-$HOME/.alice}/.env"; [ -f "$_alice_env" ] && grep -q "^GITLAB_TOKEN=" "$_alice_env"; then
      GITLAB_TOKEN=$(grep "^GITLAB_TOKEN=" "$_alice_env" | head -1 | cut -d= -f2 | tr -d '\n\r')
    elif grep -q "github.com" ~/.git-credentials 2>/dev/null; then
      GITLAB_TOKEN=$(grep "${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab\.com}" ~/.git-credentials 2>/dev/null | head -1 | sed 's|https://[^:]*:\([^@]*\)@.*|\1|')
    fi
  fi
fi
echo "Using: $AUTH"

Extracting Owner/Repo from the Git Remote

Many curl commands need owner/repo. Extract it from the git remote:

# Works for both HTTPS and SSH remote URLs
REMOTE_URL=$(git remote get-url origin)
OWNER_REPO=$(echo "$REMOTE_URL" | sed -E 's|.*${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab\.com}[:/]||; s|\.git$||')
OWNER=$(echo "$OWNER_REPO" | cut -d/ -f1)
REPO=$(echo "$OWNER_REPO" | cut -d/ -f2)
echo "Owner: $OWNER, Repo: $REPO"

1. Branch Creation

This part is pure git — identical either way:

# Make sure you're up to date
git fetch origin
git checkout main && git pull origin main

# Create and switch to a new branch
git checkout -b feat/add-user-authentication

Branch naming conventions:

feat/description — new features
fix/description — bug fixes
refactor/description — code restructuring
docs/description — documentation
ci/description — CI/CD changes

2. Making Commits

Use the agent's file tools (write_file, patch) to make changes, then commit:

# Stage specific files
git add src/auth.py src/models/user.py tests/test_auth.py

# Commit with a conventional commit message
git commit -m "feat: add JWT-based user authentication

- Add login/register endpoints
- Add User model with password hashing
- Add auth middleware for protected routes
- Add unit tests for auth flow"

Commit message format (Conventional Commits):

type(scope): short description

Longer explanation if needed. Wrap at 72 characters.

Types: feat, fix, refactor, docs, test, ci, chore, perf

3. Pushing and Creating an MR

Push the Branch (same either way)

git push -u origin HEAD

Create the MR

With glab:

glab mr create \
  --title "feat: add JWT-based user authentication" \
  --body "## Summary
- Adds login and register API endpoints
- JWT token generation and validation

## Test Plan
- [ ] Unit tests pass

Closes #42"

Options: --draft, --reviewer user1,user2, --label "enhancement", --base develop

With git + curl:

BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.v3+json" \
  https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/merge_requests \
  -d "{
    \"title\": \"feat: add JWT-based user authentication\",
    \"body\": \"## Summary\nAdds login and register API endpoints.\n\nCloses #42\",
    \"head\": \"$BRANCH\",
    \"base\": \"main\"
  }"

The response JSON includes the MR number — save it for later commands.

To create as a draft, add "draft": true to the JSON body.

4. Monitoring CI Status

Check CI Status

With glab:

# One-shot check
glab mr ci

# Watch until all checks finish (polls every 10s)
glab mr ci --watch

With git + curl:

# Get the latest commit SHA on the current branch
SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)

# Query the combined status
curl -s \
  -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/repository/commits/$SHA/status \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
print(f\"Overall: {data['state']}\")
for s in data.get('statuses', []):
    print(f\"  {s['context']}: {s['state']} - {s.get('description', '')}\")"

# Also check GitLab CI check runs (separate endpoint)
curl -s \
  -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/repository/commits/$SHA/check-runs \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
for cr in data.get('check_runs', []):
    print(f\"  {cr['name']}: {cr['status']} / {cr['conclusion'] or 'pending'}\")"

Poll Until Complete (git + curl)

# Simple polling loop — check every 30 seconds, up to 10 minutes
SHA=$(git rev-parse HEAD)
for i in $(seq 1 20); do
  STATUS=$(curl -s \
    -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
    https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/repository/commits/$SHA/status \
    | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['state'])")
  echo "Check $i: $STATUS"
  if [ "$STATUS" = "success" ] || [ "$STATUS" = "failure" ] || [ "$STATUS" = "error" ]; then
    break
  fi
  sleep 30
done

5. Auto-Fixing CI Failures

When CI fails, diagnose and fix. This loop works with either auth method.

Step 1: Get Failure Details

With glab:

# List recent workflow runs on this branch
glab ci list --branch $(git branch --show-current) --limit 5

# View failed logs
glab ci view <RUN_ID> --log-failed

With git + curl:

BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)

# List workflow runs on this branch
curl -s \
  -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs?branch=$BRANCH&per_page=5" \
  | python3 -c "
import sys, json
runs = json.load(sys.stdin)['workflow_runs']
for r in runs:
    print(f\"Run {r['id']}: {r['name']} - {r['conclusion'] or r['status']}\")"

# Get failed job logs (download as zip, extract, read)
RUN_ID=<run_id>
curl -s -L \
  -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/actions/runs/$RUN_ID/logs \
  -o /tmp/ci-logs.zip
cd /tmp && unzip -o ci-logs.zip -d ci-logs && cat ci-logs/*.txt

Step 2: Fix and Push

After identifying the issue, use file tools (patch, write_file) to fix it:

git add <fixed_files>
git commit -m "fix: resolve CI failure in <check_name>"
git push

Step 3: Verify

Re-check CI status using the commands from Section 4 above.

Auto-Fix Loop Pattern

When asked to auto-fix CI, follow this loop:

Check CI status → identify failures
Read failure logs → understand the error
Use read_file + patch/write_file → fix the code
git add . && git commit -m "fix: ..." && git push
Wait for CI → re-check status
Repeat if still failing (up to 3 attempts, then ask the user)

6. Merging

With glab:

# Squash merge + delete branch (cleanest for feature branches)
glab mr merge --squash --delete-branch

# Enable auto-merge (merges when all checks pass)
glab mr merge --auto --squash --delete-branch

With git + curl:

MR_NUMBER=<number>

# Merge the MR via API (squash)
curl -s -X PUT \
  -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/merge_requests/$MR_NUMBER/merge \
  -d "{
    \"merge_method\": \"squash\",
    \"commit_title\": \"feat: add user authentication (#$MR_NUMBER)\"
  }"

# Delete the remote branch after merge
BRANCH=$(git branch --show-current)
git push origin --delete $BRANCH

# Switch back to main locally
git checkout main && git pull origin main
git branch -d $BRANCH

Merge methods: "merge" (merge commit), "squash", "rebase"

Enable Auto-Merge (curl)

# Auto-merge requires the repo to have it enabled in settings.
# This uses the GraphQL API since REST doesn't support auto-merge.
PR_NODE_ID=$(curl -s \
  -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/merge_requests/$MR_NUMBER \
  | python3 -c "import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin)['node_id'])")

curl -s -X POST \
  -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/graphql \
  -d "{\"query\": \"mutation { enablePullRequestAutoMerge(input: {pullRequestId: \\\"$PR_NODE_ID\\\", mergeMethod: SQUASH}) { clientMutationId } }\"}"

7. Complete Workflow Example

# 1. Start from clean main
git checkout main && git pull origin main

# 2. Branch
git checkout -b fix/login-redirect-bug

# 3. (Agent makes code changes with file tools)

# 4. Commit
git add src/auth/login.py tests/test_login.py
git commit -m "fix: correct redirect URL after login

Preserves the ?next= parameter instead of always redirecting to /dashboard."

# 5. Push
git push -u origin HEAD

# 6. Create MR (picks glab or curl based on what's available)
# ... (see Section 3)

# 7. Monitor CI (see Section 4)

# 8. Merge when green (see Section 6)

Useful MR Commands Reference

Action	glab	git + curl
List my PRs	`glab mr list --author @me`	`curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" "https://\${GITLAB_HOST:-gitlab.com}/api/v4/projects/$OWNER/$REPO/merge_requests?state=open"`
View MR diff	`glab mr diff`	`git diff main...HEAD` (local) or `curl -H "Accept: application/vnd.github.diff" ...`
Add comment	`glab mr comment N --body "..."`	`curl -X POST .../issues/N/comments -d '{"body":"..."}'`
Request review	`glab mr edit N --add-reviewer user`	`curl -X POST .../merge_requests/N/requested_reviewers -d '{"reviewers":["user"]}'`
Close MR	`glab mr close N`	`curl -X PATCH .../merge_requests/N -d '{"state":"closed"}'`
Check out someone's MR	`glab mr checkout N`	`git fetch origin merge-requests/N/head:mr-N && git checkout mr-N`

Skill metadata​

Reference: full SKILL.md​

GitLab Merge Request Workflow

Prerequisites​

Quick Auth Detection​

Extracting Owner/Repo from the Git Remote​

1. Branch Creation​

2. Making Commits​

3. Pushing and Creating an MR​

Push the Branch (same either way)​

Create the MR​

4. Monitoring CI Status​

Check CI Status​

Poll Until Complete (git + curl)​

5. Auto-Fixing CI Failures​

Step 1: Get Failure Details​

Step 2: Fix and Push​

Step 3: Verify​

Auto-Fix Loop Pattern​

6. Merging​

Enable Auto-Merge (curl)​

7. Complete Workflow Example​

Useful MR Commands Reference​

Skill metadata

Reference: full SKILL.md

Prerequisites

Quick Auth Detection

Extracting Owner/Repo from the Git Remote

1. Branch Creation

2. Making Commits

3. Pushing and Creating an MR

Push the Branch (same either way)

Create the MR

4. Monitoring CI Status

Check CI Status

Poll Until Complete (git + curl)

5. Auto-Fixing CI Failures

Step 1: Get Failure Details

Step 2: Fix and Push

Step 3: Verify

Auto-Fix Loop Pattern

6. Merging

Enable Auto-Merge (curl)

7. Complete Workflow Example

Useful MR Commands Reference