GitLab Self Managed

Connecting your self-managed GitLab instance gives Unblocked access to your private repositories and merge requests — the same integration as GitLab.com, configured for your own server. Merge requests and their discussions from your GitLab instance appear as cited sources in answers.

​

Data sync

Merge requests are synchronized in real time, so they are always up to date. Code Review always works with the current state of your merge request. Unblocked indexes source code from your repository’s default branch at least once every 8 hours. Answers and search — including through Unblocked MCP — use this index, so changes on other branches appear after they merge to the default branch.

​

Connect your organization and repositories

​

Sign into Unblocked

Whether you sign in with GitLab credentials, another code repository, or your SSO provider, you first need to authenticate to Unblocked. To authenticate with your GitLab self-managed server, you must first click View enterprise options.

​

Authorize the Unblocked app

Before proceeding to your GitLab self-managed server, you need to first provide Unblocked with the hostname where you are hosting it. Once you provide your hostname, you’ll be prompted to sign in to your GitLab self-managed instance. Once you’re authenticated to GitLab, you’ll be given instructions on how to configure your GitLab application for Unblocked access. This access will allow Unblocked to read the GitLab groups you are a part of as well as check for repositories in those groups, but it won’t begin indexing those repositories yet. When you click Create a GitLab application in step two, you’ll be taken to the applications page of your GitLab self-managed instance’s settings. There you will want to click Add new application to begin the configuration process and follow the instructions on the last page you had opened in Unblocked. When you save these settings, your GitLab self-managed instance will present you with the Application ID and Secret that you can paste back into Unblocked. Once you click Create Application and Continue, you can sign back into your GitLab self-managed instance to continue configuring your integration. Although you’ve configured an application, you still need to grant Unblocked authorization to make use of that application. This will not begin the process of indexing any of your code, but just allow Unblocked to connect to your groups.

​

Connect your repositories

Once you’ve given access to your GitLab account, Unblocked still needs to know which account’s or group’s repositories you want it to answer questions about. After authorizing Unblocked to access GitLab, you’ll be redirected back to Unblocked, where you’ll be prompted to select the group or account you want to use with Unblocked. While you can install Unblocked on any GitLab account or group, Unblocked works best with your work organization and repositories.

​

Generating a model for answering questions

Unblocked is able to answer questions for the repositories that it has ingested into its model. After giving Unblocked initial access to your account or group, you’ll choose which repositories it should ingest. You can also select whether all new repositories should be automatically ingested into your team’s Unblocked model. Once you select the repositories you want to ask questions about, click Save and Continue, and Unblocked will get to work. While it is certainly possible to use Unblocked without incorporating any further data sources, we strongly encourage you to include as many other systems in which you have documented or even discussed your applications. If your repositories have a lot of code, documentation, and discussions, then data ingestion may take longer to process. However, Unblocked will keep you updated as it builds an understanding of your codebase and documentation.

​

Start asking questions

Once Unblocked has fully processed the information associated with your GitLab repositories, you can start asking questions. Unblocked’s responses include information from your code as well as discussions you’ve had with your teammates about it.

​

Managing repositories

If you decide at a later time that you want to adjust the repositories that Unblocked can access, you can always add or remove connected sources. First, select Settings in the sidebar. Then select Data Sources, then GitLab Self-Managed. From here, you can select any repository that has not been previously a part of your team’s data index, or remove any that you no longer want to include. After making your selections, click Save Settings. Unblocked will reindex your code so you can get answers only on the code from your selected repositories.