GitLab Setup

Connect SiftPulse to your GitLab namespace to get automated AI merge request reviews on every MR — the same review quality as GitHub, now for GitLab Cloud and self-hosted instances.

What you'll get: SiftPulse posts a structured code review note within 60 seconds of every MR opened or updated. Re-reviews on push edit the note in place — no comment spam.

Connect Method

Choose the method that fits your setup:

Option A — OAuth (recommended for gitlab.com) Option B — Personal Access Token (self-hosted or restricted)

Option A — OAuth App (gitlab.com)

Go to gitlab.com → Edit profile → Applications (or your Group → Settings → Applications for a group-scoped app).

Fill in:

Name: SiftPulse
Redirect URI:

https://siftpulse.polsia.app/integrations/gitlab/callback

Confidential: Yes (check the box)

Select the required scopes

Scope	Why SiftPulse needs it
api	Post and edit MR notes; fetch diff; manage webhooks
read_user	Read user email for dashboard login
read_repository	Read repository contents and diffs

Copy your Application ID and Secret

After saving, GitLab displays an Application ID and Secret. Copy both.

Set environment variables

Environment variable	Value
GITLAB_CLIENT_ID	Application ID from the OAuth app
GITLAB_CLIENT_SECRET	Secret from the OAuth app
GITLAB_WEBHOOK_SECRET	Any long random string — used to verify webhook payloads
GITLAB_ENABLED	`true` — feature flag that activates the integration

Connect your namespace

Click below to start the OAuth flow:

Connect GitLab namespace →

Option B — Personal Access Token (self-hosted / PAT fallback)

Create a Personal Access Token

In GitLab: Edit profile → Access Tokens → Add new token.

Required scopes:

api — post and edit MR notes, register webhooks
read_user — fetch your email for the dashboard
read_repository — read MR diffs

Token names start with glpat-.

Connect via PAT form

Enter your PAT (and optionally your self-hosted GitLab URL) at the link below:

Connect via Personal Access Token →

Step — Register Webhooks on your Projects

SiftPulse watches for Merge Request Hook events. Add a webhook to each GitLab project you want reviewed:

Open project settings

Navigate to Project → Settings → Webhooks → Add new webhook

Configure the webhook

URL:

https://siftpulse.polsia.app/webhooks/gitlab

Secret token: value of GITLAB_WEBHOOK_SECRET
Trigger: check Merge request events
SSL verification: Enabled

How it works

When an MR is opened or reopened, SiftPulse fetches the diff via the GitLab API and runs the same AI review agent used for GitHub and Bitbucket.
The review is posted as an MR note within ~60 seconds.
When the MR is updated (new commits pushed), SiftPulse edits the existing note in place — no duplicate comments.
Review events appear in your SiftPulse dashboard with provider: gitlab in the activity feed.

Troubleshooting

OAuth flow returns an error — check that GITLAB_CLIENT_ID, GITLAB_CLIENT_SECRET, and GITLAB_ENABLED=true are set. Ensure the redirect URI exactly matches https://siftpulse.polsia.app/integrations/gitlab/callback.

No review note appears — verify the webhook is registered on the project with the correct URL and triggers. Check that GITLAB_WEBHOOK_SECRET matches the token you entered in GitLab. Review Render logs for [gitlab] prefixed lines.

PAT auth fails — confirm the token has api scope and hasn't expired. GitLab PATs show their expiry in Edit profile → Access Tokens.

Self-hosted GitLab — use the PAT method and enter your instance URL (e.g. https://gitlab.example.com). Make sure your instance is reachable from SiftPulse's Render deployment (public HTTPS endpoint required).