GitLab Issues Integration

Manage GitLab issues using bash scripts. Create issues, create sub-issues, list issues, read comments, post updates, assign people, and create merge requests from issues.

How to Use

Call bash scripts directly. No MCP server required.

Scripts location: ~/.agents/skills/gitlab-issues/scripts/

IMPORTANT: Environment variables must be set. Check with:

echo $GITLAB_HOST_URL $GITLAB_TOKEN $GITLAB_PROJECT_ID

If empty, add them to your shell profile (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc):

export GITLAB_HOST_URL="https://gitlab.com"
export GITLAB_TOKEN="glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxx"
export GITLAB_PROJECT_ID="12345678"

Available Commands

Set SKILL_DIR=~/.agents/skills/gitlab-issues

Create Issue

# Create a simple issue (title only)
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-issue.sh '{"title": "Fix login bug"}'

# Create issue with description and labels
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-issue.sh '{"title": "Add dark mode", "description": "Implement dark mode toggle in settings", "labels": "feature,ui"}'

# Create issue with full details
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-issue.sh '{"title": "API rate limiting", "description": "Add rate limiting to public endpoints", "labels": "backend,security", "assignee_ids": [12], "milestone_id": 8, "due_date": "2025-03-01", "weight": 3}'

# Create a confidential issue
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-issue.sh '{"title": "Security vulnerability", "description": "Details...", "confidential": true}'

Returns created issue details including IID, URL, assignees, and labels.

Create Sub-Issue (Child Issue)

# Create a sub-issue linked to parent issue #45
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-sub-issue.sh 45 '{"title": "Implement login form validation"}'

# Create sub-issue with description and labels
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-sub-issue.sh 45 '{"title": "Add unit tests for auth", "description": "Cover edge cases", "labels": "testing"}'

# Create sub-issue with assignee
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-sub-issue.sh 45 '{"title": "Update API docs", "assignee_ids": [15], "labels": "docs"}'

Creates a new issue and links it as a child of the parent issue. On GitLab Premium 16.0+ uses native parent/child hierarchy; otherwise falls back to a "relates_to" link.

List Issues

# List open issues (default)
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-issues.sh

# List closed issues
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-issues.sh closed

# List all issues
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-issues.sh all

# List issues from a specific milestone
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-issues.sh opened "Sprint 23"

Get Issue Details

bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/get-issue-details.sh 45

Returns full issue details including description, assignees, labels, milestone.

Get Issue Comments

bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/get-issue-comments.sh 45

Post Comment on Issue

bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/post-issue-comment.sh 45 "Your comment here"

Update Issue

# Update description
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/update-issue.sh 45 --description "New description"

# Assign users (by user ID)
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/update-issue.sh 45 --assignee-ids "12,15"

# Set milestone (by milestone ID)
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/update-issue.sh 45 --milestone-id 8

# Add labels
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/update-issue.sh 45 --labels "bug,urgent"

# Close issue
bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/update-issue.sh 45 --state-event close

List Milestones

bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-milestones.sh

Use this to find milestone IDs for filtering or assigning.

List Project Members

bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-project-members.sh

Use this to find user IDs for assigning issues.

Create MR from Issue

bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-mr-from-issue.sh 45 feature/my-branch

Creates a merge request linked to the issue. Merging will auto-close the issue.

Workflows

1. List Issues from Milestone

When user asks "show issues in Sprint 23":

1. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-milestones.sh to find milestone
2. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-issues.sh opened "Sprint 23"
3. Present as table with IID, title, assignees, labels

2. Get Issue and Post Update

When user asks about a specific issue:

1. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/get-issue-details.sh <iid>
2. Display description and metadata
3. If user wants to comment: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/post-issue-comment.sh <iid> "comment"

3. Assign Issue to Team Member

When user asks to assign an issue:

1. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-project-members.sh to find user ID
2. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/update-issue.sh <iid> --assignee-ids "<user_id>"

4. Create Issue with Assignment

When user asks to create and assign an issue:

1. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-project-members.sh to find user ID
2. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/list-milestones.sh to find milestone ID (if needed)
3. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-issue.sh '{"title": "...", "assignee_ids": [<user_id>], "milestone_id": <milestone_id>}'

5. Break Down Issue into Sub-Issues

When user asks to split an issue into tasks:

1. Run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/get-issue-details.sh <parent_iid> to understand the parent
2. For each sub-task, run: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/create-sub-issue.sh <parent_iid> '{"title": "Sub-task title", "description": "..."}'
3. Verify with: bash $SKILL_DIR/scripts/get-issue-details.sh <parent_iid> to see linked issues

Output Format

Present issues as a table: