Colin Stevenson Demo Env Setup

🚀 GitLab Duo Agent Platform - Demo Environment Setup Checklist

Goal: Complete setup of your local demo environment for GitLab Duo Agent Platform following the Demo Enablement README.

Version: Setup for GitLab 18.5.0-pre
Target Completion Time: ~1 hour

---

📋 Prerequisites

• Verify macOS workstation
• Install Homebrew if not present (/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"). Follow the commands in the terminal to add Homebrew to your PATH.
• Verify Python ≥3.9 installed (python3 --version)
• Verify Git installed (git --version)
• Confirm GitLab.com account access
• Verify access to demo group gl-demo-ultimate-{handle} (Exchange {handle} for your GitLab handle) or request access

🖥️ Part 1: VSCodium Setup

• Install VSCodium via Homebrew (brew install --cask vscodium)
• Launch VSCodium and verify it opens successfully (in terminal codium .)

🔌 Part 2: GitLab Workflow Extension

• Install GitLab Workflow Extension (codium --install-extension gitlab.gitlab-workflow)
• Configure extension settings:
  • Enable all Duo features in settings
  • Add required JSON configuration
• Authenticate with GitLab.com:
  • Run GitLab: Authenticate command
  • Complete OAuth flow
  • Verify connection in status bar

📊 Part 3: GitLab Knowledge Graph Setup

• Install GitLab Knowledge Graph CLI (curl -fsSL https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/rust/knowledge-graph/-/raw/main/install.sh | bash). Follow terminal instructions to start using gkg.
• Verify installation (gkg --version)
• Start Knowledge Graph server (gkg server start)
• Access web interface at http://localhost:27495
• Test VSCodium integration (Cmd+Shift+P → GitLab: Show GitLab Knowledge Graph). Note: you might need to restart Codium if this is not immediately available.

🚀 Part 4: GitLab Environment Configuration

• Navigate to your demo group: https://gitlab.com/gl-demo-ultimate-{handle}
• Enable Duo features in group settings (Settings > GitLab Duo):
  • Turn on Web and IDE features
  • Turn on Feature preview
  • Turn on Flow execution
  • Turn on Prompt Cache
  • Turn on Model Context Protocol
• Assign yourself a Duo Enterprise seat

Note: You can access the configuration page through here: https://gitlab.com/groups/gl-demo-ultimate-{handle}/-/settings/gitlab_duo/configuration (Exchange {handle} for your GitLab handle)

🤖 Part 5: MCP (Model Context Protocol) Configuration

• Check/create MCP config file (~/.gitlab/duo/mcp.json)
• Verify Knowledge Graph server configuration in MCP file
• Confirm approvedTools: true is set

🔐 Part 6: SSH Key and Git Configuration

• Configure basic Git settings (name, email)
• Check existing SSH keys (ssh -T git@gitlab.com)
• Verify SSH key validity in GitLab Settings
• Generate new SSH key if needed
• Configure Git to prefer SSH over HTTPS
• Optional: Enable SSH commit signing

SSH Permission Denied? You haven't added the key to GitLab yet!

Follow these steps:

1. Generate SSH key:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"
# Enter file in which to save the key (~/.ssh/id_ed25519):

→ just click Enter to save in this dir

2. Start the SSH agent and add your key:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

3. Copy your public key to your clipboard (macOS):

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

4. Add it to GitLab:

• Go to https://gitlab.com/-/user_settings/ssh_keys
• Paste your key in the "Key" field (Cmd+V)
• Add a title like "My Mac"
• Click "Add key" 5. Now test again:

ssh -T git@gitlab.com

You should see "Welcome to GitLab, @{gitlab username}!"

🔧 Part 7: glab CLI Tool Setup

• Install glab CLI (brew install glab)
• Authenticate glab (glab auth login)
• Select SSH as default protocol
• Verify authentication (glab auth status)
• Test Duo integration (glab duo ask "test")

🧪 Part 8: Testing Your Setup

• VSCodium + GitLab Workflow:
  • Open a GitLab project
  • Verify GitLab connection in status bar
• GitLab Duo Agentic Chat:
  • Test MCP servers: List all MCP servers, test each one, report status and available tools.
  • Test project scanning: Use MCP tools to scan this entire project
• Code Suggestions:
  • Type a comment and verify Duo suggestions appear
• Knowledge Graph:
  • Access via Command Palette
• glab CLI:
  • Run glab project list
  • Run glab duo ask "how to create a merge request"

🐛 Part 9: Troubleshooting (if needed)

• Check VSCodium Output panel for errors
• Verify all authentication tokens are valid
• Review debug logs if issues persist

📚 Part 10: Best Practices Review

• Add sensitive files to .gitignore
• Set up environment variables for tokens
• Schedule token rotation reminders (90 days)

---

✅ Final Validation

• Successfully accessed Duo Chat with MCP servers connected
• Code suggestions working while typing
• GitLab Knowledge Graph web interface accessible
• glab duo commands executing successfully
• Duo Enterprise seat assignment confirmed

🎉 Setup Complete! You're ready to deliver impactful GitLab Duo Agent Platform demos.