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GitLab 18 (Helm, self-managed): “Open in your IDE” links open about:blank instead of vscode:// / jetbrains://

Summary

The Open in your IDE options in the Clone / Code ▾ dropdown (Visual Studio Code SSH/HTTPS and IntelliJ IDEA SSH/HTTPS) open a blank tab at about:blank instead of launching the IDE in GitLab 18.0 (Helm-chart, self-managed).

This works as expected in GitLab 17.x on the same cluster, so it appears to be a regression introduced in 18.0.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Deploy GitLab 18.0.1-ee with the official Helm chart (gitlab/gitlab 9.0.1) on Kubernetes.
  2. Sign in and create any project (an empty repo with a README is sufficient).
  3. Go to Repository ▸ Files (project root).
  4. Click Code ▾ → Visual Studio Code (SSH) (or any other Open in your IDE item).

Example Project

Any new project on the affected instance; no special files required.

What is the current bug behavior?

  • Browser opens a new tab/window with URL about:blank.
  • No protocol handler (vscode:// or jetbrains://) is triggered.
  • Browser DevTools show no console errors.

What is the expected correct behavior?

Clicking the menu entry should navigate to a custom-protocol URL such as vscode://vscode.git/clone?url=git@gitlab.example.com:root/test.git

which launches the IDE and begins cloning—identical to GitLab 17.x behavior.

Relevant logs and/or screenshots

Gitlab 17 resolves correctly image__9_ Gitlab 18 resolves about:blank image__10_

No relevant messages in gitlab-webservice or gitlab-workhorse pods (kubectl logs).

Output of checks

gitlab:env:info

System information System: Proxy: GITLAB_PROD_GITLAB_PAGES_SERVICE_PORT_HTTP_GITLAB_PAGES_PROXY: 8090 Current User: git Using RVM: no Ruby Version: 3.2.5 Gem Version: 3.6.8 Bundler Version:2.6.8 Rake Version: 13.0.6 Redis Version: 7.0.15 Sidekiq Version:7.3.9 Go Version: unknown

GitLab information Version: 18.0.1-ee Revision: 3426be1b Directory: /srv/gitlab DB Adapter: PostgreSQL DB Version: 16.8 URL: https://gitlab.xxxxx.com HTTP Clone URL: https://gitlab.xxxxx.com/some-group/some-project.git SSH Clone URL: git@gitlab.xxxxx.com:some-group/some-project.git Elasticsearch: no Geo: no Using LDAP: no Using Omniauth: yes Omniauth Providers: google_oauth2

GitLab Shell Version: 14.42.0 Repository storages:

Gitaly

gitlab:check SANITIZE=true

All checks passed.

Impact

  • Breaks one-click onboarding for developers.
  • Forces manual git clone, increasing friction and support load.
  • Affects all users on self-managed 18.0 instances who rely on IDE integration.

Possible fixes

Additional notes