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Backport GitLab Agentic Duo Chat improvements to GitLab 18.2

Summary

GitLab 18.2 was released yesterday with GitLab Agentic Duo Chat functionality, but several critical improvements and bug fixes were merged after the code cutoff. The quality difference between 18.2 and the current master branch is significant, impacting user experience with Agentic Chat.

This issue proposes backporting key improvements to GitLab 18.2 to enhance the Agentic Chat experience for users.

Proposed Merge Requests for Backport

The following merge requests contain important fixes and improvements that should be considered for backporting:

1. !197963 (merged) - Fixed double message bug DRI @tbulva

  • Type: Bug fix
  • Impact: Resolves duplicate messages appearing in Agentic Chat
  • Status: Merged to master on 2025-07-17
  • Link: !197963 (merged)

2. !197761 (merged) - Do not respond to NewCheckpoint message DRI @igor.drozdov

  • Type: Performance improvement
  • Impact: Significantly reduces response time between chunks (from 100+ms to <10ms locally)
  • Status: Merged to master on 2025-07-17
  • Link: !197761 (merged)

3. !197609 (merged) - Send workflow metadata for Agentic Chat DRI @jannik_lehmann

  • Type: Feature enhancement
  • Impact: Improves logging and tracking capabilities by propagating user metadata to Duo Workflow Service
  • Status: Merged to master on 2025-07-15
  • Link: !197609 (merged)

4. !197632 (merged) - Allow users to resume/continue previous chat sessions DRI @jannik_lehmann

  • Type: Bug fix / UX improvement
  • Impact: Enables conversation continuity instead of forcing new chat creation after cancellation
  • Status: Merged to master on 2025-07-15
  • Link: !197632 (merged)

Justification

According to our patch release documentation, these changes qualify for backporting because they:

  1. Fix critical bugs (double message issue, session continuity)
  2. Provide significant performance improvements (response time optimization)
  3. Enhance user experience without introducing breaking changes
  4. Are low-risk with focused, well-tested changes

Impact Assessment

  • User Experience: Significant improvement in Agentic Chat responsiveness and reliability
  • Performance: Measurable reduction in response latency
  • Risk: Low - all changes are focused on Agentic Chat functionality with comprehensive test coverage
  • Compatibility: No breaking changes or API modifications

Next Steps

  1. Review each MR for backport eligibility according to patch release criteria
  2. Create backport MRs targeting the 18-2-stable branch
  3. Coordinate with release team for inclusion in next 18.2 patch release
Edited by Jannik Lehmann