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GitLab Headless CLI Agents - Feedback Issue

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Overview

GitLab now supports headless CLI agent integrations that run on the GitLab Duo Agent Platform within CI runners. These agents enable teams to delegate development work to AI assistants by @mentioning them directly in issues and merge requests. This issue serves as a central place to collect feedback as we evolve this feature and expand support.

Current State (October 2, 2025)

The GitLab Duo Agent Platform currently supports the following CLI agents running headless in GitLab's infrastructure through bring-your-own-key (BYOK) configurations:

  • Claude Code (Anthropic) - AI coding agent running headless on GitLab Duo platform
  • OpenAI Codex CLI - Terminal-based agent adapted for headless execution
  • OpenCode (SST/Open Source) - Provider-agnostic agent running in CI environment
  • Google Gemini CLI - Open-source agent with free tier access
  • Amazon Q Developer - AWS-integrated assistant running on GitLab infrastructure

Important: While these tools are called "CLI agents" because they originate as command-line tools, within GitLab they run headless on the GitLab Duo Agent Platform as part of your CI/CD pipelines. You don't interact with them through a terminal - instead, you @mention them in GitLab's web interface, and they execute automatically in GitLab's CI runners.

When you @mention an agent in an issue or merge request, it automatically reads the surrounding context and repository code, then responds with either ready-to-review code changes or inline comments. All interactions remain within GitLab's interface while maintaining proper permissions and audit trails.

Documentation

For setup instructions and detailed information:

Future Direction

GitLab is building toward a comprehensive AI orchestration platform that combines:

  • Multiple AI agents working together through GitLab Flows
  • Deep integration with GitLab's Knowledge Graph for enhanced context
  • Native GitLab agents for proprietary code that cannot leave your infrastructure
  • Seamless interoperability between different AI providers

The goal is to enable teams to choose the right AI assistant for each task while maintaining a consistent interface through GitLab's development workflow, all running within GitLab's secure infrastructure.

We Want Your Feedback

As we continue to develop and expand headless CLI agent support on the GitLab Duo Agent Platform, we're actively monitoring this issue for feedback on:

  • Setup and configuration experiences
  • Agent performance and reliability in CI runner environments
  • Use cases that work well or need improvement
  • Feature requests and integration needs

Please share your experiences, suggestions, or concerns in the comments below. Your feedback directly influences our roadmap for CLI agent integrations.

Edited by 🤖 GitLab Bot 🤖