GitLab Duo Chat

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GitLab Duo Chat is an AI-native assistant that accelerates development with contextual, conversational AI. Chat:

  • Explains code and suggests improvements directly in your development environment.
  • Analyzes code, merge requests, issues, and other GitLab artifacts.
  • Generates code, tests, and documentation based on your requirements and codebase.
  • Integrates directly in the GitLab UI, Web IDE, VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, and Visual Studio.
  • Can include information from your repositories and projects to deliver targeted improvements.

Before you start using Chat, decide which of the following methods you want to use to manage Chat:

  • On GitLab.com or GitLab Self-Managed, the default GitLab AI vendor models and cloud-based AI gateway that is hosted by GitLab.

  • On GitLab Self-Managed, in GitLab 17.9 and later, GitLab Duo Self-Hosted with a supported self-hosted model. Self-hosted models maximize security and privacy by making sure nothing is sent to an external model.

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    You cannot use all Chat features with GitLab Duo Self-Hosted. For more information, see supported Chat features.

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Supported editor extensions

You can use GitLab Duo Chat in:

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If you have GitLab Self-Managed: GitLab Duo requires GitLab 17.2 and later for the best user experience and results. Earlier versions may continue to work, however the experience may be degraded.

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The context Chat is aware of

GitLab Duo Chat is sometimes aware of the context you’re working in. Other times, you must be more specific with your request.

Duo Chat always has access to:

  • GitLab documentation.
  • General programming and coding knowledge.

In addition, Chat is aware of different information, depending on where you use it.

In the GitLab UI

Area Available context GitLab Duo Pro GitLab Duo Enterprise Instructions
Code files File content {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes From the single file, ask about this code or this file.
Epics Epic details {{< icon name=”dash-circle” >}} No {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes From the epic, ask about this epic, this, or the URL. From any UI area, ask about the URL.
Issues Issue details {{< icon name=”dash-circle” >}} No {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes From the issue, ask about this issue, this, or the URL. From any UI area, ask about the URL.
Merge requests MR details {{< icon name=”dash-circle” >}} No {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes From the merge request, ask about this merge request, this, or the URL. For more information, see Ask about a specific merge request.
Commits Commit details {{< icon name=”dash-circle” >}} No {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes From the commit, ask about this commit or this. From any UI area, ask about the URL.
Pipeline jobs Job details {{< icon name=”dash-circle” >}} No {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes From the pipeline job, ask about this pipeline job or this. From any UI area, ask about the URL.

In IDEs

Area Available context GitLab Duo Pro GitLab Duo Enterprise Instructions
Selected lines in editor Selected code {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes With the lines selected, ask about this code or this file. Chat is not aware of the file; you must select the lines you want to ask about.
Epics Epic details {{< icon name=”dash-circle” >}} No {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes Ask about the URL.
Issues Issue details {{< icon name=”dash-circle” >}} No {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes Ask about the URL.
Files File content {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes {{< icon name=”check-circle-filled” >}} Yes Use the /include command to search for project files to add to Duo Chat’s context. After you’ve added the files, you can ask Duo Chat questions about the file contents. Available for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs. For more information, see Ask about specific files.

In addition, in the IDEs, when you use any of the slash commands, like /explain, /refactor, /fix, or /tests, Duo Chat has access to the code you selected.

Additional features

Repository X-Ray automatically enriches code generation requests for GitLab Duo Code Suggestions. If your project has access to Code Suggestions, then the /refactor, /fix, and /tests slash commands also have access to the latest Repository X-Ray report, and include that report as context for Duo.

The extensions for GitLab Duo scan for secrets and sensitive values matching known formats. The extensions redact this sensitive content locally before sending it to Duo Chat, or using it for code generation. This applies to files added via /include, and all generation commands.

Use GitLab Duo Chat in the GitLab UI

  1. In the upper-right corner, select GitLab Duo Chat. A drawer opens on the right side of your screen.

    The GitLab Duo Chat button is not visible in the following sections:

  2. Enter your question in the chat text box and press Enter or select Send. It may take a few seconds for the interactive AI chat to produce an answer.
  3. Optional. Ask a follow-up question.

To ask a new question unrelated to the previous conversation, you might receive better answers if you clear the context by typing /reset or /clear and selecting Send.

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Only the last 25 messages are retained in the chat history.

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Have multiple conversations with Chat

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  • Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated

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The availability of this feature is controlled by a feature flag. For more information, see the history.

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In GitLab 17.10 and later, you can have multiple simultaneous conversations with Chat.

  1. In the upper-right corner, select GitLab Duo Chat. A drawer opens on the right side of your screen.
  2. Enter your question in the chat text box and press Enter or select Send.
  3. To create a new conversation with Chat, you can either:
    • In the top-left corner of the Chat drawer, select New Chat.
    • In the text box, type /new and press Enter or select Send. A new Chat drawer appears, replacing the previous Chat drawer.

    There is no limit to the number of simultaneous conversations you can have with Chat.

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    When you use multiple conversations, the /new slash command replaces the /reset or /clear slash commands.

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  4. To view all of your conversations, in the top-left corner of the Chat drawer, select Chat History.

    Conversations created before the multiple conversations feature was enabled are not visible in the Chat history.

  5. To switch between conversations, in your Chat history, select the appropriate conversation.

    Every conversation persists an unlimited number of messages. However, only the last 25 messages are sent to the LLM to fit the content in the LLM’s context window.

Delete a conversation

To delete a conversation:

  1. In the top-left corner of the Chat drawer, select Chat History.
  2. In the Chat history, select Delete conversation.

By default, individual conversations expire and are automatically deleted after 30 days of inactivity. However, administrators can change this expiration period.

Use GitLab Duo Chat in the Web IDE

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  • Introduced in GitLab 16.6 as an experiment.
  • Changed to generally available in GitLab 16.11.

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To use GitLab Duo Chat in the Web IDE on GitLab:

  1. Open the Web IDE:
    1. In the GitLab UI, on the left sidebar, select Search or go to and find your project.
    2. Select a file. Then in the upper right, select Edit > Open in Web IDE.
  2. Then open Chat by using one of the following methods:
    • On the left sidebar, select GitLab Duo Chat.
    • In the file that you have open in the editor, select some code.
      1. Right-click and select GitLab Duo Chat.
      2. Select Explain selected code, Generate Tests, or Refactor.
    • Use the keyboard shortcut: ALT+d (on Windows and Linux) or Option+d (on Mac)
  3. In the message box, enter your question and press Enter or select Send.

If you have selected code in the editor, this selection is sent along with your question to the AI. This way you can ask questions about this code selection. For instance, Could you simplify this?.

Use GitLab Duo Chat in VS Code

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  • Introduced in GitLab 16.6 as an experiment.
  • Changed to generally available in GitLab 16.11.
  • Status added in the GitLab Workflow extension for VS Code 5.29.0.

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Prerequisites:

To use GitLab Duo Chat in GitLab Workflow extension for VS Code:

  1. In VS Code, open a file. The file does not need to be a file in a Git repository.
  2. On the left sidebar, select GitLab Duo Chat ({{< icon name=”duo-chat” >}}).
  3. In the message box, enter your question and press Enter or select Send.
  4. In the chat pane, on the top right corner, select Show Status to show information in the Command Palette.

Select code and use Duo Chat

You can interact with Duo Chat while you’re working with a subset of code.

  1. In VS Code, open a file. The file does not need to be a file in a Git repository.
  2. In the file, select some code.
  3. Right-click and select GitLab Duo Chat.
  4. Select an option, or Open Quick Chat and ask a question, like Can you simplify this code? and press Enter.

Close Duo Chat

To close Duo Chat:

  • For Duo Chat on the left sidebar, select GitLab Duo Chat ({{< icon name=”duo-chat” >}}).
  • For the quick chat window that’s embedded in your file, in the upper-right corner, select Collapse ({{< icon name=”chevron-lg-up” >}}).

In the editor window

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  • Introduced as generally available in the GitLab Workflow extension for VS Code 5.15.0.
  • Insert Snippet added in the GitLab Workflow extension for VS Code 5.25.0.

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To open GitLab Duo Chat in the editor window, use any of these methods:

  • From a keyboard shortcut, by pressing:
    • MacOS: Option + c
    • Windows and Linux: ALT + c
  • Right-clicking in the currently open file in your IDE, then selecting GitLab Duo Chat > Open Quick Chat. Optionally, select some code to provide additional context.
  • Opening the Command Palette, then selecting GitLab Duo Chat: Open Quick Chat.

After Quick Chat opens:

  1. In the message box, enter your question. The available commands are shown while you enter text:
    • Enter / to display all available commands.
    • Enter /re to display /refactor.
  2. To send your question, select Send, or press Command + Enter.
  3. Use the Copy Snippet and Insert Snippet links above code blocks in the responses to interact with them.
  4. To exit chat, either select the chat icon in the gutter, or press Escape while focused on the chat.

Use GitLab Duo Chat in Visual Studio for Windows

Prerequisites:

To use GitLab Duo Chat in the GitLab extension for Visual Studio:

  1. In Visual Studio, open a file. The file does not need to be a file in a Git repository.
  2. Open Chat by using one of the following methods:
    • In the top menu bar, click on Extensions and then select Open Duo Chat.
    • In the file that you have open in the editor, select some code.
      1. Right-click and select GitLab Duo Chat.
      2. Select Explain selected code or Generate Tests.
  3. In the message box, enter your question and press Enter or select Send.

If you have selected code in the editor, this selection is sent along with your question to the AI. This way you can ask questions about this code selection. For instance, Could you refactor this?.

Use GitLab Duo Chat in JetBrains IDEs

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  • Introduced as generally available in GitLab 16.11.

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Prerequisites:

To use GitLab Duo Chat in the GitLab plugin for JetBrains IDEs:

  1. In a JetBrains IDE, open a project.
  2. Open GitLab Duo Chat in either a chat window or an editor window.

In a chat window

To open GitLab Duo Chat in a chat window, use any of these methods:

  • On the right tool window bar, by selecting GitLab Duo Chat.
  • From a keyboard shortcut, by pressing:
    • MacOS: Option + d
    • Windows and Linux: ALT + d
  • In the file that you have open in the editor:
    1. Optional. Select some code.
    2. Right-click and select GitLab Duo Chat.
    3. Select Open Chat Window.
    4. Select Explain Code, Generate Tests, or Refactor Code.
  • Adding keyboard or mouse shortcuts for each action under Keymap in the Settings.

After GitLab Duo Chat opens:

  1. In the message box, enter your question. The available commands are shown while you enter text:
    • Enter / to display all available commands.
    • Enter /re to display /refactor and /reset.
  2. To send your question, press Enter or select Send.
  3. Use the buttons within code blocks in the responses to interact with them.

In GitLab Duo Quick Chat in the editor view

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To open GitLab Duo Chat Quick Chat in the editor window, use any of these methods:

  • From a keyboard shortcut, by pressing:
    • MacOS: Option + c
    • Windows and Linux: ALT + c
  • In the currently open file in your IDE, by selecting some code, then, in the floating toolbar, selecting GitLab Duo Quick Chat ({{< icon name=”tanuki-ai” >}}).
  • Right-clicking, then selecting GitLab Duo Chat > Open Quick Chat.

After Quick Chat opens:

  1. In the message box, enter your question. The available commands are shown while you enter text:
    • Enter / to display all available commands.
    • Enter /re to display /refactor and /reset.
  2. To send your question, press Enter.
  3. Use the buttons around code blocks in the responses to interact with them.
  4. To exit chat, either select Escape to close, or press Escape while focused on the chat.
View how to use GitLab Duo Quick Chat.

Watch a demo and get tips

View how to set up and use GitLab Duo Chat.

For tips and tricks about integrating GitLab Duo Chat into your AI-native DevSecOps workflows, read the blog post: 10 best practices for using AI-powered GitLab Duo Chat.

View examples of how to use GitLab Duo Chat.

Configure Chat conversation expiration

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You can configure how long conversations persist before they expire and are automatically deleted.

Prerequisites:

  • You must be an administrator.
  1. On the left sidebar, at the bottom, select Admin.
  2. Select GitLab Duo.
  3. In the lower-right corner, select Change configuration.

  4. In the GitLab Duo Chat conversation expiration section, select either of the following options:

    • Expire conversation based on time conversation was last updated.
    • Expire conversation based on time conversation was created.
  5. Select Save changes.

Give feedback

Your feedback is important to us as we continually enhance your GitLab Duo Chat experience. Leaving feedback helps us customize the Chat for your needs and improve its performance for everyone.

To give feedback about a specific response, use the feedback buttons in the response message. Or, you can add a comment in the feedback issue.