Managing Gitlab Issues Deep

Managing GitLab Issues (Deep)

Deep GitLab Issues analysis covering lifecycle metrics, board health, and contributor workload via the GitLab REST API.

Discovery Phase

#!/bin/bash
GITLAB_BASE="${GITLAB_URL:-https://gitlab.com}/api/v4"
PROJECT_ID="${1:?Project ID or URL-encoded path required}"

echo "=== Project Info ==="
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID" \
  | jq '{id, path_with_namespace, open_issues_count, default_branch}'

echo ""
echo "=== Open Issues (latest 25) ==="
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/issues?state=opened&per_page=25&order_by=updated_at" \
  | jq -r '.[] | "#\(.iid)\t\(.title[0:40])\t\(.author.username)\t\(.labels | join(","))\t\(.assignees | map(.username) | join(",") // "unassigned")"' \
  | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Labels ==="
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/labels?per_page=30" \
  | jq -r '.[] | "\(.name)\t\(.open_issues_count) open\t\(.closed_issues_count) closed"' | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Milestones ==="
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/milestones?state=active&per_page=10" \
  | jq -r '.[] | "\(.title[0:30])\topen=\(.open_issues_count // 0)\tclosed=\(.closed_issues_count // 0)\tdue=\(.due_date // "none")"' | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Issue Boards ==="
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/boards?per_page=5" \
  | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id)\t\(.name // "default")\tlists=\(.lists | length)"'

Analysis Phase

#!/bin/bash
GITLAB_BASE="${GITLAB_URL:-https://gitlab.com}/api/v4"
PROJECT_ID="${1:?Project ID required}"

echo "=== Issue Statistics ==="
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/issues_statistics" \
  | jq '.statistics.counts'

echo ""
echo "=== Unassigned Open Issues ==="
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/issues?state=opened&assignee_id=None&per_page=1" \
  -I | grep -i 'x-total:' | awk '{print "Unassigned open:", $2}'

echo ""
echo "=== Issues by Label ==="
for LABEL in bug feature documentation; do
  COUNT=$(curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
    "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/issues?state=opened&labels=$LABEL&per_page=1" \
    -I | grep -i 'x-total:' | awk '{print $2}')
  echo -e "$LABEL\t${COUNT:-0} open"
done | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Overdue Issues ==="
TODAY=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/issues?state=opened&due_date=overdue&per_page=10" \
  | jq -r '.[] | "#\(.iid)\t\(.title[0:40])\tdue=\(.due_date)\t\(.assignees | map(.username) | join(",") // "unassigned")"' | column -t

echo ""
echo "=== Recent Closed Issues (last 7 days) ==="
SINCE=$(date -v-7d -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ 2>/dev/null || date -u -d "-7 days" +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)
curl -s -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" \
  "$GITLAB_BASE/projects/$PROJECT_ID/issues?state=closed&updated_after=$SINCE&per_page=15" \
  | jq -r '.[] | "#\(.iid)\t\(.title[0:40])\tclosed=\(.closed_at[0:10])"' | column -t

Output Format

GITLAB ISSUES DEEP HEALTH: [project_path]
Open Issues:       [count]
Closed Issues:     [count]
Close Rate:        [pct]%
Unassigned Open:   [count]
Overdue:           [count]

ISSUES BY LABEL
Label              Open    Closed
bug                [n]     [n]
feature            [n]     [n]

MILESTONE PROGRESS
Milestone          Open  Closed  Due        Progress
[title]            [n]   [n]     [date]     [pct]%

BOARD HEALTH
Board              Lists  Issues
[name]             [n]    [n]

Anti-Hallucination Rules

1. NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
2. NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or --help output.
3. NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
4. ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
5. ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.

Counter-Rationalizations