# Glab

> GitLab CLI (glab) for working with GitLab from the command line. Read this skill before running any `glab` or GitLab API command — it applies to every GitLab operation, whether reading or writing (for example merge requests, issues, work items, discussions and threaded replies, comments, CI/CD pipelines, releases, packages, members, and project settings). Whenever a task touches GitLab in any way, consult this skill first so you use the correct, safe command on the first try. Prefer glab over raw API calls for all GitLab operations.

- Skill: `gitlabhq/glab-2` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add gitlabhq/glab-2`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/gitlabhq/glab-2/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: DevOps & Infra
- Author: gitlabhq (https://skillmd.com/u/gitlabhq)
- Updated: 2026-09-22
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/gitlabhq/glab-2

---


# GitLab CLI (glab)

`glab` is pre-configured and available in your environment. Use it for all
GitLab operations. Run `glab <command> --help` for detailed flag information.

## Quick reference

```shell
# Issues
glab issue view <iid>
glab issue list --label "bug,priority::1"
glab issue create --title "title" --description "$(cat /tmp/desc.md)"
glab issue note <iid> -m "comment text"

# Merge requests
glab mr create --push --title "fix: title" --description "$(cat /tmp/desc.md)"
glab mr view <iid>
glab mr list --assignee <user>
glab mr update <iid> --description "$(cat /tmp/desc.md)"
glab mr note create <iid> -m "comment text"

# CI/CD
glab ci status
glab ci status --output json
glab ci list
glab ci get --merge-request <iid> --with-job-details
glab ci get --pipeline-id <id> --output json
glab ci retry <job-id>
glab api projects/:id/jobs/<job-id>/trace

# Machine-readable output
glab mr list --output json | jq '.[].title'
```

**Templates:** Check `.gitlab/merge_request_templates/` and
`.gitlab/issue_templates/` for project-specific templates.

**References:** Always use full URLs in note/comment bodies (e.g.
`https://gitlab.com/org/project/-/issues/123`) instead of short references
(`#123`, `!456`). This applies to issues, merge requests, epics, and so on.
Short refs resolve against project context and render as literal text on
group-level items (epics, group work items); full URLs expand everywhere.

## Comments and discussions

Use the `mr note` subcommands (`create`, `resolve`, `reopen`); flags on the
root `glab mr note` command are deprecated.

### Short, inline bodies — pass `-m`

```shell
glab issue note        <iid> -m "comment text"
glab mr note create    <iid> -m "comment text"
glab incident note     <iid> -m "comment text"

# Cross-project
glab mr note create <iid> -m "..." --repo group/project
```

### Long or Markdown bodies — pipe to stdin (preferred for MR notes)

`glab mr note create` reads the body from stdin when its input is a pipe.
This avoids shell-quoting pitfalls (backticks, `$`, backslashes) and is the
safest pattern for non-interactive use.

```shell
# From a file
glab mr note create <iid> < /tmp/body.md

# Inline literal multi-line body — quoted heredoc, no shell expansion inside
glab mr note create <iid> << 'EOF'
Your **markdown** comment.
Code blocks and `inline code`, $variables, and \backslashes are all literal.
EOF
```

`glab issue note` and `glab incident note` do **not** read stdin. For long
bodies on those commands, use `glab api` with `-F body=@file` (see
[Content-type guidance](#content-type-guidance)) or inline a quoted heredoc
into `-m`:

```shell
glab issue note <iid> -m "$(cat << 'EOF'
Your **markdown** comment.
Code blocks and `inline code` are safe.
EOF
)"
```

For descriptions on `glab issue create` / `glab mr create` / `glab mr update`,
inline a quoted heredoc into `--description`, or for very large or reusable
bodies write to a file and use `--description "$(cat /tmp/desc.md)"`.

### Threaded replies on merge requests

`glab mr note create` supports `--reply <discussion-id>` for replying inside
an MR thread. The value can be the full discussion ID or a unique prefix of
at least 8 characters.

Diff comments accept a single line (`--line 42`), a range (`--line 10:15`),
a removed line (`--old-line 7`), or no line for a file-level comment.

```shell
glab mr note create  <iid> --reply <discussion-id> -m "I agree!"
glab mr note create  <iid> --file main.go --line 42 -m "Needs refactoring"
glab mr note create  <iid> --file main.go --line 10:15 -m "Extract this block"
glab mr note create  <iid> --file main.go --old-line 7 -m "Why was this removed?"
glab mr note create  <iid> --file main.go -m "General comment on this file"
glab mr note create  <iid> -m "LGTM" --unique    # idempotent: skip if same body exists
```

`glab mr note resolve` / `reopen` take the MR identifier followed by the
discussion identifier. The identifier can be a discussion ID (full 40-char
hex or 8+ char prefix) or a note ID (integer; the parent discussion is
looked up automatically):

```shell
glab mr note resolve <iid> <discussion-id>
glab mr note resolve <iid> <note-id>           # integer note ID also works
glab mr note reopen  <iid> <discussion-id>
```

### Threaded replies on issues, incidents, and work items

The CLI does not wrap threaded replies for these, so you fall back to
`glab api`. **For any non-trivial body, write it to a file and post the file**
rather than inlining rich Markdown — inlined backticks, `$`, newlines, and a
leading `@` all break (see [Content-type guidance](#content-type-guidance)):

```shell
# Discover the discussion ID
glab api projects/:id/issues/<iid>/discussions \
  | jq '.[] | {id, body: .notes[0].body}'

# Build the body in a file, then post it with -F body=@file
cat > /tmp/reply.md << 'EOF'
@user — here's the result, with `code`, a $variable, and an emoji ✅.
EOF
glab api projects/:id/issues/<iid>/discussions/<discussion-id>/notes \
  -F body=@/tmp/reply.md
```

For a short, plain reply you can still inline it with `-f body="reply text"`.

## API calls

`glab api` auto-prepends `/api/v4/`. Use relative paths:

```shell
glab api user                              # NOT /api/v4/user
glab api projects/:id/merge_requests
glab api projects/:id/issues | jq '.[0]'
```

### Placeholders

`glab api` expands exactly these tokens in a path, a field value, or inline JSON:

`:branch` `:fullpath` `:group` `:id` `:namespace` `:repo` `:user` `:username`

`:user` and `:username` work anywhere. The rest are read from the current
repository, so they need a git checkout with a GitLab remote. Outside one, or to
target a different project, supply the value instead:

```shell
glab api projects/:id/issues                    # inside a checkout
glab api projects/:id/issues -R group/project   # any project; placeholder still expands
glab api projects/group%2Fproject/issues        # literal path -- %2F is required
glab api projects/1234/issues                   # numeric project ID
```

Anything else beginning with a colon is **not** a placeholder. glab sends it to
the API verbatim, so the request fails at the server rather than in glab.

### Content-type guidance

When using `-f` for PUT/POST, pass simple `key=value` pairs. Array bracket
syntax like `ids[]=1` is not supported:

```shell
# -f / --raw-field — literal string value
glab api projects/:id/merge_requests/42 -X PUT -f "assignee_id=1"
glab api projects/:id/issues/42/notes -f body="comment text"

# -F / --field — reads @file as a string. The leading @ means "read this
# file", so only pass a real path here. A literal body that starts with @
# (e.g. "@user thanks") must NOT go through -F — it would be read as a
# filename. Use -f for literal inline text, or write the body to a file and
# point -F at the file (recommended for rich/markdown bodies).
glab api projects/:id/issues/42/notes -F body=@/tmp/comment.md

# --input — raw request body from a file (or '-' for stdin). Does NOT set
# Content-Type. Without the header, JSON endpoints return HTTP 415.
glab api projects/:id/issues/42/notes \
  --input /tmp/body.json \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json"

# --form — multipart/form-data. Required for endpoints that take a real file
# upload, such as project or group uploads and wiki attachments. -F does not
# do this: it reads the file into a text field, and the endpoint rejects the
# request with HTTP 400.
#
# IMPORTANT: --form is mutually exclusive with -f, -F, and --input. Every
# field in a multipart request must use --form
glab api projects/:id/uploads --method POST --form "file=@screenshot.png"

# Wiki attachment — both fields must use --form
glab api projects/:fullpath/wikis/attachments --method POST \
  --form "file=@screenshot.png" --form "branch=main"
```

### Arrays and nested objects

`-F` / `--field` parses a value that starts with `[` or `{` as JSON, so arrays
and nested objects go inline without a file. Placeholders are expanded inside
the JSON. Invalid JSON returns an error rather than being sent as a string.

```shell
# Array of strings
glab api -X PUT projects/:id -F 'topics=["my-topic","GitLab"]'

# Nested object, with a placeholder expanded inside it
glab api projects/:id/merge_requests/42/discussions -X POST \
  -F body="looks good" \
  -F 'position={"position_type":"text","new_path":"main.go","new_line":42}'

# Empty array clears a field
glab api -X PUT projects/:id -F 'topics=[]'
```

`-f` / `--raw-field` never parses JSON: a bracketed value like
`-f 'scopes=[api,read_api]'` is sent as the literal string. Use `-F` with real
JSON for arrays. On GET and DELETE requests, and whenever `--input` is used,
`-F` arrays are serialized as repeated `key[]=` query parameters.

## Common mistakes

- **`-m` is required on `note` commands** — without it, `glab issue note` and
  `glab incident note` open `$EDITOR` (which hangs in non-interactive
  environments). `glab mr note create` falls back to reading stdin on a pipe,
  but still opens `$EDITOR` on a TTY.
- **Use `glab mr note create`, not `glab mr note -m`** — the `--message`,
  `--unique`, `--resolve`, and `--unresolve` flags on the root `glab mr note`
  command are deprecated. Use the `create`, `resolve`, and `reopen`
  subcommands instead.
- **Editor-opening flags are unsafe in agent environments** — avoid
  `--description "-"` on `issue create` / `mr create` / `mr update` and
  avoid omitting `-m` on `note` commands. Pass an explicit value or pipe
  from stdin instead.
- **`glab issue note` and `glab incident note` only post root-level
  comments** — use `glab mr note create --reply` for MRs, or
  `glab api .../discussions/<id>/notes` for issues/incidents (write the body
  to a file and pass `-F body=@file` for anything non-trivial).
- **`-F` does not upload files** — `-F file=@x.png` sends the file contents as
  a string field, and upload endpoints reject it with HTTP 400. Use `--form
  file=@x.png` for multipart uploads. `-F` reads a file only to fill a *text*
  field, such as a note body. Also, `--form` is mutually exclusive with `-f`,
  `-F`, and `--input` — every field in a multipart request must use `--form`
  (e.g. `--form "file=@x.png" --form "branch=main"`).
- **`--input` requires an explicit `Content-Type` header** — `glab api
  --input file.json` sends raw bytes without setting Content-Type, causing
  HTTP 415. Add `-H "Content-Type: application/json"` or use `-f` / `-F`
  instead.
- **`glab ci retry` takes a job ID, not a pipeline ID** — to retry an
  entire pipeline, use `glab api projects/:id/pipelines/<id>/retry -X POST`.
- **`glab ci trace` streams** — it blocks until the job finishes. For
  agents, use `glab ci get` for pipeline state or
  `glab api projects/:id/jobs/<job-id>/trace` to fetch a finished log.
- **`glab ci view` is interactive** — terminal UI that blocks. Use
  `glab ci status` or `glab ci get` for pipeline state instead.
- **Always `--push` on `glab mr create`** — without it the remote branch
  may not exist and MR creation fails.
- **No `--state` on `mr list`** — use `--all`, `--merged`, or `--closed`.
- **No `--body` flag** — `--body` is a `gh` flag. `glab` uses `--description`.
- **Labels** — `--label` to add, `--unlabel` to remove. Scoped labels like
  `status::doing` auto-replace within their scope.