GitLab Issues Mode

🧪 Experimental. GitLab Issues Mode is new. Commands, behavior, and integration details may change. Feedback welcome.

Try this to connect to your backlog:

Show me the open issues for this GitLab repo

Try this to start work on a specific issue:

Work on issue #42

Try this to handle MR review feedback:

There's review feedback on MR !24

Squad connects to your GitLab repository, fetches issues from the backlog, routes work to the right agents, creates branches, implements changes, and opens Merge Requests — all from natural language requests.

Requirements

glab CLI installed and authenticated — the official GitLab CLI (glab auth login to authenticate, glab auth status to check)
A GitLab repository with issues

Connect to a Repository

> Connect to GitLab at https://gitlab.example.com/acme/recipe-app

Squad stores the issue source in team.md. You only need to do this once per project.

View the Backlog

> Show the backlog

Squad fetches open issues via glab issue list and displays them in a table:

#   Title                        Labels        Assignee
12  Add user authentication      backend       —
15  Fix responsive nav           frontend      —
18  Write API integration tests  testing       —

Work on Issues

Single issue

> Work on #12

The coordinator routes the issue to the best-fit agent. That agent:

Creates a branch (e.g., 12-add-user-authentication)
Implements the work
Opens a Merge Request linked to the issue

Multiple issues

> Work on #12 and #15

Agents work in parallel — each issue gets its own branch and MR.

Handle MR Review Feedback

> There's review feedback on MR !24

The agent who opened the MR reads the review comments and addresses them. Commits are pushed to the existing branch.

Merge Completed Work

> Merge MR !24

Squad merges the MR, deletes the source branch, and closes the linked issue.

Check Remaining Work

> What's left?

Squad refreshes the backlog and shows remaining open issues.

Workflow Summary

You say	What happens
`"Connect to GitLab at https://gitlab.example.com/acme/recipe-app"`	Stores issue source
`"Show the backlog"`	Lists open issues
`"Work on #12"`	Agent branches, implements, opens MR
`"Work on #12 and #15"`	Parallel agent work on both issues
`"There's review feedback on MR !24"`	Agent addresses review comments
`"Merge MR !24"`	Merges MR, deletes branch, closes issue
`"What's left?"`	Refreshes and shows remaining issues

GitLab CLI Quick Reference

These are the glab commands Squad uses behind the scenes:

Operation	Command
Authenticate	`glab auth login`
Check auth	`glab auth status`
List open issues	`glab issue list`
List all issues	`glab issue list --all`
View issue	`glab issue view 12`
Create MR	`glab mr create -t "Fix pagination" -d "Closes #15"`
Create MR (auto-fill from commits)	`glab mr create --fill`
List open MRs	`glab mr list`
List all MRs	`glab mr list --all`
Merge MR	`glab mr merge 24`

For the full command reference, see the official GitLab CLI documentation.

Differences from GitHub Issues Mode

Aspect	GitHub	GitLab
CLI tool	`gh`	`glab`
Pull/Merge Requests	PR (`#24`)	MR (`!24`)
Auth command	`gh auth login`	`glab auth login`
Default branch convention	`main`	`main` (configurable)
Issue linking in MR body	`Closes #N`	`Closes #N`
Labels & milestones	Supported	Supported

Tips

You don’t need to assign issues to specific agents — Squad routes based on domain expertise.
If glab isn’t authenticated, Squad will tell you. Run glab auth login first.
MR descriptions include Closes #N so merging automatically closes the linked issue, just like on GitHub.
See GitLab Issues Walkthrough for a step-by-step tour.

Sample Prompts

connect to GitLab at https://gitlab.example.com/acme/recipe-app

Links Squad to a GitLab repository for issue-driven development.

show the backlog

Fetches and displays all open issues from the connected GitLab repository.

work on issue #23

Routes the issue to the appropriate agent who creates a branch, implements, and opens an MR.

work on all issues labeled "bug"

Processes multiple issues in parallel based on label filtering.

what's left in the backlog?

Refreshes the issue list and shows remaining open work items.