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GitLab Duo Chat (Classic)

  • Tier: Premium, Ultimate
  • Add-on: GitLab Duo Core, Pro, or Enterprise, GitLab Duo with Amazon Q
  • Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated
  • LLMs: Anthropic Claude and Vertex AI Search. The LLM depends on the question asked.
  • LLM for Amazon Q: Amazon Q Developer
  • Available on GitLab Duo with self-hosted models: Yes

Version history

  • Introduced as an experiment for SaaS in GitLab 16.0.
  • Changed to beta for SaaS in GitLab 16.6.
  • Introduced as a beta for GitLab Self-Managed in GitLab 16.8.
  • Changed from Ultimate to Premium tier in GitLab 16.9 while in beta.
  • Generally available in GitLab 16.11.
  • Changed to require GitLab Duo add-on in GitLab 17.6 and later.
  • Updated naming to GitLab Duo Chat (Classic) in 18.3.

GitLab Duo Chat (Classic) is an AI 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.

Watch an overview

Learn about the new GitLab Duo Chat (Agentic).

Supported editor extensions

You can use GitLab Duo Chat in:

You can also use GitLab Duo Chat in these IDEs by installing an editor extension:

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

Use GitLab Duo Chat in the GitLab UI

Prerequisites:

  • You must have access to GitLab Duo Chat and GitLab Duo must be turned on.
  • You must be where Chat is available. It is not available on:
    • The Your work pages, like the To-Do List.
    • Your User settings page.
    • The Help menu.

To 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.
  2. Enter your question in the message box and press Enter or select Send.
    • You can provide additional context for your chat.
    • 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, unrelated question, clear the context by typing /reset or /clear and selecting Send.

View the Chat history

The 25 most recent messages are retained in the chat history.

To view the history:

  • In the upper-right corner of the Chat drawer, select Chat history ({history}).

Have multiple conversations

Version history

In GitLab 17.10 and later, you can have an unlimited number of 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 message box and press Enter or select Send.
  3. Create a new conversation with Chat by selecting one of the following:
    • In the upper-right corner of the drawer, select New chat ({duo-chat-new}).
    • In the message box, type /new and press Enter or select Send. A new Chat drawer replaces the previous one.
  4. Create another new conversation.
  5. To view all of your conversations, in the upper-right corner of the Chat drawer, select Chat history ({history}).
  6. 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.

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

Delete a conversation

To delete a conversation:

  1. In the upper-right corner of the Chat drawer, select Chat history ({history}).
  2. In the history, select Delete conversation ({remove}).

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

Version history

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

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. 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 snippet, Fix, Generate tests, Open Quick Chat, or Refactor.
    • Use the keyboard shortcut:
      • On Windows or Linux: ALT+d
      • On macOS: Option+d
  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 included with your question to GitLab Duo Chat. For example, you can select code and ask Chat, Can you simplify this?.

Use GitLab Duo Chat in VS Code

Version history

  • 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.

Prerequisites:

To use GitLab Duo Chat in the 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 ({duo-chat}).
  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 included with your question to GitLab Duo Chat. For example, you can select code and ask Chat, Can you simplify this?.

Use Chat while working in the editor window

Version history

  • 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.

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

  • From a keyboard shortcut:
    • On Windows and Linux: ALT+c
    • On macOS: Option+c
  • In the currently open file in your IDE, right-click and select GitLab Duo Chat > Open Quick Chat. Select some code to provide additional context.
  • Open the Command Palette, then select GitLab Duo Chat: Open Quick Chat.

After Quick Chat opens:

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

Check the status of Chat

To check the health of your GitLab Duo configuration:

  • In the chat pane, in the upper-right corner, select Status.

Close Chat

To close GitLab Duo Chat:

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

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

Version history

  • Introduced as generally available in GitLab 16.11.

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, select GitLab Duo Chat.
  • From a keyboard shortcut:
    • On Windows and Linux: ALT+d
    • On macOS: Option+d
  • From an open editor file:
    1. Right-click and select GitLab Duo Chat.
    2. Select Open Chat Window.
  • With selected code:
    1. In an editor, select code to include with your command.
    2. Right-click and select GitLab Duo Chat.
    3. Select Explain Code, Fix Code, Generate Tests, or Refactor Code.
  • From a highlighted code issue:
    1. Right-click and select Show Context Actions.
    2. Select Fix with Duo.
  • With a keyboard or mouse shortcut for a GitLab Duo action, which you can set in Settings > Keymap.

After GitLab Duo Chat opens:

  1. In the message box, enter your question. You can also:
    • Type / to display all available commands.
    • Type /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 an editor window

Version history

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

  • From a keyboard shortcut:
    • On Windows and Linux: ALT+c
    • On macOS: Option+c
  • In an open file in your IDE, select some code, then, in the floating toolbar, select GitLab Duo Quick Chat ({tanuki-ai}).
  • Right-click and select GitLab Duo Chat > Open Quick Chat.

After Quick Chat opens:

  1. In the message box, enter your question. You can also:
    • Type / to display all available commands.
    • Type /re to display /refactor and /reset.
  2. To send your question, press Enter.
  3. To interact with the responses, use the buttons around the code blocks.
  4. To exit chat, either select Escape to close, or press Escape while focused on the chat.

Use GitLab Duo Chat in Eclipse

Version history

  • Changed from experiment to beta in GitLab 17.11.

Prerequisites:

To use GitLab Duo Chat in the GitLab for Eclipse plugin:

  1. Open a project in Eclipse.
  2. Select GitLab Duo Chat ({duo-chat}), or use the keyboard shortcut:
    • On Windows and Linux: ALT+d
    • On macOS: Option+d
  3. In the message box, enter your question and press Enter or select Send.

Configure Chat conversation expiration

Version history

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.

Available language models

Different language models can be the source for GitLab Duo 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. You can use GitLab AI vendor models, other supported language models, or bring your own compatible model.

Input and output length

For each Chat conversation, input and output length is limited:

  • Input is limited to 200,000 tokens (roughly 680,000 characters). The input tokens include:
  • Output is limited to 8,192 tokens (roughly 28,600 characters).

Give feedback

Your feedback is important to us as we continually enhance the 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.