Our GitLab integration lets you create and link GitLab issues right from your Harvestr Discoveries. You can then follow the evolution of these issues and their status in GitLab, without leaving Harvestr.
Prerequisites
To use our GitLab integration, all you need is:
a GitLab account with Owner, Maintainer, or Developer permissions
a Harvestr Editor account, on any paid plan (Core, Scale, or Elite)
How to connect Harvestr to your GitLab account
Go to Settings > Integrations > GitLab. The Connect GitLab card asks where your GitLab is hosted. Choose one of the two options:
GitLab.com: sign in and approve Harvestr.
Self-managed: your own GitLab server. You create an application first.
GitLab.com
Select GitLab.com and click Connect GitLab.
In the window that pops up, log in to your GitLab account.
Authorize Harvestr and grant the rights listed.
Self-managed GitLab
Select Self-managed and click Connect GitLab. The Connect self-managed GitLab window opens and guides you through three steps:
Server URL: enter your GitLab server URL, for example https://gitlab.yourcompany.com, then click Next.
Create the application: in GitLab, open User settings > Applications > Add new application. The Open GitLab applications button takes you there. Fill in the Name (Harvestr) and the Redirect URI shown in the window, each with a copy button. Tick the scopes api, read_user and read_repository, then save. Back in Harvestr, click Next.
Paste the keys: paste the Application ID and the Secret from GitLab, then click Connect GitLab. GitLab shows the secret only once, right after you save the application.
GitLab then asks you to authorize Harvestr.
Once connected
The Account card shows GitLab account and the date you connected. The page header shows Connected.
How to use the GitLab integration in Harvestr
Now that the integration is set up, a GitLab section appears in every Discovery in Harvestr. You can:
create and link one or more new GitLab issues to a Discovery
link one or more existing GitLab issues to a Discovery
1. Create and link new GitLab issues to a Discovery
Once you've decided to take a Discovery to development, you can create issues in GitLab that correspond to what needs to be built.
When you click Create issue in a Discovery, a window opens where you can enter the issue's details: Group, Project, Board, List, Title, Assignee, Labels, Milestone and Description.
Once created, the issue appears in GitLab with the details you entered and a link back to the Discovery in Harvestr. This gives your software team access to the valuable content in your Discovery, such as user feedback.
In your Discovery, you'll also see a link to the newly created issue and be able to track its status as it changes in GitLab.
2. Link existing GitLab issues to a Discovery
Sometimes you'll want to link GitLab issues that already exist to a Harvestr Discovery.
Click the Link issue button in your Discovery. This opens a search bar where you can search a GitLab issue by its name or its key. Searching by key only works when you type the complete key.
Once linked, you can follow the issue's status from Harvestr.
You can link as many issues as you like to a single Discovery.
What the GitLab integration does not do
Unlike our Jira, Linear and GitHub integrations, GitLab does not support automatic Discovery status sync. You can see an issue's status from Harvestr, but closing an issue won't automatically change the state of its linked Discovery.
To keep Discovery states current, filter your Discovery table on GitLab issue status and update the matching Discoveries in bulk.
Disconnect GitLab
In Settings > Integrations > GitLab, click ⋯ on the account row, then Disconnect.
Confirm that you want to remove the integration.
If you have requests or ideas about how we could improve our GitLab integration to better fit your workflow, send us a message!