GitLab CI/CD Integration

Run Claude Code inside GitLab pipelines (beta, maintained by GitLab). Same idea as GitHub Actions: @claude mentions and pipeline triggers turn issues/comments into MRs.

What It Can Do

• Turn an issue into a working MR: @claude implement this feature based on the issue description
• Iterate on review feedback: @claude suggest a concrete approach to cache this API call
• Fix bugs from comments: @claude fix the TypeError in the user dashboard component
• Runs in your runners; every change flows through a normal MR with your branch protection and approvals

Minimal Setup

1. Settings → CI/CD → Variables: add ANTHROPIC_API_KEY (masked)
2. Add a job to .gitlab-ci.yml:

stages: [ai]

claude:
  stage: ai
  image: node:24-alpine3.21
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "web"'
    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"'
  variables:
    GIT_STRATEGY: fetch
  before_script:
    - apk add --no-cache git curl bash
    - curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
  script:
    - >
      claude
      -p "${AI_FLOW_INPUT:-'Review this MR and implement the requested changes'}"
      --permission-mode acceptEdits
      --allowedTools "Bash Read Edit Write mcp__gitlab"

3. Optional @claude mention triggers: add a “Comments (notes)” webhook that calls the pipeline trigger API with AI_FLOW_INPUT / AI_FLOW_CONTEXT variables.

Enterprise Providers

Instead of an API key, authenticate via OIDC (no stored keys):

• Amazon Bedrock: GitLab OIDC → IAM role (AWS_ROLE_TO_ASSUME, AWS_REGION)
• Google Cloud Agent Platform: Workload Identity Federation (GCP_WORKLOAD_IDENTITY_PROVIDER, GCP_SERVICE_ACCOUNT, CLOUD_ML_REGION)

Best Practices

1. CLAUDE.md at repo root — Claude follows it in CI too
2. Never commit keys; masked variables + OIDC where possible
3. Set max_turns / job timeouts to bound cost; review Claude’s MRs like any contributor
4. Specific @claude commands = fewer iterations = lower token cost

Compare: 35-github-actions.md — same concept, GitHub-native tooling and official Anthropic support.

🧠 Quick Recall

• Trick: “GitHub Actions’ sibling: one job + one masked variable.”

👨‍🏫 Teach It

• Do: walk the minimal .gitlab-ci.yml line by line.
• They’ll trip on: keys in the repo — masked CI/CD variables or OIDC, always.

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Learning path: ⬅ 46-jetbrains-and-terminal-setup.md · Index · ➡ 48-computer-use.md