By connecting Slite with GitLab, you can search and ask questions across your issues and merge requests directly in the Slite Agent.
This article covers connecting GitLab, how Slite Agent uses your data, and permissions.
Connecting GitLab & the Slite Agent
Required permissions for setup
To connect Slite and GitLab, you must have the necessary permissions* in both platforms.
In Slite: Permission to add or remove agent sources depends on your team's settings. By default, only workspace admins or owners can set up a connection. However, a Slite admin can enable a setting to allow all members to add and remove agent sources.
In GitLab: You need a personal, group, or project access token with the read_api scope. A token tied to a dedicated service account is recommended so the connection doesn't break when an individual user leaves or rotates their token.
*If you don't have these permissions, ask a GitLab admin to create the access token for you.
Initial GitLab connection
In Slite, click Agent Sources in the sidebar (at the bottom).
Click + New source , then choose or search for GitLab and click Connect GitLab .
Follow the on-screen instructions to create the access token in GitLab.
Paste your GitLab access token into Slite, then click Connect team .
How Slite Agent uses your GitLab data
Slite Agent indexes the descriptions of issues and merge requests from projects you connect — comments, code, and commit history are not synced. Each item is searchable with its title, description, state (open/closed/merged), assignees, labels, milestone, dates, and a direct link back to GitLab.
When a project is first connected, Slite Agent imports all issues and merge requests modified in the last 365 days. After that, changes from GitLab are picked up on a 6-hour refresh cycle — GitLab does not currently support webhooks in Slite Agent.
Access control & privacy
GitLab is a Shared source: once a project is connected, its content is available to your Slite workspace as a whole rather than being matched to each user's GitLab permissions.
By default a newly connected project is restricted to workspace admins. To open it to more people, go to the connection in the Agent Sources panel and adjust access — you can give everyone in the workspace access, or grant specific users and user groups individually. See Controlling access to shared sources for details.
Frequently asked questions
Does Slite Agent write back to GitLab?
No. Slite Agent is strictly read-only — it doesn't open issues, leave comments, change labels, or modify merge requests.
Why don't I see updates immediately?
GitLab refreshes every 6 hours in Slite Agent. Webhooks are not currently supported for this source, so changes in GitLab take up to 6 hours to appear in the Slite Agent.
Why does Slite recommend a service account?
An access token is tied to whoever creates it. If that person leaves the company or rotates their token, the connection will stop working until a new token is provided. A service account keeps the connection independent of any individual user.
Can I index source code from my GitLab repos?
No — the GitLab source only indexes issues and merge requests. If you want Slite Agent to index a repository's source files, you need to add it as a separate Git source and enable the Index code option there. This works even for repositories hosted on GitLab.