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Prerequisites

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Adding GitLab Repository Access

Upon signing into OpenHands Cloud with a GitLab account, OpenHands will have access to your repositories.

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Working With GitLab Repos in Openhands Cloud

After signing in with a Gitlab account, use the Open Repository section to select the appropriate repository and branch you’d like OpenHands to work on. Then click on Launch to start the conversation! Connect Repo

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Using Tokens with Reduced Scopes

OpenHands requests an API-scoped token during OAuth authentication. By default, this token is provided to the agent. To restrict the agent’s permissions, you can define a custom secret GITLAB_TOKEN, which will override the default token assigned to the agent. While the high-permission API token is still requested and used for other components of the application (e.g. opening merge requests), the agent will not have access to it.

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Working on GitLab Issues and Merge Requests Using Openhands

This feature works for personal projects and is available for group projects with a Premium or Ultimate tier subscription.A webhook is automatically installed within a few minutes after the owner/maintainer of the project or group logs into OpenHands Cloud.
Giving GitLab repository access to OpenHands also allows you to work on GitLab issues and merge requests directly.

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Working with Issues

On your repository, label an issue with openhands or add a message starting with @openhands. OpenHands will:
  1. Comment on the issue to let you know it is working on it.
    • You can click on the link to track the progress on OpenHands Cloud.
  2. Open a merge request if it determines that the issue has been successfully resolved.
  3. Comment on the issue with a summary of the performed tasks and a link to the PR.

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Working with Merge Requests

To get OpenHands to work on merge requests, mention @openhands in the comments to:
  • Ask questions
  • Request updates
  • Get code explanations

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Managing GitLab Webhooks

The GitLab webhook management feature allows you to view and manage webhooks for your GitLab projects and groups directly from the OpenHands Cloud Integrations page.

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Accessing Webhook Management

The webhook management table is available on the Integrations page when:
  • You are signed in to OpenHands Cloud with a GitLab account
  • Your GitLab token is connected
To access it:
  1. Navigate to the Settings > Integrations page
  2. Find the GitLab section
  3. If your GitLab token is connected, you’ll see the webhook management table below the connection status

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Viewing Webhook Status

The webhook management table displays GitLab groups and individual projects (not associated with any groups) that are accessible to OpenHands.
  • Resource: The name and full path of the project or group
  • Type: Whether it’s a “project” or “group”
  • Status: The current webhook installation status:
    • Installed: The webhook is active and working
    • Not Installed: No webhook is currently installed
    • Failed: A previous installation attempt failed (error details are shown below the status)

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Reinstalling Webhooks

If a webhook is not installed or has failed, you can reinstall it:
  1. Find the resource in the webhook management table
  2. Click the Reinstall button in the Action column
  3. The button will show Reinstalling... while the operation is in progress
  4. Once complete, the status will update to reflect the result
To reinstall an existing webhook, you must first delete the current webhook from the GitLab UI before using the Reinstall button in OpenHands Cloud.
Important behaviors:
  • The Reinstall button is disabled if the webhook is already installed
  • Only one reinstall operation can run at a time
  • After a successful reinstall, the button remains disabled to prevent duplicate installations
  • If a reinstall fails, the error message is displayed below the status badge
  • The resources list automatically refreshes after a reinstall completes

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Constraints and Limitations

  • The webhook management table only displays resources that are accessible with your connected GitLab token
  • Webhook installation requires Admin or Owner permissions on the GitLab project or group

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Next Steps