# Using Atlas with GitLab in 2026 > In 2026, Atlas provides direct integration with GitLab, allowing developers to manage repositories, branches, and merge requests directly. Atlas integrates with GitLab in 2026, enabling developers to manage repositories, branches, and merge requests directly from the terminal. This powerful combination streamlines the development workflow by allowing Atlas to automate common Git operations within your GitLab projects. ## Atlas and GitLab: An Overview for 2026 In 2026, Atlas integrates with GitLab to enhance developer productivity by automating common Git operations. This powerful combination allows Atlas, the terminal-native AI coding agent, to interact directly with GitLab repositories, branches, and merge requests, streamlining your workflow. Atlas, the terminal-native AI coding agent, provides a robust integration with GitLab in 2026, designed to streamline the entire development lifecycle. This integration empowers developers to interact with their GitLab projects directly from the command line, leveraging Atlas's AI capabilities to automate routine tasks. Users can manage GitLab repositories, create and switch between branches, and efficiently handle the process of committing code and opening merge requests. The goal is to reduce context switching and manual effort, allowing developers to focus more on problem-solving and less on the mechanics of version control. By bringing AI assistance directly into the terminal, Atlas ensures a more fluid and productive experience for GitLab users. ## Setting Up Atlas with GitLab Repositories To begin using Atlas with GitLab in 2026, the initial setup involves three concrete steps to connect your local development environment. This process ensures Atlas can access and manage your GitLab repositories, branches, and merge requests effectively from your terminal. Establishing the connection between Atlas and your GitLab environment is a straightforward process, designed to get you up and running quickly in 2026. The core steps involve preparing your local repository and initializing Atlas within that context. This foundational setup ensures that Atlas has the necessary access and understanding of your project structure to perform its functions effectively. Once configured, Atlas can direct interact with your GitLab repositories, enabling it to manage branches, track changes, and facilitate the submission of your work through merge requests. The detailed steps provided below will guide you through this initial configuration, ensuring a smooth start to your integrated workflow. ## Daily Workflow: Managing GitLab with Atlas Developers in 2026 can leverage Atlas for daily GitLab operations, from creating new branches to submitting merge requests. Atlas streamlines the workflow by handling the underlying Git commands, allowing you to focus on coding within your GitLab projects. Integrating Atlas into your daily development routine with GitLab in 2026 transforms how you interact with your codebase. Instead of manually executing multiple Git commands, Atlas acts as an intelligent assistant, interpreting your high-level intentions and translating them into precise actions within your GitLab repository. From fetching the latest changes to creating a new feature branch, making commits, and ultimately proposing your work for review via a merge request, Atlas handles the underlying complexities. This allows developers to maintain focus on coding tasks, knowing that the version control aspects are being managed efficiently and accurately by the AI agent, enhancing overall productivity and consistency across projects. ## Efficient Branch Management Using Atlas Atlas simplifies branch management within GitLab repositories in 2026, allowing developers to create and switch branches with ease. The AI agent ensures that new development efforts are isolated correctly, adhering to best practices for your GitLab projects. Effective branch management is crucial for collaborative development, and Atlas simplifies this aspect significantly for GitLab users in 2026. Atlas allows developers to easily create new branches for features, bug fixes, or experiments, ensuring that each development effort remains isolated until ready for integration. You can instruct Atlas to switch between existing branches, list active branches, or even delete obsolete ones, all through intuitive terminal commands. This capability ensures that your GitLab repository remains organized and that team members can work concurrently without conflicts, fostering a more streamlined and error-resistant development environment. Atlas intelligently manages the local and remote branch states, keeping your workflow aligned with GitLab's best practices. ## Streamlining Commits and Merge Requests with Atlas In 2026, Atlas automates the process of committing changes and opening merge requests directly to GitLab. This capability significantly reduces manual effort, ensuring that code contributions are consistently formatted and submitted for review within your GitLab workflow. The final stages of the development cycle,committing changes and opening merge requests,are significantly optimized by Atlas for GitLab in 2026. After making your code modifications, Atlas can assist in staging relevant files and crafting meaningful commit messages, ensuring that your commit history is clean and informative. Once your changes are committed, Atlas can then initiate the process of opening a merge request directly on your GitLab project. This includes setting the target branch, adding a title and description, and even assigning reviewers if configured. This automation reduces the potential for human error and accelerates the review process, ensuring that your contributions are integrated into the main codebase efficiently and according to your team's GitLab workflow standards. ## Setup 1. Clone your target GitLab repository to your local machine using the standard Git command. This establishes the working directory where Atlas will operate. 2. Change your current directory in the terminal to the root of the newly cloned GitLab repository. Atlas must be run from within this working tree. 3. Run the `atlas` command within the repository's working tree. This initializes Atlas and allows it to recognize the GitLab repository context. 4. Configure Atlas with necessary GitLab access tokens or credentials if prompted, ensuring it has permissions to create branches, commit changes, and open merge requests on your behalf. 5. Instruct Atlas to create a new development branch for your task. For example, `atlas branch create feature/my-new-feature`. Atlas will handle the underlying Git operations. 6. After making code changes, use Atlas to stage and commit your work. For instance, `atlas commit -m 'Implement new feature X'`. Atlas will manage the commit process. 7. Once your changes are committed, direct Atlas to open a merge request to your main branch on GitLab. For example, `atlas merge-request open --target main`. Atlas will create the merge request on the GitLab platform. ## FAQ ### How does Atlas integrate with GitLab? Atlas integrates with GitLab by allowing developers to manage repositories, branches, and merge requests directly from the terminal, automating common Git operations within GitLab projects. ### Can Atlas create new branches on GitLab? Yes, Atlas can create new branches directly within your GitLab repositories, ensuring proper isolation for new development work. ### Does Atlas support GitLab merge requests? Yes, Atlas supports opening merge requests on GitLab, streamlining the process of submitting code for review and integration. ### What year is this Atlas GitLab integration for? This Atlas GitLab integration is designed for use in 2026, reflecting current capabilities and workflows. ### Can Atlas commit changes to GitLab repositories? Yes, Atlas can commit changes to your local working tree and push them to your GitLab repository, managing the entire commit process. ### Is Atlas a terminal-native AI agent? Yes, Atlas is a terminal-native AI coding agent, designed to operate efficiently within your command-line environment. ### What are the initial setup steps for Atlas with GitLab? The initial setup involves cloning your GitLab repository, running Atlas inside the working tree, and then letting Atlas manage branching, committing, and opening merge requests. --- Canonical HTML: https://runatlas.sh/resources/integrations/gitlab Source of truth: aeo_pages row `/resources/integrations/gitlab` (segment: Integrations) (this file is generated from it, never hand-edited). Licence: Atlas is proprietary with a free core. It is not open source and there is no public source repository.