Self-Hosted AI Models: Licensing and Offerings

Tier: Ultimate with GitLab Duo Enterprise - Start a trial Offering: Self-managed Status: Beta
History
  • Introduced in GitLab 17.1 with a flag named ai_custom_model. Disabled by default.
  • Enabled on self-managed in GitLab 17.6.
  • Changed to require GitLab Duo add-on in GitLab 17.6 and later.
  • Feature flag ai_custom_model removed in GitLab 17.8

To deploy self-hosted AI models, you need GitLab Ultimate and Duo Enterprise - Start a trial.

Offerings

1. Self-Hosted Models

These are AI models deployed within your infrastructure, giving you full control over your data and security.

  • Configuration: Set up an AI gateway and configure model endpoints within GitLab.
  • Licensing: Requires a valid GitLab license. You can request a license through the Customers Portal.

The following sequence diagram illustrates the process of handling a user request through a self-hosted model:

sequenceDiagram participant User participant GitLab as GitLab Instance participant Gateway as AI gateway participant Model as Self-Hosted Model Endpoint User->>GitLab: API Request GitLab->>Gateway: Forward Request Gateway->>Model: Route to Self-Hosted Model Model-->>Gateway: Return Response Gateway-->>GitLab: Send Response GitLab-->>User: Deliver Response

2. GitLab Vendor Models

These models are hosted by GitLab and accessed through the GitLab Cloud Connector, providing an out-of-the-box AI solution without requiring on-premise infrastructure.

  • Configuration: Enable the desired features in GitLab and select a vendor-hosted model.
  • Licensing: Included with your GitLab subscription, depending on your plan (Ultimate or GitLab Duo). No additional license is required for these models.

The following sequence diagram illustrates the process of handling a user request through a GitLab Vendor Model:

sequenceDiagram participant User participant GitLab as GitLab Instance participant Connector as GitLab Cloud Connector participant Vendor as GitLab Hosted Model User->>GitLab: API Request GitLab->>Connector: Forward Request Connector->>Vendor: Route to GitLab Hosted Model Vendor-->>Connector: Return Response Connector-->>GitLab: Send Response GitLab-->>User: Deliver Response