GitLab Duo Agent Platform contextual awareness

Different information is available to help GitLab Duo make decisions and offer suggestions.

Information can be available:

• Always.
• Based on your location (the context changes when you navigate).
• When referenced explicitly. For example, you mention the information by URL, ID, or file path.

GitLab Duo Chat (Agentic)

The following context is available to GitLab Duo Chat (Agentic).

Always available

• GitLab documentation.
• General programming knowledge, best practices, and language specifics.
• Your entire project and all of its files that are tracked by Git.
• The GitLab Search API, which Chat uses to find related issues or merge requests.
• When using Chat in the GitLab UI, the current page title and URL.

Agentic Chat will automatically look up the necessary context from SDLC data, Knowledge Graph, MCP Clients and custom instructions.

Based on location

• In your IDE, files you have open. You can close those files if you do not want them used for context.
• In the GitLab UI, the current page context (for example, when viewing a merge request or issue).

When referenced explicitly

GitLab Duo Chat (Agentic) can autonomously retrieve and use:

• Files (by searching your project or when you provide file paths)
• Epics
• Issues
• Merge requests
• CI/CD pipelines and job logs
• Commits
• Work items

Unlike Classic Chat, Agentic Chat can search for these resources without requiring you to specify exact IDs or URLs. For example, you can ask “Find the merge request about authentication” and Chat searches for relevant merge requests.

Extended context

• Use the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect Chat to external data sources and tools.
• Use custom rules or AGENTS.md in Agentic Chat, Agents, and Flows to provide project-specific context, coding standards, and team practices.

Software development flow

The following context is available to the software development flow in GitLab Duo Agent Platform.

Always available

• General programming knowledge, best practices, and language specifics.
• Your entire project and all of its files that are tracked by Git.
• The GitLab Search API, which is used to find related issues or merge requests.

Based on location

• Files you have open in the IDE (close files if you do not want them used for context).

When referenced explicitly

• Files
• Epics
• Issues
• Merge requests
• The merge request’s pipelines

Exclude context from GitLab Duo

You can control which project content is excluded as context for GitLab Duo. Use this feature to protect sensitive information, like password and configuration files.

When you exclude content, all GitLab Duo Agent Platform features exclude this information as context.

Manage GitLab Duo context exclusions

To specify content that GitLab Duo excludes:

1. On the top bar, select Search or go to and find your project.
2. Select Settings > General.
3. Under GitLab Duo, in the GitLab Duo context exclusions section, select Manage exclusions.
4. Specify which project files and directories are excluded from GitLab Duo context, and select Save exclusions.
5. Optional. To delete an existing exclusion, select Delete ( ) for the appropriate exclusion.
6. Select Save changes.