Set up a GitLab connector

ConductorOne provides identity governance for GitLab. Integrate your GitLab instance with ConductorOne to run user access reviews (UARs) and enable just-in-time access requests.

This is an updated and improved version of the GitLab integration! If you’re setting up a GitLab connector with ConductorOne for the first time, you’re in the right place.

Capabilities

Resource	Sync	Provision
Accounts	✅	✅
Projects	✅	✅
Groups	✅	✅

The GitLab connector supports automatic account provisioning. Accounts will be created directly in self-hosted GitLab instances. If you’re using GitLab.com, new accounts will generate an invitation email and will remain in a pending state until the invitation is accepted.

Information on last login is synced from self-hosted GitLab instances; this capability is not supported on GitLab.com due to permissions limitations.

Gather GitLab credentials

Configuring the connector requires you to pass in credentials generated in GitLab. Gather these credentials before you move on.

Any GitLab.com user can complete this task. If you’re configuring self-hosted GitLab, a user with admin permissions in GitLab must perform this task.

Create a personal access token

In the GitLab menu bar, click your profile photo then click Edit profile.
From the menu on the left side of the screen, click Access tokens then click Add new token.
Give your token a name and set an expiration date.
In the Select scopes area, select api.
Click Create personal access token.
Carefully copy and save the newly created token.

Look up your GitLab group name

When new GitLab.com accounts are created, they must be assigned to a GitLab group. Look up the name of the group you want to add new accounts to.

Navigate to Menu > Groups > Your Groups.
Click on the group you wish to connect to ConductorOne.
Make a note of the group name.

If you do not have any groups, follow the prompts to create a new group, and make a note of the name you choose.

That’s it! Next, move on to the connector configuration instructions.

Configure the GitLab connector

To complete this task, you’ll need:
The Connector Administrator or Super Administrator role in ConductorOne
Access to the set of GitLab credentials generated by following the instructions above

Follow these instructions to use a built-in, no-code connector hosted by ConductorOne.

In ConductorOne, navigate to Admin > Connectors and click Add connector.
Search for GitLab and click Add.
Choose how to set up the new GitLab connector:
- Add the connector to a currently unmanaged app (select from the list of apps that were discovered in your identity, SSO, or federation provider that aren’t yet managed with ConductorOne)
- Add the connector to a managed app (select from the list of existing managed apps)
- Create a new managed app
Set the owner for this connector. You can manage the connector yourself, or choose someone else from the list of ConductorOne users. Setting multiple owners is allowed.
If you choose someone else, ConductorOne will notify the new connector owner by email that their help is needed to complete the setup process.
Click Next.
Find the Settings area of the page and click Edit.
Paste the token into the Personal access token field.
Enter the GitLab group that newly created user accounts should be added to in the Group field.
Enter https://gitlab.com or the self-hosted URL at which you access GitLab in the URL field.
Click Save.
The connector’s label changes to Syncing, followed by Connected. You can view the logs to ensure that information is syncing.

That’s it! Your GitLab connector is now pulling access data into ConductorOne.

Follow these instructions to use the GitLab connector, hosted and run in your own environment.

When running in service mode on Kubernetes, a self-hosted connector maintains an ongoing connection with ConductorOne, automatically syncing and uploading data at regular intervals. This data is immediately available in the ConductorOne UI for access reviews and access requests.

Step 1: Set up a new GitLab connector

In ConductorOne, navigate to Connectors > Add connector.
Search for Baton and click Add.
Choose how to set up the new GitLab connector:
- Add the connector to a currently unmanaged app (select from the list of apps that were discovered in your identity, SSO, or federation provider that aren’t yet managed with ConductorOne)
- Add the connector to a managed app (select from the list of existing managed apps)
- Create a new managed app
Set the owner for this connector. You can manage the connector yourself, or choose someone else from the list of ConductorOne users. Setting multiple owners is allowed.
If you choose someone else, ConductorOne will notify the new connector owner by email that their help is needed to complete the setup process.
Click Next.
In the Settings area of the page, click Edit.
Click Rotate to generate a new Client ID and Secret.
Carefully copy and save these credentials. We’ll use them in Step 2.

Step 2: Create Kubernetes configuration files

Create two Kubernetes manifest files for your GitLab connector deployment:

Secrets configuration

# baton-gitlab-secrets.yaml
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: baton-gitlab-secrets
type: Opaque
stringData:
  # ConductorOne credentials
  BATON_CLIENT_ID: <ConductorOne client ID>
  BATON_CLIENT_SECRET: <ConductorOne client secret>
  
  # GitLab credentials if configuring with an access token
  BATON_TOKEN: <GitLab access token>
  BATON_ORGS: <Optional - list of GitLab orgs that you want to sync>

  # GitLab credentials if configuring with a GitLab app
  BATON_ACCESS_TOKEN: <GitLab access token>
  BATON_BASE_URL: <URL where you access GitLab (default is "https://gitlab.com/")>

  # Optional: include if you want ConductorOne to provision access using this connector
  BATON_PROVISIONING: true
  BATON_ACCOUNT_CREATION_GROUP: <GitLab group that newly provisioned accounts will be added to>

See the connector’s README or run --help to see all available configuration flags and environment variables.

Deployment configuration

# baton-gitlab.yaml
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: baton-gitlab
  labels:
    app: baton-gitlab
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: baton-gitlab
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: baton-gitlab
        baton: true
        baton-app: gitlab
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: baton-gitlab
        image: ghcr.io/conductorone/baton-gitlab:latest
        imagePullPolicy: IfNotPresent
        envFrom:
        - secretRef:
            name: baton-gitlab-secrets

Step 3: Deploy the connector

Create a namespace in which to run ConductorOne connectors (if desired), then apply the secret config and deployment config files.
Check that the connector data uploaded correctly. In ConductorOne, click Applications. On the Managed apps tab, locate and click the name of the application you added the GitLab connector to. GitLab data should be found on the Entitlements and Accounts tabs.

That’s it! Your GitLab connector is now pulling access data into ConductorOne.