GitLab MR Opener

Create merge requests using the glab CLI with proper templates and conventions.

Prerequisites

• •glab CLI installed and authenticated
• •Git repository with GitLab remote

Workflow

1. Gather Branch Info

# Get current branch
git branch --show-current

# Get commits ahead of base branch
git log origin/main..HEAD --oneline
# or
git log origin/develop..HEAD --oneline

# Check glab availability
glab --version

2. Find MR Template

Search for MR templates in standard locations:

# GitLab templates location
ls .gitlab/merge_request_templates/

Common template paths:

• •.gitlab/merge_request_templates/Merge Request.md
• •.gitlab/merge_request_templates/default.md

3. Ask User for MR Details

Before creating MR, confirm with user:

• •Target branch: main, develop, or custom
• •MR title: Suggest based on branch name/commits
• •Options: squash commits, remove source branch, draft MR

MR Title Format

Use this format for MR titles:

<TICKET-ID> <Description>

Examples:

• •POD-10589 Fix incorrect newsletter deeplink values
• •POD-12345 Add user profile settings screen
• •STAFF-100 Update analytics tracking

Do NOT use brackets around the ticket ID or platform prefixes like [iOS].

4. Review Changes

# Show diff to understand changes for description
git diff origin/<target-branch>..HEAD

5. Push Branch (if needed)

git push -u origin <branch-name>

6. Create MR with Template

Use HEREDOC to pass description with proper formatting:

glab mr create \
  --target-branch <target> \
  --title "<title>" \
  --squash-before-merge \
  --remove-source-branch \
  --description "$(cat <<'EOF'
### Task
<link to ticket>

### Description
<technical description of changes>

### Conformity
- [ ] Checklist item 1
- [ ] Checklist item 2

### Media
<screenshots/videos if UI changes>

<reviewers and assignments from template>
EOF
)"

MR Description Guidelines

Task Section

• •Link to JIRA/ticket if branch contains ticket ID (e.g., POD-12345)
• •Format: https://podimo.atlassian.net/browse/POD-12345

Description Section

Based on git diff, summarize:

• •What the change does
• •Why it was done this way
• •Key files/components affected

Conformity Section

Copy checklist from template as-is for user to check later.

Media Section

• •Write "N/A - No UI changes" if no UI changes
• •Otherwise, placeholder for user to add screenshots

Reviewers/Assignments

Copy reviewer assignments from template (e.g., /assign me, /assign_reviewer @user).

Common Options

Output

Return the MR URL to user when complete:

https://gitlab.com/<namespace>/<project>/-/merge_requests/<id>