Donald Cook activity https://gitlab.com/donaldcook 2026-03-18T04:17:15Z tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-18:5215618259 Donald Cook commented on issue #315 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / Meta 2026-03-18T04:17:15Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Thanks @ohoral. I put them as candidates in the description. I'll move them into the milestone in the next day or so.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5214993530 Donald Cook opened issue #2150: Agentic Chat ReadFiles and Grep fail for git submodule paths at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / GitLab Language Server 2026-03-17T22:21:02Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected] tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5214468704 Donald Cook commented on issue #1968 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / GitLab Language Server 2026-03-17T19:33:02Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Thanks @ohoral and @lauraionel. I'm going to de-prioritize this one since it seems like it's a small use case and can probably be closed once gitlab-jetbrains-plugin#1388 is done.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5214393238 Donald Cook deleted project branch dc/fix-update-date at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / Meta 2026-03-17T19:08:22Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Donald Cook (6cc9c475) at 17 Mar 19:08

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5214392907 Donald Cook pushed to project branch main at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / Meta 2026-03-17T19:08:15Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Donald Cook (104bb2b0) at 17 Mar 19:08

Merge branch 'dc/fix-update-date' into 'main'

... and 1 more commit

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5214392892 Donald Cook accepted merge request !26: fix: should pull in updates up until actual date at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / Meta 2026-03-17T19:08:15Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

This change modifies how the system determines the end date when searching for updates. Previously, it would search for updates up until today, but now it searches up until tomorrow (today + 1 day). This ensures that any updates that happened today are included in the search results, rather than potentially being cut off.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5214386982 Donald Cook opened merge request !26: fix: should pull in updates up until actual date at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / Meta 2026-03-17T19:06:14Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

This change modifies how the system determines the end date when searching for updates. Previously, it would search for updates up until today, but now it searches up until tomorrow (today + 1 day). This ensures that any updates that happened today are included in the search results, rather than potentially being cut off.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5214384988 Donald Cook pushed new project branch dc/fix-update-date at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / Meta 2026-03-17T19:05:34Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Donald Cook (6cc9c475) at 17 Mar 19:05

fix: should pull in updates up until actual date

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5211101379 Donald Cook commented on issue #593202 at GitLab.org / GitLab 2026-03-17T06:14:02Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Thanks all for the thoughtful responses! Have a few follow-ups:

I've spent the last week working on https://gitlab.com/viktomas/gitlab-mr-comments, and given the intricacies of our MR commenting APIs, it would be downright impossible for LLM to make those API calls without a utility like the one I created.

I think your example here is not an outlier - there are a bunch of commands in the CLI that abstract entire workflows and are not just CRUD wrappers of the API.

@viktomas @timofurrer I understand the point that some glab commands abstract genuinely complex workflows, such as the MR commenting example. I'd push back a little on extending that to a general argument for glab as the agent interface. glab's commands originally were designed for human developer ergonomics. They're opinionated about what steps are taken and what data is returned. An LLM may need different data or a different sequence entirely.

For cases where the API is too complex for an LLM to use directly, I see two other, possibly better paths:

  1. Continue building internal tools purpose-designed for LLM use cases. These can be shaped for exactly what the agent needs without carrying the opinions/constraints of a human-facing CLI.
  2. Invest in making glab itself LLM-native. If we do go the glab route, then we should be intentional about building commands and output formats that serve agents, not just assume existing human-facing commands will work.

Either way feels safer long term than making glab available and hoping the agent figures it out.

I'm not sure I understand the point. Assuming we won't rely on LLM being trained on our APIs, we have to tell it how to use our APIs. Are you suggesting that API docs are fewer tokens than CLI docs or API calls fewer tokens than CLI commands, or are you saying we should implement and maintain glab analogues as custom tools?

@viktomas To clarify: I'm not arguing API docs are fewer tokens than CLI docs. I'm saying that for an LLM with shell access, GraphQL is a more natural interface than glab for most operations. Given a GraphQL introspection schema, the LLM can query for exactly the fields it needs. glab commands return fixed output shapes designed for human readability, which may be too much or too little for what the agent actually needs.

For simple operations, glab doesn't meaningfully save tokens over a direct GraphQL call. For complex operations where glab does add value, the question is whether that value justifies the dependency, or whether purpose-built tools would serve agents better.

I think we need to move towards a place where rather than building everything very coupled to DAP we use the building blocks that other agents rely on as well, in this case glab. Given that, if necessary, we should just take over support for glab in AI.

@bastirehm I appreciate this, but us just taking over support is exactly what I'm worried about. I have been thinking about proposing this too, but it's important that we come up with a staffing plan with intentional ownership and dedicated team members before just moving it over without the resources to actually work on it. Like I said, I have some ideas on the ownership model, but want to get alignment with Tim and product leadership before making any kind of proposal.

One last thing: @thomas-schmidt I believe you led a spike on Duo using straight GitLab APIs without our internal tools. What were the key findings? Where did the LLM struggle with raw API calls, and where was it okay? That data should help inform the decision.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-17:5210964181 Donald Cook commented on issue #2148 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / GitLab Language Server 2026-03-17T05:04:51Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

@mcorren Can you please share a link to legal's request? I want to understand if there are any other solutions that we can consider, such as re-using the "experimental" features setting.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-16:5210282747 Donald Cook commented on issue #1719 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / GitLab Language Server 2026-03-16T22:31:16Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

That should not have been the case. Moving it back.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-16:5210183416 Donald Cook commented on issue #315 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / Meta 2026-03-16T21:44:13Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Milestone Planning: 18.10 → 18.11 Transition Summary

Phase 1: 18.10 Health Check (as of 2026-03-16)

Milestone 18.10 closed 2026-03-13. Scanned gitlab-lsp, gitlab-vscode-extension, gitlab-jetbrains-plugin, gitlab (monolith), ai-assist, meta, and visual-studio-extension. Docs-only issues (@uchandran) excluded from all counts — they don't consume engineering capacity.

Metric Count
Closed (team-owned, engineering) 48
Open (team-owned, engineering) 12
Completion rate ~80%

Open issue breakdown:

Category Count
Likely to land (MR in review) 4
At risk (in dev 2+ weeks, blocked, or no MR) 4
Stale (7+ days no activity) 2
Not started 2

Red flags identified:

  • @tristan.read had 3 open issues, 2 marked atRisk (both Deliverables)
  • #1784 is a Duo CLI Beta Release Blocker and was blocked
  • #1436 is a security issue with SLA:Breached, unassigned since Aug 2024

Out-of-scope issues filtered: 4 issues on 18.10 in gitlab-lsp belong to group::ai coding or group::agent foundations, not editor extensions.


Phase 2: Carryover Decisions

11 issues carried forward to 18.11 (with carryover notes added to each):

Issue Assignee Reason
#1944 Extend Approve for Session @dbernardi Deliverable, MR in review, tool approvals
#1884 MCP tools approve/disable UI @dbernardi Stretch, MR in review, tool approvals
#1784 Workflow running twice @elwyn-gitlab Beta Release Blocker, blocked
#1719 Don't make Duo API requests if disabled @tristan.read Deliverable, severity::2 (already closed)
#1641 DAPv2 submit prompt/conversation @tristan.read/@juhee.lee Deliverable, Duo UI Next
#2061 Decouple Node Identity @john-slaughter In dev, invested effort
#1436 HTML Input in Duo Chat Unassigned Security, SLA:Breached — needs owner
#2095 Follow-up yaml/zod validation @erran Ready for dev
#2022 No way to cancel command execution @ohoral Ready for dev
#1632 DAPv2 Model Selection @juhee.lee In dev, Duo UI Next
#2086 LS send events to Rails backend @mosumah In review, observability

3 issues cut to backlog (milestone removed): @ohoral's namespace handling, @john-slaughter's LoggerFactory, and @tristan.read's self-signed gitlab issue were resolved separately by EM.

Also noted: #592817 Accept serverCapabilities from DWS (@dbernardi) was already moved to 18.11 with missed:18.10 label. Rails MR merged, LSP MR still open.


Phase 3: 18.11 Upcoming Milestone Review

44 total issues on 18.11 across all projects (11 carryover + 33 pre-existing).

34 engineering issues on 18.11 across all projects (11 carryover + 23 pre-existing). 5 docs-only issues (@uchandran) excluded from engineering counts.

Update: 5 issues moved to backlog per EM confirmation (see below).

Keep (25 engineering issues)

All 11 carryover items plus 14 pre-existing issues aligned with Q1 priorities:

  • Security hardening (sandboxing): #2068 (@kjamoralin), #2070 (unassigned), #2071 (unassigned)
  • Security issues: #1349 (SLA:Breached, unassigned), #592816 (HackerOne, @mosumah, due Apr 8)
  • Tool approvals: #1647 (@aspringfield), #2114 (@aspringfield/@erran), #2129 (@aspringfield)
  • Duo UI Next: #1427 (@lauraionel, Deliverable)
  • Duo Core transition: #582731 (unassigned)
  • Reliability bugs: #587435 (@ohoral, missed 18.9+18.10), #1871 (@dbernardi, Deliverable)
  • JetBrains: #1402 (@lauraionel), #1388 (@lauraionel)
  • Security mirrors: #285 (@andrei.zubov, DAP GA Hard Blocker)

Recommended to move to backlog (5 issues) Moved to backlog

All 5 confirmed by EM and milestones removed:

  • #2077 — Agent skills follow-up, unassigned, not on stack rank Done
  • #580267 — Toggle to prevent file editing, unassigned, missed 2 milestones Done
  • #581530 — Custom agents timeout, unassigned, missed 2 milestones Done
  • #2137 — MCP panel log view, unassigned Done
  • #2138 — MCP panel deferred OAuth, unassigned Done

Needs discussion

  • @elwyn-gitlab load: 8+ issues (blocker #1784 + 6 MCP panel subtasks #2131-#2136 + #2143). Well above WIP guidance.
  • VS Code e2e flakiness #2228 (@tristan.read) — priority vs. Deliverable load?
  • Security mirrors follow-up #287 (@erran) — still needed?
  • 3 unassigned security/sandboxing issues need owners: #1436, #1349, #2070/#2071

New P1/S1 not yet on milestone

Docs issues (5, all @uchandran, excluded from engineering counts)

#592926, #590827, #587808, #585922, #585583


Phases 4 (capacity) and 5 (build plan) pending.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-16:5210025458 Donald Cook commented on issue #1987 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / GitLab Language Server 2026-03-16T20:42:57Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

@john-slaughter Is this one complete? If so, please close. Otherwise, move it to %18.11 or the backlog.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-16:5210022241 Donald Cook commented on issue #1968 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / GitLab Language Server 2026-03-16T20:41:55Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

@lauraionel @ohoral Was this covered with the switch to using default namespace from GraphQL?

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-16:5210016224 Donald Cook commented on issue #1632 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / GitLab Language Server 2026-03-16T20:39:53Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Milestone planning: carried forward from 18.10 → 18.11.

This issue was moved as part of the 18.10 → 18.11 milestone transition. It was in dev for DAPv2 Model Selection (Duo UI Next, Q1 priority).

If this was actually completed during 18.10, please move it back to %18.10 and close it so the milestone gets proper credit.

tag:gitlab.com,2026-03-16:5210016208 Donald Cook commented on issue #2086 at GitLab.org / editor-extensions / GitLab Language Server 2026-03-16T20:39:53Z donaldcook Donald Cook [email protected]

Milestone planning: carried forward from 18.10 → 18.11.

This issue was moved as part of the 18.10 → 18.11 milestone transition. It was in review at milestone close (observability/telemetry event forwarding).

If this was actually completed during 18.10, please move it back to %18.10 and close it so the milestone gets proper credit.