GitLab CI Pipeline AI Validator

AI-powered GitLab CI/CD pipeline validation that catches errors before you commit. Get instant feedback on structural issues, circular dependencies, and configuration mistakes—with intelligent quick fixes powered by GitHub Copilot.

Why This Extension?

• 🤖 AI That Actually Understands Your Pipeline — Not just syntax checking. Detects stage mismatches, circular dependencies, and structural errors that break builds
• ⚡ Instant Feedback — See errors as you type with native VS Code diagnostics (squiggles + Problems Panel)
• ✨ AI-Powered Quick Fixes — Press Ctrl+. on any error for AI-generated solutions
• 🔒 GitLab API Integration — Validate against your actual GitLab instance (gitlab.com or self-hosted)
• 🎯 Smart Detection — Automatically detects if any YAML file is a GitLab CI pipeline—no file naming conventions required

✨ AI-Powered Capabilities

Leverages GitHub Copilot's Language Model for intelligent pipeline analysis:

• Structural Validation — Detects stage mismatches, missing job references, invalid dependencies
• Contextual Explanations — Hover over any error for detailed reasoning and suggested fixes
• Quick Fix Actions — Press Ctrl+. (or Cmd+.) to apply AI-generated corrections instantly
• Smart Pipeline Detection — Identifies GitLab CI files regardless of name or location
• Semantic Analysis — Goes beyond syntax to understand pipeline logic and catch runtime failures

How It Works

1. Open any YAML file in VS Code
2. AI automatically detects if it's a GitLab CI pipeline
3. Validation runs as you type (hybrid: GitLab API + AI semantic analysis)
4. See errors inline with squiggles, detailed hovers, and the Problems Panel
5. Fix with AI using Ctrl+. quick actions

No configuration needed for basic validation. Add GitLab API token for authoritative validation against your instance.

Features

Features

Validation Capabilities

Commands

Extension Settings

Requirements

• VS Code 1.106.1 or higher
• Node.js 18.x - 21.x (for extension host process)

Optional Dependencies

• GitHub Copilot (for AI-powered quick fixes and semantic analysis)
• GitLab API Access (for authoritative CI Lint validation)

GitLab API Setup

To enable GitLab API validation:

1. Generate a Personal Access Token with api scope at https://<your-gitlab-instance>/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens
2. Configure settings:

   {
     "gitlabCI.enableGitLabAPI": true,
     "gitlabCI.gitlabInstanceUrl": "https://gitlab.com",
     "gitlabCI.gitlabToken": "glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
     "gitlabCI.projectId": "12345678"
   }
   

3. Tokens are stored in VS Code's secure secret storage

Known Issues

• GitLab API validation requires the workspace to be a Git repository with a GitLab remote configured
• AI-powered features require an active GitHub Copilot subscription
• Large pipeline files (>10,000 lines) may experience validation delays
• Some advanced GitLab CI features (e.g., trigger: with downstream pipelines) have limited validation support

Release Notes

See CHANGELOG.md for detailed release history.

Contributing

Issues and feature requests are welcome. Please visit the GitHub repository to:

• Report bugs or unexpected behavior
• Request new validation rules or features
• Submit pull requests

License

MIT License — See LICENSE for details.