Connect GitLab and subscribe your team's channels

Connecting GitLab takes about five minutes on GitLab.com, and ten on your own server. You need a Freesbe admin with a GitLab account that’s a Maintainer of the projects you want: Freesbe adds a webhook to each one, and acts in GitLab as that account.

Before you start

• Make the channels first, such as #storefront-dev for one project’s merge requests and #deploys for every deployment. Make a channel private if its project is private and not everyone in the workspace should see it.
• On your own server, check whether it’s reachable from the internet over https. If it’s not, connect it as a private server (below).

Connect GitLab.com

1. Open Workspace settings → Integrations & apps → Integrations → Dev tools and click Connect GitLab.com.
2. GitLab opens. Click Authorize.
3. You’re back in Freesbe, and it says GitLab connected.

Or connect your own server

1. In Freesbe, click Self-managed and copy the redirect URI it shows.
2. On your server, open Admin area → Applications, click Add new application, name it Freesbe, paste the redirect URI, tick Confidential and api, and save.
3. In Freesbe, enter the server’s address, the Application ID and the Secret, and click Continue to GitLab, then Authorize.

Or connect a private server

If Freesbe can’t reach your server because it’s behind your firewall or VPN:

1. In Freesbe, click Self-managed, pick No, it’s private, enter the address and click Connect.
2. Copy the webhook URL and Secret token Freesbe shows.
3. In each project’s Settings → Webhooks, add a webhook with both, ticking Push, Tag push, Comments, Issues, Merge request, Pipeline, Deployment and Releases events.

Cards post the same way; buttons and Create GitLab issue open GitLab in your browser.

Subscribe the channels

1. Under Channel subscriptions, click Subscribe a channel.
2. Pick the project and the channel. The default posts merge requests, issues, releases and deployments; tick Comments, Pushes, Tags or Pipelines for more.
3. Optional: list labels under Only these labels (bug, customer) to leave the rest out, or name a Branch for pushes and pipelines.
4. Click Subscribe, then open its ⋯ menu and click Post a sample card to see one in the channel.

People can do the same from the channel itself: /gitlab subscribe northwind/storefront.

If a subscription says Nothing posts yet, the connecting account isn’t a Maintainer of that project. See GitLab for everything the cards and previews show.