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Your first review in five minutes

Outcome

You will sign up, connect one GitLab project, and see Threadory's review comment on a real merge request.

Before you begin

  • the admin or owner role in the Threadory project: connecting a source and changing review settings are limited to them. With a lower role, ask an administrator to connect GitLab; do not share your session, a token, or connector credentials. You can still read the review comments in GitLab;
  • a GitLab project (gitlab.com or self-managed) where you can create a token and open a merge request;
  • a GitLab project access token, or a personal access token, with the api scope. The scope is needed to post the review comment and to install the webhook. Prefer a token dedicated to Threadory: GitLab shows the comment as written by the token's user;
  • for self-managed GitLab: the instance must be able to reach Threadory over HTTPS, because GitLab sends the webhook from its own server.

GitHub uses a different connection flow; see Merge request review.

Steps

  1. Sign up. Create an account and, if the sign-up asks for it, open the link from the verification email.
  2. Create the workspace. Onboarding asks for an organization name and then a project name. Choose Create workspace. The project is the unit that holds one team's connections, knowledge, and settings.
  3. Open Connectors. In the sidebar, select Connectors, find GitLab, and select Connect.
  4. Follow the guide in the drawer. It links to the right GitLab pages. If your GitLab is self-managed, set GitLab base URL first; the deep links follow it.
  5. Create the token in GitLab. Prefer a project access token: under the project's Settings → Access tokens, enable the api scope and copy the token. A personal access token (Open personal access tokens) also works, but it carries your access to every project you can reach.
  6. Fill in the form. Paste the token into Personal or project access token. In Project path or URL, enter group/repository or the full project URL. Select Connect GitLab.
  7. Install the webhook. On the next step, select Install webhook. Threadory uses your token to create the project webhook in GitLab; you do not copy a URL or a secret yourself. The webhook URL has the form <Threadory API address>/webhooks/<connection id>/gitlab, and it appears in GitLab under Settings → Webhooks with merge request, note, issue, and push events enabled. If you choose Use polling for now instead, reviews still work but arrive up to an hour late; install the webhook later from the connector card menu.
  8. Run the first sync. Back on the Connectors page, select Sync now on the GitLab card. Wait until Activity shows the sync as completed.
  9. Open or update a merge request. In GitLab, open a new merge request, or push a commit to an existing one. Use a change that touches real code, so the review has something to read.

What the first comment looks like

Within a few minutes a comment from the token's GitLab user appears on the merge request. Its shape follows the change, but it typically contains:

  • a short walkthrough of what the change does;
  • the risks the review sees;
  • findings, each with a file and line, a severity, and, when the fix is small and exact, the replacement lines in a suggestion block;
  • a Linked context section at the end when Threadory has connected the merge request to tickets or other items.

It is a single comment, not a set of threads on the diff. If you reply under it, Threadory can answer in the same thread. Push another commit and the review follows: it acknowledges what you fixed and covers only what changed.

Verify the result

  • the GitLab card on Connectors shows the webhook as installed;
  • Activity shows a completed sync and, after your merge request, a review run;
  • the comment is on the merge request in GitLab.

Where to tune it

Open Settings → Review (admin role required). The most useful switches for a first week:

  • Publish without approval — turn it off to send every review to Approvals first;
  • Confidence floor — raise it to see fewer, more certain comments;
  • Review guidelines — write down the rules your team cares about, in plain text;
  • Review merge requests — the master switch.

All settings are described in Merge request review.

Common problems

Symptom Likely cause What to do
Install fails with an access error The token, base URL, or project path is wrong Check the three fields against the GitLab project
The webhook step fails The token lacks the api scope, or GitLab cannot reach Threadory Create a token with api; for self-managed GitLab allow outbound HTTPS to Threadory, then reinstall from the card menu
No comment after several minutes Review switch off, webhook missing, or the review waits for approval See Merge request review
No comment after a small follow-up push The review stays silent when the new changes are not worth a comment Expected; the earlier review still stands

Free plan limits apply to reviews; see the plans on threadory.ai.

Next step

Read Merge request review for the full behavior, then try your first closed loop.