---
title: GitLab Developer Prompts
description: "Daily development prompts for GitLab MCP. Morning standup checks, branch management, creating merge requests, editing files, debugging CI, and code search with AI-assisted workflows."
head:
- - meta
- name: keywords
content: gitlab developer workflow, branch management, create merge request, code search, edit files, ci/cd debugging
---
# GitLab Developer Prompts
Focused prompts for daily development workflows — code, MRs, pipelines, and debugging.
## Morning Standup
> "Show me my open MRs and their pipeline status"
> "What review requests are waiting for me?"
> "List my todos — what needs attention?"
## Working with Branches
> "Create a branch `feature/user-auth` from `main` in `my-org/api`"
> "Show me all branches matching `feature/*` in `my-org/api`"
> "Compare `feature/user-auth` with `main` — what's the diff?"
::: code-group
```json [Create branch]
{
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"branch": "feature/user-auth",
"ref": "main"
}
```
```json [List feature branches]
{
"action": "list_branches",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"search": "feature/"
}
```
```json [Compare branches]
{
"action": "compare",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"from": "main",
"to": "feature/user-auth",
"per_page": 20
}
```
:::
## Creating Merge Requests
> "Create an MR from `feature/user-auth` to `main` in `my-org/api`"
> "Create a draft MR for my work-in-progress"
::: code-group
```json [Standard MR]
{
"action": "create",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"source_branch": "feature/user-auth",
"target_branch": "main",
"title": "feat: Add user authentication module",
"description": "## Changes\n- JWT token generation\n- Session middleware\n- Login/logout endpoints\n\n## Testing\n- Added unit tests for auth service\n- Integration tests for endpoints",
"remove_source_branch": true
}
```
```json [Draft MR]
{
"action": "create",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"source_branch": "feature/user-auth",
"target_branch": "main",
"title": "Draft: User authentication (WIP)",
"description": "Work in progress - not ready for review yet"
}
```
:::
## Editing Files
> "Update the version in `package.json` to 2.0.0"
> "Create a new config file `src/config/auth.ts`"
::: code-group
```json [Update file]
{
"action": "single",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"file_path": "src/config/auth.ts",
"content": "export const AUTH_CONFIG = {\n tokenExpiry: '24h',\n refreshExpiry: '7d',\n};",
"commit_message": "feat: add auth configuration",
"branch": "feature/user-auth"
}
```
```json [Multiple files]
{
"action": "batch",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"branch": "feature/user-auth",
"commit_message": "feat: add auth module files",
"files": [
{
"file_path": "src/auth/index.ts",
"content": "export { AuthService } from './service';"
},
{
"file_path": "src/auth/service.ts",
"content": "export class AuthService {\n // implementation\n}"
}
]
}
```
:::
## Debugging CI
> "My pipeline failed — show me the error logs"
> "Retry the failed test job"
> "What's the status of my MR's pipeline?"
See [Debug Pipeline Failures](/prompts/ci-cd/debug-failure) for the complete workflow.
## Code Search
> "Search for `AuthService` across all projects"
> "Find files containing `TODO` in `my-org/api`"
::: code-group
```json [Code search]
{
"action": "project",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"scope": "blobs",
"search": "AuthService",
"per_page": 20
}
```
```json [Global search]
{
"action": "global",
"scope": "blobs",
"search": "AuthService",
"per_page": 20
}
```
:::
## Daily Workflow
1. Check todos and review requests
2. Review pending MRs assigned to you
3. Push code and create/update MRs
4. Monitor pipeline status
5. Address review feedback
6. Merge approved MRs
## Related
- [Code Review](/prompts/code-review/review-mr) — Review workflows
- [Debug Pipelines](/prompts/ci-cd/debug-failure) — CI troubleshooting
- [Explore Repo](/prompts/quick-start/explore-repo) — Navigate codebases
