Integration with GitLab Ecosystem

Motivation:

This integration aims to provide a seamless experience for GitLab users who want to use GitLab Discussions to manage discussions related to their GitLab projects.

Features:

• Discussions:
  • Creation: GitLab users can create new discussions from within the GitLab interface.
  • Linking: Discussions can be linked to specific GitLab issues, merge requests, or other objects, allowing users to easily track related conversations.
  • Notifications: Users receive notifications about new discussions, replies, and mentions.
• Synchronization:
  • Data Synchronization: Data related to discussions, including comments, reactions, and users, is synchronized between GitLab and GitLab Discussions.
  • Real-time Updates: Changes made to discussions in one platform are reflected in the other platform in real time.

Options:

1. Integration via API:

   • This option leverages the GitLab API to interact with GitLab Discussions.

   • Example: Creating a new discussion from GitLab:

     {
                 "title": "New Discussion",
                 "body": "This is the body of the discussion.",
                 "project_id": 12345,
                 "type": "Discussion"
               }
               

   • Source: GitLab API Documentation

2. Integration via Webhooks:

   • This option uses webhooks to trigger events in GitLab Discussions when specific actions occur in GitLab.
   • Example: Triggering a webhook when a new issue is created in GitLab:

     {
                 "object_kind": "issue",
                 "event_name": "issue_create",
                 "project": {
                   "id": 12345
                 },
                 "user": {
                   "id": 67890
                 }
               }
               

   • Source: GitLab Webhooks Documentation

3. Integration via GitLab UI:

   • This option provides users with a dedicated interface within GitLab to access and manage discussions.
   • Example: Adding a discussion to a merge request:
     • Users can access the “Discussions” tab within the merge request page.
     • They can then create new discussions or view existing ones.
   • Source: GitLab UI Documentation

Code Files:

• lib/gitlab/integration.rb: Handles the integration with GitLab, including API calls and webhook processing.
• app/models/discussion.rb: Represents a GitLab Discussion in the application.
• app/views/discussions/_discussion.html.erb: Renders the discussion UI in GitLab.
• app/controllers/discussions_controller.rb: Manages the display and manipulation of discussions in GitLab.