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GitLab Duo Self-Hosted

Version history

  • Introduced in GitLab 17.1 with a flag named ai_custom_model. Disabled by default.
  • Enabled on GitLab Self-Managed in GitLab 17.6.
  • Changed to require GitLab Duo add-on in GitLab 17.6 and later.
  • Feature flag ai_custom_model removed in GitLab 17.8
  • Generally available in GitLab 17.9

To maintain full control over your data privacy, security, and the deployment of large language models (LLMs) in your own infrastructure, use GitLab Duo Self-Hosted.

By deploying GitLab Duo Self-Hosted, you can manage the entire lifecycle of requests made to LLM backends for GitLab Duo features, ensuring that all requests stay in your enterprise network, and avoiding external dependencies.

For a click-through demo, see GitLab Duo Self-Hosted product tour.

For an overview, see GitLab Duo Self-Hosted: AI in your private environment.

Why use GitLab Duo Self-Hosted

With GitLab Duo Self-Hosted, you can:

  • Choose any GitLab-approved LLM.
  • Retain full control over data by keeping all request/response logs in your domain, ensuring complete privacy and security with no external API calls.
  • Isolate the GitLab instance, AI gateway, and models in your own environment.
  • Select specific GitLab Duo features tailored to your users.
  • Eliminate reliance on the shared GitLab AI gateway.

This setup ensures enterprise-level privacy and flexibility, allowing seamless integration of your LLMs with GitLab Duo features.

Supported GitLab Duo features

The following table lists the GitLab Duo features, and whether they are available on GitLab Duo Self-Hosted or not.

Feature Available on GitLab Duo Self-Hosted GitLab version
GitLab Duo Chat {check-circle-filled} Yes GitLab 17.9 and later
Code Suggestions {check-circle-filled} Yes GitLab 17.9 and later
Code Explanation {check-circle-filled} Yes GitLab 17.9 and later
Test Generation {check-circle-filled} Yes GitLab 17.9 and later
Refactor Code {check-circle-filled} Yes GitLab 17.9 and later
Fix Code {check-circle-filled} Yes GitLab 17.9 and later
AI Impact Dashboard {check-circle-dashed} Beta GitLab 17.9 and later
Discussion Summary {dash-circle} No Not applicable
GitLab Duo for the CLI {dash-circle} No Not applicable
Merge Commit Message Generation {dash-circle} No Not applicable
Root Cause Analysis {dash-circle} No Not applicable
Vulnerability Explanation {dash-circle} No Not applicable
Vulnerability Resolution {dash-circle} No Not applicable

Supported Duo Chat features

You can use the following GitLab Duo Chat features with GitLab Duo Self-Hosted:

Prerequisites

Before setting up the GitLab Duo Self-Hosted infrastructure, you must have:

Decide on your configuration type

GitLab Self-Managed customers can implement AI-powered features using either of the following options:

The differences between these options are:

Feature Self-hosted AI gateway GitLab.com AI gateway
Infrastructure requirements Requires hosting your own AI gateway and models No additional infrastructure needed
Model options Choose from supported models Uses the default GitLab external vendor LLMs
Network requirements Can operate in fully isolated networks Requires internet connectivity
Responsibilities You set up your infrastructure, and do your own maintenance GitLab does the set up and maintenance

Self-hosted AI gateway and LLMs

In a fully self-hosted configuration, you deploy your own AI gateway and use any supported LLMs in your infrastructure, without relying on external public services. This gives you full control over your data and security.

While this configuration is fully self-hosted and you can use models like Mistral that are hosted on your own infrastructure, you can still use cloud-based LLM services like AWS Bedrock or Azure OpenAI as your model backend.

If you have an offline environment with physical barriers or security policies that prevent or limit internet access, and comprehensive LLM controls, you can use GitLab Duo Self-Hosted.

For licensing, you must have a GitLab Ultimate subscription and GitLab Duo Enterprise. Offline Enterprise licenses are available for those customers with fully isolated offline environments. To get access to your purchased subscription, request a license through the Customers Portal.

For more information, see:

GitLab.com AI gateway with default GitLab external vendor LLMs

If you do not meet the use case criteria for GitLab Duo Self-Hosted, you can use the GitLab.com AI gateway with default GitLab external vendor LLMs.

The GitLab.com AI gateway is the default Enterprise offering and is not self-hosted. In this configuration, you connect your instance to the GitLab-hosted AI gateway, which integrates with external vendor LLM providers, including:

These LLMs communicate through the GitLab Cloud Connector, offering a ready-to-use AI solution without the need for on-premise infrastructure.

For licensing, you must have a GitLab Ultimate subscription, and GitLab Duo Enterprise. To get access to your purchased subscription, request a license through the Customers Portal

For more information, see the GitLab.com AI gateway configuration diagram.

To set up this infrastructure, see how to configure GitLab Duo on a GitLab Self-Managed instance.

Set up a GitLab Duo Self-Hosted infrastructure

To set up a fully isolated GitLab Duo Self-Hosted infrastructure:

  1. Install a Large Language Model (LLM) Serving Infrastructure

    • We support various platforms for serving and hosting your LLMs, such as vLLM, AWS Bedrock, and Azure OpenAI. To help you choose the most suitable option for effectively deploying your models, see the supported LLM platforms documentation for more information on each platform's features.

    • We provide a comprehensive matrix of supported models along with their specific features and hardware requirements. To help select models that best align with your infrastructure needs for optimal performance, see the supported models and hardware requirements documentation.

  2. Install the GitLab AI gateway Install the AI gateway to efficiently configure your AI infrastructure.

  3. Configure GitLab Duo features See the Configure GitLab Duo features documentation for instructions on how to customize your environment to effectively meet your operational needs.

  4. Enable logging You can find configuration details for enabling logging in your environment. For help in using logs to track and manage your system's performance effectively, see the logging documentation.

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