gitlab-org/gitlab-foss v16.5.0

on GitLab

• GitLab 16.5 .deb Linux packages have switched from gzip to xz compression, resulting in smaller package sizes. This change might result in slower unpacking times during installation.
• GitLab 16.5 includes Mattermost 9.0. This version removes the deprecated Insights feature, and Mattermost Boards and various plugins have transitioned to community support.
• GitLab 16.5 moves the GitLab SELinux policy module from /opt/gitlab/embedded/selinux/rhel/7/ to /opt/gitlab/embedded/selinux to reflect that the module isn't only for RHEL 7.

Administrators can now configure a locked user policy for their instance by choosing the number of unsuccessful sign-in attempts, and how long the user is locked for. For example, five unsuccessful sign-in attempts would lock a user for 60 minutes. This allows administrators to define a locked user policy that meets their security and compliance needs. Previously, the number of sign-in attempts and locked user time period were not configurable.

You can now use a new REST API endpoint at user/personal_access_tokens to create a new personal access token for the currently authenticated user. This token's scope is limited to k8s_proxy for security reasons, so you can use it to only perform Kubernetes API calls using the agent for Kubernetes. Previously, only instance administrators could create personal access tokens through the API.

The GitLab backup and restore feature now supports storing repository data in object storage. This update improves performance by eliminating the intermediate steps used to create a large tarball, which needs to be manually stored in an appropriate location.

With this update, repository backups get stored in an object storage location of your choice (Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure Cloud Data Storage, MinIO, etc.). This change eliminates the need to manually move data off of your Gitaly instance.

With the GitLab for Jira Cloud app, you can connect GitLab and Jira Cloud to sync development information in real time. You can view this information in the Jira development panel. Previously, when a reviewer was assigned to a merge request, the reviewer information was not displayed in the Jira development panel. With this release, the reviewer name, email, and approval status are displayed in the Jira development panel when you use the GitLab for Jira Cloud app.

We've heard your feedback that on the left sidebar, it can be hard to find the search button and to change between things like projects and preferences. In this release, we've made the button more prominent. This aids discoverability as well as streamlining workflows into a single touch point.

You can try it out by selecting the Search or go to... button or with a keyboard shortcut by typing / or s.

You can use release events to monitor release objects and react to changes. Previously, a webhook was only triggered when a release was created or updated. In heavily regulated industries, deleting releases is a crucial event that must be monitored and followed up. With GitLab 16.5, a webhook is now also triggered when a release is deleted.

Long-running issues with many threads can be challenging to read and track. You can now resolve a thread on an issue when the topic of discussion has concluded.

From GitLab 16.5, you can export individual wiki pages as PDF files. Now, sharing team knowledge is even more seamless. Exporting a wiki to PDF can be used for a variety of use cases. For example, to provide a copy of technical documentation that is kept in a wiki or share information in a wiki with project status. Gone is the need to leverage alternative tools to convert Markdown files to PDF, since in some organizations, using these tools is prohibited, creating another challenge. Thank you to JiHu for contributing this feature!

You can now add a child item for a task, objective, or key result by using the /add_child quick action.

With this release, you can link tasks and OKRs as "related," "blocked by," or "blocking" to provide traceability between dependent and related work items.

When we migrate epics and issues to the work item framework, you will be able to link across all these types.

You can now set a parent item for a task, objective, or key result by using the /set_parent quick action.

A rate limit for the project/:id/jobs API endpoint was added recently, defaulting to 600 requests per minute per user. As a follow up iteration, we are making this limit configurable, enabling instance administrators to set the limit that best matches their requirements.

We've redesigned Service Desk issues list to load faster and more smoothly. It now matches more closely the regular issues list. Available features include:

• The same sorting and ordering options as on the issue list.
• The same filters, including the OR operator and filtering by issue ID.