Gitlab 18.4 Released (about.gitlab.com)

GitLab 18.4 introduces a set of developer- and AI-focused features that tighten code intelligence, agent control, and security. The headline is the GitLab Knowledge Graph (beta): it maps files and definitions across a repository to provide rich, cross-file code context that GitLab Duo agents can use to produce faster, more precise answers and support impact analysis and planning (beta — feedback: issue 160). Complementing this, GitLab Duo now offers end-user model selection in public beta on GitLab.com, letting individual developers pick vendor models in the Duo Agentic Chat UI (namespace owners may restrict this). Note changing models starts a fresh conversation and preferences are remembered. The release also includes practical CI/CD and security updates with direct implications for engineering and ML workflows. CI/CD job tokens can now authenticate Git push requests (toggle via Job token permissions or the ci_push_repository_for_job_token_allowed REST parameter), enabling automated pipelines to push changes securely. Duo context exclusion (beta — issue 566244) lets teams exclude files, dirs, or file types from agent context to protect secrets and maintain compliance. Infrastructure and workflow enhancements include GitLab Dedicated support across all AWS regions (thanks to io2 disk availability) and the pipeline editor’s Validate tab now simulates pipelines against any branch, improving test coverage for feature and stable branches.