[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":808},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/en-us/blog/browser-based-dast-feature-announcement":3,"navigation-en-us":38,"banner-en-us":448,"footer-en-us":458,"blog-post-authors-en-us-Isaac Dawson":700,"blog-related-posts-en-us-browser-based-dast-feature-announcement":714,"blog-promotions-en-us":745,"next-steps-en-us":798},{"id":4,"title":5,"authorSlugs":6,"body":8,"categorySlug":9,"config":10,"content":14,"description":8,"extension":26,"isFeatured":12,"meta":27,"navigation":28,"path":29,"publishedDate":20,"seo":30,"stem":34,"tagSlugs":35,"__hash__":37},"blogPosts/en-us/blog/browser-based-dast-feature-announcement.yml","Browser Based Dast Feature Announcement",[7],"isaac-dawson",null,"product",{"slug":11,"featured":12,"template":13},"browser-based-dast-feature-announcement",false,"BlogPost",{"title":15,"description":16,"authors":17,"heroImage":19,"date":20,"body":21,"category":9,"tags":22},"Introducing browser-based DAST and integrated passive checks","We're working hard on reducing noise. Here's what you need to know about the status of our browser-based DAST offering today.",[18],"Isaac Dawson","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1749682466/Blog/Hero%20Images/vek-labs-e8ofKlNHdsg-unsplash.jpg","2022-10-19","The [DAST](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/application_security/dast/) and [Vulnerability Research](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/development/sec/secure/vulnerability-research/) teams at GitLab are excited to announce we have fully [integrated passive checks](/releases/2022/08/22/gitlab-15-3-released/#browser-based-dast-passive-check-milestone) into our new [browser-based DAST analyzer](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/application_security/dast/browser_based.html). Passive checks work by monitoring the network traffic to target applications while the web site is automatically crawled. This allows us to identify weaknesses that may exist without sending potentially disruptive network requests. This continues our effort to fully switch over to our browser-based analyzer for DAST in the coming months. If you are interested in using our new DAST analyzer please see our [documentation on how to configure a browser-based DAST scan](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/application_security/dast/browser_based.html).\n\n## History of DAST at GitLab\n\nDAST was [officially launched](/releases/2018/01/22/gitlab-10-4-released/) as a part of the GitLab 10.4 release in January 2018. By utilizing the powerful OWASP [Zed Attack Proxy](https://www.zaproxy.org/) we were able to give our customers the ability to dynamically scan\ntheir web applications. From that initial minimal viable product, we have grown to the point where we are now running over a million scans a month.\n\nScanning web applications in the CI/CD context comes with challenges. Unlike [SAST](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/application_security/sast/), which is relatively fast, dynamically scanning an application can take a significant amount of time. DAST is resource intensive as it needs to process each request and response to the target application. To ensure smooth operations for the majority of our customers we have to run under the assumption that our memory and CPU footprints should be as small as possible. Finally, and most likely the biggest pain point, is the disconnect that often occurs when trying to visualize or understand how a web application should be analyzed when one can not physically see any of the interactions between the scanner and the target application.\n\nZAP was originally built as a desktop application, meaning auditors could use it to see the target application while conducting their testing. Only by utilizing ZAP's scripting API could we make DAST scans viable in a CI/CD context. This surfaced some challenges: what is easy to configure in the UI may or may not be straightforward to adjust from a configuration file or a command line option.\n\nWhen reviewing our support tickets however, a very clear picture began to surface. Users were having the most problem with configuring authentication for their applications. This makes sense, as it is where the user interacts with the scanner the most. Modern applications almost require a browser to authenticate, due to relying on browser features like local or session storage. These features are commonly used for handling JSON Web Token (JWT) based authentication and authorization.\n\nIt should be noted that ZAP does have a browser based crawler extension, called AJAX Spider. This extension uses [Crawljax](https://github.com/crawljax/crawljax). GitLab provides this feature by supplying the correct CI/CD variable, but it is no longer recommended. AJAX Spider is however, only an extension, and does not represent a tight integration between the browser and the DAST tool.\n\n## A path forward\n\nWe needed a system where we could have full control over a browser to allow us to instrument interactions between a website and the DAST tool. A DAST tool which does not tightly integrate with a browser will be limited in its ability to fully interact with today's demanding web applications. Just some of the challenges of this are:\n\n- Single Page Applications (SPAs)\n- Complex, multi-step sign in features\n- Complex front-end frameworks\n- Utilization of built-in browser features (e.g. usage of localStorage or sessionStorage)\n\nA new DAST tool based completely off instrumenting a browser and written in Go would give GitLab a lot more control going forward. What started as a side project during nights and weekends began to show some promise. The Vulnerability Research and DAST teams worked together to assess the viability of building out this DAST analyzer. To allow us to take advantage of new features without having to implement the entire engine, we opted to continue to use ZAP as the proxy. This means our analyzer is forwarding all the browser traffic through ZAP, but processing logic of crawling and passive checks are now done in our engine. While we've been relatively quiet on our progress, we've been incrementally rolling out new features with almost every release. The end goal is to completely replace ZAP with our own engine.\n\n## Where we are today\n\nOf course the biggest announcement is that we have fully switched over to using our own vulnerability check system for passive checks. These checks replace ZAP's \"passive\" checks. The Vulnerability Research team invested a lot of time looking over how each ZAP plugin worked and determined whether it was worth implementing, or if it should be implemented differently. Alert fatigue is a real concern we share with our customers. By reducing the noise (false positives) in our DAST offering, we hope to reduce the chance of our customers ignoring real findings. As such, our goal is to significantly reduce the noise that is usually associated with DAST scan results, and this is achieved through three different methods:\n\n1. Not implementing certain checks\n2. Reducing false positives (incorrect findings)\n3. Aggregating true positives (real findings)\n\nPoint one is worth expanding upon. DAST vulnerabilities are unique in that in some cases the fix for a vulnerability is reliant on the browser or user-agent being modified, and not  the target application. Browsers increase their security directly or have it increased by deprecating features that were used in attacks. Browsers deciding to disable Flash is a good example of this – what was a vulnerability yesterday may no longer be a vulnerability today.\n\nZAP's check for [Charset mis-match](https://www.zaproxy.org/docs/alerts/90011/) is another case in point. After [researching](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/331218) what was possible in 2022, it turns out this is no longer an issue worth reporting. Other DAST tools report similar issues that are no longer realistically exploitable or worth reporting, so this is not just an issue with ZAP.\n\nReducing false positives is another major initiative, and one that led us to create a rather unique system for creating new vulnerability checks. Traditionally, DAST tools use a plugin architecture of hardcoded vulnerability checks. While quick to implement, they can have the downside of being difficult to understand or error prone. They are also harder to implement in a standardized way. At GitLab we opted to use a configuration-file-based check system, much like today's SAST tools.\n\nFinally, aggregating true positives allows us to merge similar issues into a single finding. These types of issues are usually fixed by a single configuration change, such as adding a security header.\n\nOur passive checks are almost entirely written in YAML, using a custom specification that allows us to define a check as text. Where this is not feasible, reusable components are written that can be referenced by various checks. Below is an example check that looks for the `X-Content-Type-Options` header in HTTP response headers and reports if it is missing the `nosniff` value.\n\n```yaml\n",[23,24,25],"testing","features","code review","yml",{},true,"/en-us/blog/browser-based-dast-feature-announcement",{"title":15,"description":16,"ogTitle":15,"ogDescription":16,"noIndex":12,"ogImage":19,"ogUrl":31,"ogSiteName":32,"ogType":33,"canonicalUrls":31},"https://about.gitlab.com/blog/browser-based-dast-feature-announcement","https://about.gitlab.com","article","en-us/blog/browser-based-dast-feature-announcement",[23,24,36],"code-review","WrUfiFsXVQ0JI5GefADUlxFQ1zXK729sE8xdPHjM0cw",{"data":39},{"logo":40,"freeTrial":45,"sales":50,"login":55,"items":60,"search":368,"minimal":399,"duo":418,"switchNav":427,"pricingDeployment":438},{"config":41},{"href":42,"dataGaName":43,"dataGaLocation":44},"/","gitlab logo","header",{"text":46,"config":47},"Get free trial",{"href":48,"dataGaName":49,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://gitlab.com/-/trial_registrations/new?glm_source=about.gitlab.com&glm_content=default-saas-trial/","free trial",{"text":51,"config":52},"Talk to sales",{"href":53,"dataGaName":54,"dataGaLocation":44},"/sales/","sales",{"text":56,"config":57},"Sign in",{"href":58,"dataGaName":59,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://gitlab.com/users/sign_in/","sign in",[61,88,183,188,289,349],{"text":62,"config":63,"cards":65},"Platform",{"dataNavLevelOne":64},"platform",[66,72,80],{"title":62,"description":67,"link":68},"The intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps",{"text":69,"config":70},"Explore our Platform",{"href":71,"dataGaName":64,"dataGaLocation":44},"/platform/",{"title":73,"description":74,"link":75},"GitLab Duo Agent Platform","Agentic AI for the entire software lifecycle",{"text":76,"config":77},"Meet GitLab Duo",{"href":78,"dataGaName":79,"dataGaLocation":44},"/gitlab-duo-agent-platform/","gitlab duo agent platform",{"title":81,"description":82,"link":83},"Why GitLab","See the top reasons enterprises choose GitLab",{"text":84,"config":85},"Learn more",{"href":86,"dataGaName":87,"dataGaLocation":44},"/why-gitlab/","why gitlab",{"text":89,"left":28,"config":90,"link":92,"lists":96,"footer":165},"Product",{"dataNavLevelOne":91},"solutions",{"text":93,"config":94},"View all Solutions",{"href":95,"dataGaName":91,"dataGaLocation":44},"/solutions/",[97,121,144],{"title":98,"description":99,"link":100,"items":105},"Automation","CI/CD and automation to accelerate deployment",{"config":101},{"icon":102,"href":103,"dataGaName":104,"dataGaLocation":44},"AutomatedCodeAlt","/solutions/delivery-automation/","automated software delivery",[106,110,113,117],{"text":107,"config":108},"CI/CD",{"href":109,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":107},"/solutions/continuous-integration/",{"text":73,"config":111},{"href":78,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":112},"gitlab duo agent platform - product menu",{"text":114,"config":115},"Source Code Management",{"href":116,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":114},"/solutions/source-code-management/",{"text":118,"config":119},"Automated Software Delivery",{"href":103,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":120},"Automated software delivery",{"title":122,"description":123,"link":124,"items":129},"Security","Deliver code faster without compromising security",{"config":125},{"href":126,"dataGaName":127,"dataGaLocation":44,"icon":128},"/solutions/application-security-testing/","security and compliance","ShieldCheckLight",[130,134,139],{"text":131,"config":132},"Application Security Testing",{"href":126,"dataGaName":133,"dataGaLocation":44},"Application security testing",{"text":135,"config":136},"Software Supply Chain Security",{"href":137,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":138},"/solutions/supply-chain/","Software supply chain security",{"text":140,"config":141},"Software Compliance",{"href":142,"dataGaName":143,"dataGaLocation":44},"/solutions/software-compliance/","software compliance",{"title":145,"link":146,"items":151},"Measurement",{"config":147},{"icon":148,"href":149,"dataGaName":150,"dataGaLocation":44},"DigitalTransformation","/solutions/visibility-measurement/","visibility and measurement",[152,156,160],{"text":153,"config":154},"Visibility & Measurement",{"href":149,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":155},"Visibility and Measurement",{"text":157,"config":158},"Value Stream Management",{"href":159,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":157},"/solutions/value-stream-management/",{"text":161,"config":162},"Analytics & Insights",{"href":163,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":164},"/solutions/analytics-and-insights/","Analytics and insights",{"title":166,"items":167},"GitLab for",[168,173,178],{"text":169,"config":170},"Enterprise",{"href":171,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":172},"/enterprise/","enterprise",{"text":174,"config":175},"Small Business",{"href":176,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":177},"/small-business/","small business",{"text":179,"config":180},"Public Sector",{"href":181,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":182},"/solutions/public-sector/","public sector",{"text":184,"config":185},"Pricing",{"href":186,"dataGaName":187,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataNavLevelOne":187},"/pricing/","pricing",{"text":189,"config":190,"link":192,"lists":196,"feature":276},"Resources",{"dataNavLevelOne":191},"resources",{"text":193,"config":194},"View all resources",{"href":195,"dataGaName":191,"dataGaLocation":44},"/resources/",[197,230,248],{"title":198,"items":199},"Getting started",[200,205,210,215,220,225],{"text":201,"config":202},"Install",{"href":203,"dataGaName":204,"dataGaLocation":44},"/install/","install",{"text":206,"config":207},"Quick start guides",{"href":208,"dataGaName":209,"dataGaLocation":44},"/get-started/","quick setup checklists",{"text":211,"config":212},"Learn",{"href":213,"dataGaLocation":44,"dataGaName":214},"https://university.gitlab.com/","learn",{"text":216,"config":217},"Product documentation",{"href":218,"dataGaName":219,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://docs.gitlab.com/","product documentation",{"text":221,"config":222},"Best practice videos",{"href":223,"dataGaName":224,"dataGaLocation":44},"/getting-started-videos/","best practice videos",{"text":226,"config":227},"Integrations",{"href":228,"dataGaName":229,"dataGaLocation":44},"/integrations/","integrations",{"title":231,"items":232},"Discover",[233,238,243],{"text":234,"config":235},"Customer success stories",{"href":236,"dataGaName":237,"dataGaLocation":44},"/customers/","customer success stories",{"text":239,"config":240},"Blog",{"href":241,"dataGaName":242,"dataGaLocation":44},"/blog/","blog",{"text":244,"config":245},"Remote",{"href":246,"dataGaName":247,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/company/culture/all-remote/","remote",{"title":249,"items":250},"Connect",[251,256,261,266,271],{"text":252,"config":253},"GitLab Services",{"href":254,"dataGaName":255,"dataGaLocation":44},"/services/","services",{"text":257,"config":258},"Community",{"href":259,"dataGaName":260,"dataGaLocation":44},"/community/","community",{"text":262,"config":263},"Forum",{"href":264,"dataGaName":265,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://forum.gitlab.com/","forum",{"text":267,"config":268},"Events",{"href":269,"dataGaName":270,"dataGaLocation":44},"/events/","events",{"text":272,"config":273},"Partners",{"href":274,"dataGaName":275,"dataGaLocation":44},"/partners/","partners",{"backgroundColor":277,"textColor":278,"text":279,"image":280,"link":284},"#2f2a6b","#fff","Insights for the future of software development",{"altText":281,"config":282},"the source promo card",{"src":283},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1758208064/dzl0dbift9xdizyelkk4.svg",{"text":285,"config":286},"Read the latest",{"href":287,"dataGaName":288,"dataGaLocation":44},"/the-source/","the source",{"text":290,"config":291,"lists":293},"Company",{"dataNavLevelOne":292},"company",[294],{"items":295},[296,301,307,309,314,319,324,329,334,339,344],{"text":297,"config":298},"About",{"href":299,"dataGaName":300,"dataGaLocation":44},"/company/","about",{"text":302,"config":303,"footerGa":306},"Jobs",{"href":304,"dataGaName":305,"dataGaLocation":44},"/jobs/","jobs",{"dataGaName":305},{"text":267,"config":308},{"href":269,"dataGaName":270,"dataGaLocation":44},{"text":310,"config":311},"Leadership",{"href":312,"dataGaName":313,"dataGaLocation":44},"/company/team/e-group/","leadership",{"text":315,"config":316},"Team",{"href":317,"dataGaName":318,"dataGaLocation":44},"/company/team/","team",{"text":320,"config":321},"Handbook",{"href":322,"dataGaName":323,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://handbook.gitlab.com/","handbook",{"text":325,"config":326},"Investor relations",{"href":327,"dataGaName":328,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://ir.gitlab.com/","investor relations",{"text":330,"config":331},"Trust Center",{"href":332,"dataGaName":333,"dataGaLocation":44},"/security/","trust center",{"text":335,"config":336},"AI Transparency Center",{"href":337,"dataGaName":338,"dataGaLocation":44},"/ai-transparency-center/","ai transparency center",{"text":340,"config":341},"Newsletter",{"href":342,"dataGaName":343,"dataGaLocation":44},"/company/contact/#contact-forms","newsletter",{"text":345,"config":346},"Press",{"href":347,"dataGaName":348,"dataGaLocation":44},"/press/","press",{"text":350,"config":351,"lists":352},"Contact us",{"dataNavLevelOne":292},[353],{"items":354},[355,358,363],{"text":51,"config":356},{"href":53,"dataGaName":357,"dataGaLocation":44},"talk to sales",{"text":359,"config":360},"Support portal",{"href":361,"dataGaName":362,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://support.gitlab.com","support portal",{"text":364,"config":365},"Customer portal",{"href":366,"dataGaName":367,"dataGaLocation":44},"https://customers.gitlab.com/customers/sign_in/","customer portal",{"close":369,"login":370,"suggestions":377},"Close",{"text":371,"link":372},"To search repositories and projects, login to",{"text":373,"config":374},"gitlab.com",{"href":58,"dataGaName":375,"dataGaLocation":376},"search login","search",{"text":378,"default":379},"Suggestions",[380,382,386,388,392,396],{"text":73,"config":381},{"href":78,"dataGaName":73,"dataGaLocation":376},{"text":383,"config":384},"Code Suggestions (AI)",{"href":385,"dataGaName":383,"dataGaLocation":376},"/solutions/code-suggestions/",{"text":107,"config":387},{"href":109,"dataGaName":107,"dataGaLocation":376},{"text":389,"config":390},"GitLab on AWS",{"href":391,"dataGaName":389,"dataGaLocation":376},"/partners/technology-partners/aws/",{"text":393,"config":394},"GitLab on Google Cloud",{"href":395,"dataGaName":393,"dataGaLocation":376},"/partners/technology-partners/google-cloud-platform/",{"text":397,"config":398},"Why GitLab?",{"href":86,"dataGaName":397,"dataGaLocation":376},{"freeTrial":400,"mobileIcon":405,"desktopIcon":410,"secondaryButton":413},{"text":401,"config":402},"Start free trial",{"href":403,"dataGaName":49,"dataGaLocation":404},"https://gitlab.com/-/trials/new/","nav",{"altText":406,"config":407},"Gitlab Icon",{"src":408,"dataGaName":409,"dataGaLocation":404},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1758203874/jypbw1jx72aexsoohd7x.svg","gitlab icon",{"altText":406,"config":411},{"src":412,"dataGaName":409,"dataGaLocation":404},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1758203875/gs4c8p8opsgvflgkswz9.svg",{"text":414,"config":415},"Get Started",{"href":416,"dataGaName":417,"dataGaLocation":404},"https://gitlab.com/-/trial_registrations/new?glm_source=about.gitlab.com/get-started/","get started",{"freeTrial":419,"mobileIcon":423,"desktopIcon":425},{"text":420,"config":421},"Learn more about GitLab Duo",{"href":78,"dataGaName":422,"dataGaLocation":404},"gitlab duo",{"altText":406,"config":424},{"src":408,"dataGaName":409,"dataGaLocation":404},{"altText":406,"config":426},{"src":412,"dataGaName":409,"dataGaLocation":404},{"button":428,"mobileIcon":433,"desktopIcon":435},{"text":429,"config":430},"/switch",{"href":431,"dataGaName":432,"dataGaLocation":404},"#contact","switch",{"altText":406,"config":434},{"src":408,"dataGaName":409,"dataGaLocation":404},{"altText":406,"config":436},{"src":437,"dataGaName":409,"dataGaLocation":404},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1773335277/ohhpiuoxoldryzrnhfrh.png",{"freeTrial":439,"mobileIcon":444,"desktopIcon":446},{"text":440,"config":441},"Back to pricing",{"href":186,"dataGaName":442,"dataGaLocation":404,"icon":443},"back to pricing","GoBack",{"altText":406,"config":445},{"src":408,"dataGaName":409,"dataGaLocation":404},{"altText":406,"config":447},{"src":412,"dataGaName":409,"dataGaLocation":404},{"title":449,"button":450,"config":455},"See how agentic AI transforms software delivery",{"text":451,"config":452},"Watch GitLab Transcend now",{"href":453,"dataGaName":454,"dataGaLocation":44},"/events/transcend/virtual/","transcend event",{"layout":456,"icon":457,"disabled":28},"release","AiStar",{"data":459},{"text":460,"source":461,"edit":467,"contribute":472,"config":477,"items":482,"minimal":689},"Git is a trademark of Software Freedom Conservancy and our use of 'GitLab' is under license",{"text":462,"config":463},"View page source",{"href":464,"dataGaName":465,"dataGaLocation":466},"https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/marketing/digital-experience/about-gitlab-com/","page source","footer",{"text":468,"config":469},"Edit this page",{"href":470,"dataGaName":471,"dataGaLocation":466},"https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/marketing/digital-experience/about-gitlab-com/-/blob/main/content/","web ide",{"text":473,"config":474},"Please contribute",{"href":475,"dataGaName":476,"dataGaLocation":466},"https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/marketing/digital-experience/about-gitlab-com/-/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md/","please contribute",{"twitter":478,"facebook":479,"youtube":480,"linkedin":481},"https://twitter.com/gitlab","https://www.facebook.com/gitlab","https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnMGQ8QHMAnVIsI3xJrihhg","https://www.linkedin.com/company/gitlab-com",[483,530,584,628,655],{"title":184,"links":484,"subMenu":499},[485,489,494],{"text":486,"config":487},"View plans",{"href":186,"dataGaName":488,"dataGaLocation":466},"view plans",{"text":490,"config":491},"Why Premium?",{"href":492,"dataGaName":493,"dataGaLocation":466},"/pricing/premium/","why premium",{"text":495,"config":496},"Why Ultimate?",{"href":497,"dataGaName":498,"dataGaLocation":466},"/pricing/ultimate/","why ultimate",[500],{"title":501,"links":502},"Contact Us",[503,506,508,510,515,520,525],{"text":504,"config":505},"Contact sales",{"href":53,"dataGaName":54,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":359,"config":507},{"href":361,"dataGaName":362,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":364,"config":509},{"href":366,"dataGaName":367,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":511,"config":512},"Status",{"href":513,"dataGaName":514,"dataGaLocation":466},"https://status.gitlab.com/","status",{"text":516,"config":517},"Terms of use",{"href":518,"dataGaName":519,"dataGaLocation":466},"/terms/","terms of use",{"text":521,"config":522},"Privacy statement",{"href":523,"dataGaName":524,"dataGaLocation":466},"/privacy/","privacy statement",{"text":526,"config":527},"Cookie preferences",{"dataGaName":528,"dataGaLocation":466,"id":529,"isOneTrustButton":28},"cookie preferences","ot-sdk-btn",{"title":89,"links":531,"subMenu":540},[532,536],{"text":533,"config":534},"DevSecOps platform",{"href":71,"dataGaName":535,"dataGaLocation":466},"devsecops platform",{"text":537,"config":538},"AI-Assisted Development",{"href":78,"dataGaName":539,"dataGaLocation":466},"ai-assisted development",[541],{"title":542,"links":543},"Topics",[544,549,554,559,564,569,574,579],{"text":545,"config":546},"CICD",{"href":547,"dataGaName":548,"dataGaLocation":466},"/topics/ci-cd/","cicd",{"text":550,"config":551},"GitOps",{"href":552,"dataGaName":553,"dataGaLocation":466},"/topics/gitops/","gitops",{"text":555,"config":556},"DevOps",{"href":557,"dataGaName":558,"dataGaLocation":466},"/topics/devops/","devops",{"text":560,"config":561},"Version Control",{"href":562,"dataGaName":563,"dataGaLocation":466},"/topics/version-control/","version control",{"text":565,"config":566},"DevSecOps",{"href":567,"dataGaName":568,"dataGaLocation":466},"/topics/devsecops/","devsecops",{"text":570,"config":571},"Cloud Native",{"href":572,"dataGaName":573,"dataGaLocation":466},"/topics/cloud-native/","cloud native",{"text":575,"config":576},"AI for Coding",{"href":577,"dataGaName":578,"dataGaLocation":466},"/topics/devops/ai-for-coding/","ai for coding",{"text":580,"config":581},"Agentic AI",{"href":582,"dataGaName":583,"dataGaLocation":466},"/topics/agentic-ai/","agentic ai",{"title":585,"links":586},"Solutions",[587,589,591,596,600,603,607,610,612,615,618,623],{"text":131,"config":588},{"href":126,"dataGaName":131,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":120,"config":590},{"href":103,"dataGaName":104,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":592,"config":593},"Agile development",{"href":594,"dataGaName":595,"dataGaLocation":466},"/solutions/agile-delivery/","agile delivery",{"text":597,"config":598},"SCM",{"href":116,"dataGaName":599,"dataGaLocation":466},"source code management",{"text":545,"config":601},{"href":109,"dataGaName":602,"dataGaLocation":466},"continuous integration & delivery",{"text":604,"config":605},"Value stream management",{"href":159,"dataGaName":606,"dataGaLocation":466},"value stream management",{"text":550,"config":608},{"href":609,"dataGaName":553,"dataGaLocation":466},"/solutions/gitops/",{"text":169,"config":611},{"href":171,"dataGaName":172,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":613,"config":614},"Small business",{"href":176,"dataGaName":177,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":616,"config":617},"Public sector",{"href":181,"dataGaName":182,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":619,"config":620},"Education",{"href":621,"dataGaName":622,"dataGaLocation":466},"/solutions/education/","education",{"text":624,"config":625},"Financial services",{"href":626,"dataGaName":627,"dataGaLocation":466},"/solutions/finance/","financial services",{"title":189,"links":629},[630,632,634,636,639,641,643,645,647,649,651,653],{"text":201,"config":631},{"href":203,"dataGaName":204,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":206,"config":633},{"href":208,"dataGaName":209,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":211,"config":635},{"href":213,"dataGaName":214,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":216,"config":637},{"href":218,"dataGaName":638,"dataGaLocation":466},"docs",{"text":239,"config":640},{"href":241,"dataGaName":242,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":234,"config":642},{"href":236,"dataGaName":237,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":244,"config":644},{"href":246,"dataGaName":247,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":252,"config":646},{"href":254,"dataGaName":255,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":257,"config":648},{"href":259,"dataGaName":260,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":262,"config":650},{"href":264,"dataGaName":265,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":267,"config":652},{"href":269,"dataGaName":270,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":272,"config":654},{"href":274,"dataGaName":275,"dataGaLocation":466},{"title":290,"links":656},[657,659,661,663,665,667,669,673,678,680,682,684],{"text":297,"config":658},{"href":299,"dataGaName":292,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":302,"config":660},{"href":304,"dataGaName":305,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":310,"config":662},{"href":312,"dataGaName":313,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":315,"config":664},{"href":317,"dataGaName":318,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":320,"config":666},{"href":322,"dataGaName":323,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":325,"config":668},{"href":327,"dataGaName":328,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":670,"config":671},"Sustainability",{"href":672,"dataGaName":670,"dataGaLocation":466},"/sustainability/",{"text":674,"config":675},"Diversity, inclusion and belonging (DIB)",{"href":676,"dataGaName":677,"dataGaLocation":466},"/diversity-inclusion-belonging/","Diversity, inclusion and belonging",{"text":330,"config":679},{"href":332,"dataGaName":333,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":340,"config":681},{"href":342,"dataGaName":343,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":345,"config":683},{"href":347,"dataGaName":348,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":685,"config":686},"Modern Slavery Transparency Statement",{"href":687,"dataGaName":688,"dataGaLocation":466},"https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/legal/modern-slavery-act-transparency-statement/","modern slavery transparency statement",{"items":690},[691,694,697],{"text":692,"config":693},"Terms",{"href":518,"dataGaName":519,"dataGaLocation":466},{"text":695,"config":696},"Cookies",{"dataGaName":528,"dataGaLocation":466,"id":529,"isOneTrustButton":28},{"text":698,"config":699},"Privacy",{"href":523,"dataGaName":524,"dataGaLocation":466},[701],{"id":702,"title":18,"body":8,"config":703,"content":705,"description":8,"extension":26,"meta":709,"navigation":28,"path":710,"seo":711,"stem":712,"__hash__":713},"blogAuthors/en-us/blog/authors/isaac-dawson.yml",{"template":704},"BlogAuthor",{"name":18,"config":706},{"headshot":707,"ctfId":708},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1749669814/Blog/Author%20Headshots/idawson-headshot.jpg","idawson",{},"/en-us/blog/authors/isaac-dawson",{},"en-us/blog/authors/isaac-dawson","UpCqyNOSlM21joWN2Eu9Z_uC29MGdlJWAYDQImap3w8",[715,729,735],{"content":716,"config":727},{"title":717,"description":718,"authors":719,"heroImage":721,"date":722,"body":723,"category":9,"tags":724},"GitLab 18.11: Budget guardrails for GitLab Credits","Learn how new spending caps and per-user credit limits give organizations the budget guardrails to scale GitLab Duo Agent Platform.",[720],"Bryan Rothwell","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1776259080/cakqnwo5ecp255lo8lzo.png","2026-04-16","Teams using GitLab Duo Agent Platform with on-demand GitLab Credits are shipping faster, catching bugs earlier, and automating tasks that used to take entire sprints. But as adoption grows, so does oversight from finance, procurement, and platform teams to prove that AI spending is bounded, predictable, and controllable.\n\nOne of the greatest barriers to broader AI adoption isn't skepticism about the technology. It's uncertainty about managing spend. Without budget caps, a busy month could produce unexpected expenses. Without per-user limits, a handful of power users could burn through the team's credits before the month is over. And without either, engineering leaders who want to expand their use of agentic AI for software development have to jump through more hoops for budget approval.\n\nSince its [general availability](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/gitlab-duo-agent-platform-is-generally-available/), GitLab Duo Agent Platform has provided usage governance and visibility. With GitLab 18.11, we're introducing usage controls for [GitLab Credits](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/introducing-gitlab-credits/): spending caps and budget guardrails that give your organization even more control and transparency over how credits are consumed.\n\n## Managing GitLab Credits\n\nGitLab 18.11 adds three layers of control over GitLab Credits consumption: a subscription-level spending cap, per-user credit limits, and visibility into cap status and enforcement.\n\n### Subscription-level spending cap\n\nBilling account managers can now set a hard monthly ceiling for on-demand GitLab Credits consumption for their entire subscription.\n\nHere's how it works:\n\n* **Set a cap** in the `Customers Portal` under your subscription's GitLab Credits settings.  \n* **Enforce spend limits automatically.**  When on-demand usage reaches the cap, DAP access is paused for all users on that subscription until the next monthly period begins.  \n* **Make adjustments as you go.** Raise or disable the cap mid-month to restore access.\n\nThe cap resets each monthly period and your configured limit carries forward unless you change it. Because usage data is synchronized periodically rather than in real time, a small amount of additional usage may occur after the cap is reached before enforcement takes effect. See the [GitLab Credits documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/subscriptions/gitlab_credits/) for details.\n\n### User-level spending caps\n\nNot every user consumes credits at the same rate, and that's expected. But when one or two power users account for a disproportionate share of the pool, the rest of the team can lose access before the month is over.\n\nPer-user credit caps prevent any single user from consuming more than their fair share:\n\n* **Flat per-user cap.** Set a uniform credit limit that applies equally to every user on the subscription through the GitLab GraphQL API. Unlike the subscription-level cap, the per-user cap applies to a user's total consumption across all credit sources.  \n* **Custom per-user overrides.** For organizations that need differentiated limits, you can set individual credit caps for specific users through the GraphQL API. For example, you could give your staff engineers a higher allocation while applying a standard limit to the broader team.  \n* **Individual enforcement.** When a user reaches their cap, they retain full access to GitLab. Only their Duo Agent Platform credit usage is paused until the next billing cycle. Everyone else keeps working uninterrupted until they hit their own limit or the subscription-level cap is reached, whichever comes first.\n\n### Visibility and notifications\n\nWhen a subscription-level cap is reached, GitLab sends an email notification to billing account managers so they can take action: raise the cap, wait for the next period, or redistribute credits.\n\nWithin GitLab, group owners (GitLab.com) and instance administrators (Self-Managed) can view which users have been blocked due to reaching their per-user cap and restore access by adjusting the cap through the GraphQL API. \n\n## How budget guardrails help organizations scale AI usage\n\nGuardrails are essential as organizations ramp up their AI adoption. Here's why:\n\n### Predictable AI budgets\n\nUsage controls for GitLab Duo Agent Platform turn AI into a bounded, predictable budget item using on-demand GitLab Credits. That makes it easier to deploy agents across the software development lifecycle and get sign-off from finance, justify renewals, and plan quarterly spend.\n\n### Governance and chargeback\n\nLarge organizations often need to align AI consumption with internal budgets, cost centers, or departmental policies. Per-user caps give platform teams a straightforward mechanism to allocate credits fairly and track consumption at the individual level. The API import options make it practical to manage caps at enterprise scale. Combined with per-user usage data from the GitLab Credits dashboard, organizations can track consumption patterns to inform their own internal chargeback or budget allocation processes.\n\n### Confidence to scale\n\nMany customers start GitLab Duo Agent Platform with a small pilot group. Usage controls remove risks associated with expanding that pilot across the organization. You can roll out Duo Agent Platform to hundreds or thousands of developers knowing there's a hard ceiling protecting your budget. If usage grows faster than expected, you'll hit the cap, not an unexpected invoice.\n\n## Addressing the seat-based and visibility conundrum\n\nMany AI coding tools take a seat-based approach to cost management. You buy a fixed number of seats at a flat per-user price, and that's your budget. It's simple, but rigid. You pay the same whether a developer uses the tool ten times a day or never touches it. And as vendors introduce premium models and usage-based overages on top of seat pricing, the cost predictability that seat-based licensing promised starts to erode.\n\n\nGitLab takes a different approach. Usage-based pricing with hard caps and a single governance dashboard. You get the flexibility of paying for what your teams actually use, with the budget predictability of enforced spending limits.\n\n## Real-world usage controls\n\n**One example is a mid-size SaaS customer that wants to protect their monthly budget.** A 200-person engineering organization sets a subscription-level cap equal to their expected on-demand usage. Their VP of Engineering can confidently tell finance that GitLab Duo Agent Platform spend will never exceed the approved amount, even as they onboard new teams. If they approach the cap mid-month, the billing account manager gets a notification and can decide whether to raise the limit or wait for the next period.\n\n**At GitLab, we also work with large enterprises that want to keep usage fair across teams.** A global financial services company with 2,000 developers uses per-user caps to ensure equitable access. Staff engineers working on complex refactoring projects get a higher individual allocation via API, while most developers receive a standard flat cap. No single user can exhaust the pool, and the platform team uses the per-user usage data in the GitLab Credits dashboard to track consumption patterns and inform quarterly budget planning.\n\n## Getting started\n\nUsage controls are available for both GitLab.com and Self-Managed customers running GitLab 18.11. Different controls are configured in different places depending on the scope and your role.\n\n**Subscription-level cap**\n\nBilling account managers set the subscription-level on-demand cap in the Customers Portal:\n\n1. Sign in to the `Customers Portal`.  \n2. On your subscription card, navigate to **GitLab Credits** settings.  \n3. Enable the monthly on-demand credits cap and enter your desired limit.\n\n**Flat per-user cap**\n\nThe flat per-user cap can be set through the GitLab GraphQL API by namespace owners (GitLab.com) or instance administrators (Self-Managed). Check the [GitLab Credits documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/subscriptions/gitlab_credits/) for the latest on available configuration surfaces.\n\n**Custom per-user overrides**\n\nFor differentiated limits, namespace owners (GitLab.com) and instance administrators (Self-Managed) can set individual caps programmatically. This is useful for automation and infrastructure-as-code workflows.\n\n**Monitor usage and cap status**\n\n* **Customers Portal:** View detailed usage and cap status.  \n* **GitLab.com:** Group owners can view blocked users under **Settings > GitLab Credits**.  \n* **Self-Managed:** Instance administrators can view cap status and blocked users under **Admin > GitLab Credits**.\n\n## GitLab Duo Agent Platform is ready to scale\n\nUsage controls are available now in GitLab 18.11. If you've been waiting for the right guardrails before expanding GitLab Duo Agent Platform across your organization, this is your moment. Set your caps, roll out Duo Agent Platform to more teams, and start shipping faster!\n\n> [Learn more about GitLab Credits and usage controls](https://docs.gitlab.com/subscriptions/gitlab_credits/).",[9,725,726],"AI/ML","news",{"featured":12,"template":13,"slug":728},"gitlab-18-11-budget-guardrails-for-gitlab-credits",{"content":730,"config":733},{"title":731,"heroImage":721,"description":732,"date":722,"category":9},"GitLab 18.11 release","This release includes Agentic SAST Vulnerability Resolution, Data Analyst Foundational Agent, CI Expert Agent, and more.",{"featured":12,"template":13,"externalUrl":734},"https://docs.gitlab.com/releases/18/gitlab-18-11-released/",{"content":736,"config":743},{"title":737,"description":738,"authors":739,"heroImage":721,"date":722,"body":741,"category":9,"tags":742},"GitLab 18.11: CI Expert and Data Analyst AI agents target development gaps","Set up CI and query your software development lifecycle data with two new GitLab Duo Agent Platform foundational agents available in GitLab 18.11.",[740],"Corinne Dent","AI-generated code moves faster than the systems around it can keep up with. More code means more merge requests queued, more pipelines to configure, more questions about delivery that nobody has time to answer — and most of the tooling teams rely on wasn't built for this pace.\n\nIn GitLab 18.11, two new foundational agents for Duo Agent Platform address specific gaps in the development lifecycle that AI has largely left untouched:\n* CI Expert Agent (now in beta) focuses on the gap between writing code and getting it into a running pipeline\n* Data Analyst Agent (now generally available) focuses on the gap between shipping code and being able to answer basic questions about how that delivery is actually going.\n\n\nThese are problem areas that couldn't be solved by a general-purpose assistant. A tool running outside GitLab can generate a YAML file or answer a question, but it has no awareness of how your pipelines have historically performed, where failures cluster, or what your actual MR cycle times look like. That context lives in GitLab. These agents do too.\n## Fast CI setup with CI Expert Agent\n\nAI has made it easier than ever to write code. Getting that code into a running pipeline is still something most teams do days, or weeks, later — if at all. The blank-page problem isn't in the editor anymore. The blank page is now in `.gitlab-ci.yml`.\n\nDevelopers who have never configured CI don't know what language detection looks like in YAML, what their test commands should be, or how to validate the result before pushing. Teams either copy a config from a previous project that may not fit, stitch together examples from documentation, or wait for the one person who's done it before. If that person isn't available, CI becomes the thing you'll \"get to later.\" Later becomes never.\n\nWhen CI never happens, the impact shows up everywhere else. Changes ship without a reliable safety net, regressions surface in production instead of in pipelines, and work piles up in bigger, riskier batches because no one wants to be the person who “breaks the build.” Over time, teams normalize working in the dark, often relying on undocumented institutional knowledge and ad-hoc testing, instead of having a fast, predictable feedback loop baked into every change.\n\nCI Expert Agent, now available in beta, removes that friction. It inspects your repository, identifies your language and framework, and proposes a working build and test pipeline tailored to what's actually there — then explains every decision in plain language. The target: a running pipeline in minutes, with no YAML written by hand.\n\nWhat CI Expert Agent does:\n\n* Repo-aware pipeline generation detects language, framework, and test setup \n* Generates valid, runnable build and test configurations   \n* Guided first-pipeline flow with plain-language explanation of each step in Agentic Chat  \n* Native GitLab CI semantics with no config translation required\n\nBecause it runs inside GitLab and sees real pipeline behavior over time, each improvement can build on how teams actually work, not just on static examples.\n\u003Ciframe src=\"https://player.vimeo.com/video/1183458036?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" title=\"CI/CD Expert Agent\">\u003C/iframe>\u003Cscript src=\"https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js\">\u003C/script>\n\u003Cbr>\u003C/br>\n\nCI Expert Agent is available on GitLab.com, Self-Managed, Dedicated; Free, Premium, Ultimate Editions with Duo Agent Platform enabled.\n\n## Query GitLab data in plain language with Data Analyst Agent\n\nAI has sped up how teams ship. Answering basic questions about how that work is going has gotten harder, not easier.\n\nHow long are MRs sitting in review? Which pipelines are slowing teams down? Are deployment targets actually being hit? These questions used to be answerable by glancing at a dashboard. Now, with more code, more teams, and more complexity, the data exists — it's in GitLab — but accessing it still means waiting on an analytics team, filing a dashboard request, or learning GLQL.\n\nData Analyst Agent targets that gap. Ask a natural-language question and get an instant visualization in Agentic Chat. No query language, no dashboard request, no waiting for the answers to be assembled by someone else.\n\nFor example, the agent can answer questions about the following topics for these roles:\n\n* Engineering managers: MR cycle time, throughput by project, where reviews get stuck  \n* Developers: Contribution patterns, flaky tests blocking their MRs, pipeline speed trends  \n* DevOps and platform engineers: Pipeline success/failure rates, runner utilization, deployment frequency  \n* Engineering leadership: Cross-portfolio deployment frequency, project health metrics, lead time comparisons\n\nNow generally available in 18.11, the agent covers MRs, issues, projects, pipelines, and jobs — full software development lifecycle coverage, expanded from the beta scope. Because Data Analyst Agent queries what's already in GitLab, the context is always current, and there's no pipeline to maintain or third-party tool to keep synchronized. Generated GitLab Query Language queries can be copied and used anywhere GitLab Flavored Markdown is supported, with direct export to work items and dashboards on the roadmap.\n\n\u003Ciframe src=\"https://player.vimeo.com/video/1183094817?badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" title=\"Data Analyst agent demo\">\u003C/iframe>\u003Cscript src=\"https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js\">\u003C/script>\n\u003Cbr>\u003C/br>\n\nData Analyst Agent is available on GitLab.com, Self-Managed, Dedicated; Free, Premium and Ultimate Edition with Duo Agent Platform enabled.\n\n## One platform, connected context\n\nBoth agents run inside GitLab, with access to the code, pipelines, issues, and merge requests already there. That's what separates platform-native AI from a disconnected assistant: the context is always current, and it only gets more useful over time. CI Expert Agent and Data Analyst Agent represent two concrete steps toward a platform where AI doesn't just help you write code faster; it helps you understand, ship, and maintain what gets built.\n\n> [Start a free trial of GitLab Duo Agent Platform](https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-duo/) to experience these foundational AI agents.",[725,24,9],{"featured":28,"template":13,"slug":744},"ci-expert-and-data-analyst-ai-agents-target-development-gaps",{"promotions":746},[747,761,772,784],{"id":748,"categories":749,"header":751,"text":752,"button":753,"image":758},"ai-modernization",[750],"ai-ml","Is AI achieving its promise at scale?","Quiz will take 5 minutes or less",{"text":754,"config":755},"Get your AI maturity score",{"href":756,"dataGaName":757,"dataGaLocation":242},"/assessments/ai-modernization-assessment/","modernization assessment",{"config":759},{"src":760},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138786/qix0m7kwnd8x2fh1zq49.png",{"id":762,"categories":763,"header":764,"text":752,"button":765,"image":769},"devops-modernization",[9,568],"Are you just managing tools or shipping innovation?",{"text":766,"config":767},"Get your DevOps maturity score",{"href":768,"dataGaName":757,"dataGaLocation":242},"/assessments/devops-modernization-assessment/",{"config":770},{"src":771},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138785/eg818fmakweyuznttgid.png",{"id":773,"categories":774,"header":776,"text":752,"button":777,"image":781},"security-modernization",[775],"security","Are you trading speed for security?",{"text":778,"config":779},"Get your security maturity score",{"href":780,"dataGaName":757,"dataGaLocation":242},"/assessments/security-modernization-assessment/",{"config":782},{"src":783},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138786/p4pbqd9nnjejg5ds6mdk.png",{"id":785,"paths":786,"header":789,"text":790,"button":791,"image":796},"github-azure-migration",[787,788],"migration-from-azure-devops-to-gitlab","integrating-azure-devops-scm-and-gitlab","Is your team ready for GitHub's Azure move?","GitHub is already rebuilding around Azure. Find out what it means for you.",{"text":792,"config":793},"See how GitLab compares to GitHub",{"href":794,"dataGaName":795,"dataGaLocation":242},"/compare/gitlab-vs-github/github-azure-migration/","github azure migration",{"config":797},{"src":771},{"header":799,"blurb":800,"button":801,"secondaryButton":806},"Start building faster today","See what your team can do with the intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps.\n",{"text":802,"config":803},"Get your free trial",{"href":804,"dataGaName":49,"dataGaLocation":805},"https://gitlab.com/-/trial_registrations/new?glm_content=default-saas-trial&glm_source=about.gitlab.com/","feature",{"text":504,"config":807},{"href":53,"dataGaName":54,"dataGaLocation":805},1776442950640]