GitLab Trigger

Trigger workflows from GitLab repository events

Overview

Triggers a workflow when events happen in a GitLab repository, such as pushes, merge requests, issues, pipeline status changes, comments, deployments, releases, tags, wiki page changes, and more. Receives webhook POST requests from GitLab and normalizes the payload for downstream processing.

Category: Development
Tool Name: gitlab_trigger
Version: 1

Appearance: Icon: si-gitlab | Color: #fc6d26

Node Type

Trigger — webhook (receives incoming HTTP callbacks)

Input / Output

Direction	Port(s)
Input	None (trigger node)
Output	Output

Credentials

This tool requires GitLab API credentials. See the Credentials Guide for setup instructions.

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Repository Owner	string	Yes	—	User, group, or namespace that owns the repository. For subgroups, use the full path (e.g., group/subgroup).
Repository Name	string	Yes	—	The name of the GitLab project/repository.
Events	multiOptions	Yes	[]	The events to listen to. Select * to subscribe to all event types.
				Options: note (a comment on a commit, merge request, issue or snippet), confidential_note, confidential_issues, deployment, issues, job (a job status change), merge_requests, pipeline (a pipeline status change), push (excludes tag pushes), releases, tag_push (a tag was created or deleted), wiki_page, * (All Events — any time any event is triggered)

Output Data

Each accepted delivery produces one output item describing the GitLab event:

{
  "body": {},
  "headers": {},
  "query": {},
  "_trigger": "gitlab_webhook",
  "_timestamp": "2026-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
  "_webhookEvent": "Push Hook"
}

• body — the GitLab event payload exactly as GitLab sent it (for example object_kind, event_name, ref, project, commits, repository).
• headers — the request headers of the delivery.
• query — the query-string parameters of the delivery.
• _trigger — always gitlab_webhook.
• _timestamp — ISO 8601 timestamp of when the delivery arrived.
• _webhookEvent — the GitLab hook name taken from the X-Gitlab-Event header, such as Push Hook, Merge Request Hook, Issue Hook, Pipeline Hook, Note Hook, Tag Push Hook, Job Hook, Deployment Hook, Release Hook or Wiki Page Hook.

Reference the payload downstream by expression, for example {{ $json.body.project.path_with_namespace }} or {{ $json.body.object_attributes.state }}.

Deliveries for hook types you did not select are acknowledged with 200 but do not start the workflow, so GitLab does not retry them. Deliveries whose secret token does not match are rejected with 401.

Usage Examples

• Start a CI/CD workflow when code is pushed to a GitLab repository
• Notify a Slack channel when a merge request is opened or merged
• Track issue creation and updates in GitLab projects
• Monitor pipeline status changes for deployment automation
• Trigger a build when a new tag is pushed to GitLab

Example Configuration

Start a build on every push to a project:

{
  "type": "gitlab_trigger",
  "parameters": {
    "owner": "my-group",
    "repository": "my-project",
    "events": ["push"]
  }
}

Watch merge requests and issues in a subgroup project:

{
  "type": "gitlab_trigger",
  "parameters": {
    "owner": "my-group/platform",
    "repository": "api-service",
    "events": ["merge_requests", "issues", "note"]
  }
}

React to pipeline and job status changes:

{
  "type": "gitlab_trigger",
  "parameters": {
    "owner": "my-group",
    "repository": "my-project",
    "events": ["pipeline", "job", "deployment"]
  }
}

Subscribe to every GitLab event type:

{
  "type": "gitlab_trigger",
  "parameters": {
    "owner": "my-group",
    "repository": "my-project",
    "events": ["*"]
  }
}

Trigger Behavior

• Activation: When the workflow is activated, a webhook endpoint is registered with the service.
• Deactivation: The webhook is automatically unregistered when the workflow is deactivated.
• Payload: The incoming webhook payload is parsed and output as workflow items.
• Verification: Supports signature verification where applicable.

Tips

Configure the GitLab Trigger by providing your repository owner and name, then select which events to listen for. When activated, a webhook is registered in your GitLab project. Incoming events are forwarded to your workflow for processing.