Start a timer from GitLab issues and merge requests
Which pages are recognised
Open an issue or work item in GitLab and the Keepr extension shows an “On this page” card above the timer. An issue opened in the drawer of a board or an issue list counts too, and on a group board Keepr takes the issue's own project, not the group's.
A merge request is recognised on every one of its tabs — overview, commits, pipelines and changes — and when it is open in the drawer of a merge request list. Lists themselves, new-merge-request forms and project pages are not recognised.
The extension needs no extra permission for any of this. It reads the address and title of the tab you open it on and, only when the title lacks the name, that one issue's or merge request's title (see “What the card fills in”).
Merge requests and issues are kept apart
GitLab numbers issues and merge requests separately, so a project can have both issue #12 and merge request !12. Keepr writes them the way GitLab does: a task created from a merge request carries the key !12, and one created from an issue carries the number 12, which the Tasks list shows as #12. To link a task by hand, enter 12 as the External ID for an issue and !12 for a merge request.
The two never match each other. Starting a timer on merge request !12 creates or reuses the merge request's own task, even when issue #12 of the same project already has one. If you would rather book review time against the issue, start from the issue's page, or pick its task in the composer.
An issue and its work item are the same thing in GitLab, so a task created from one address is found again from the other.
What the card fills in
Press “Use” on the card. The timer description becomes the key and title, for example “!12 Add webhooks”. GitLab's “Draft:” prefix is part of a merge request's title and is kept.
The title normally comes from the tab title. When the tab does not carry it, Keepr runs one short script in the tab. In a drawer, the script asks GitLab for that one issue or merge request, with your GitLab session, so private projects work too, and failing that reads the heading; on the issue's or merge request's own page it reads the heading straight away.
If a Keepr task for that issue or merge request already exists, Use fills its project and task too. Otherwise the card names the project the new task would go into, and the task is created only when you press “Start timer”.
Self-managed GitLab
Your company's own GitLab works the same way as gitlab.com, on any address served over HTTPS, including GitLab installed under a relative URL root such as “https://git.example.com/gitlab”. Keepr recognises GitLab by the “/-/” in its addresses, so nothing has to be configured.
To use the pinned side panel on it without letting the extension read tab addresses, allow that site when the panel offers it, or add it under the extension's Options.
What you need
The extension connects with a personal API token, which is part of the Ultimate plan. Give it the timers and projects scopes; creating a task from a page also needs the projects write scope and the right to manage the chosen project. Without either, the timer still starts, on the description alone.