Orbit Onboarding Navigator

A GitLab Duo agent that uses Orbit to map entry files, recent MRs, dependencies, and owners—so new contributors get a verified onboarding brief in one workflow.

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Inspiration

Joining a new GitLab repository is slow when onboarding is just “read the README and explore.” New contributors need verified entry points: which files matter, which merge requests recently touched them, how components connect, and who owns the area. GitLab Orbit exposes the SDLC as a queryable graph—so I built a Showcase project that turns that context into a repeatable onboarding workflow, not a generic chat.

What it does

Orbit Onboarding Navigator is a GitLab Duo agent backed by a project skill (orbit-onboarding). When a developer asks to onboard to a project (or area of the codebase), the agent is instructed to:

  1. Scope the project or topic
  2. Use GitLab Orbit (API, CLI, or skill interfaces—not invented paths)
  3. Return a structured onboarding brief: key files, recent MRs, dependency sketch, ownership signals, suggested first steps, and a list of Orbit queries used for auditability

The skill enforces a fixed output template so the result is actionable documentation, not open-ended Q&A.

How we built it

  • Hackathon project: gitlab-ai-hackathon/transcend/21418861 (Showcase Track, Devpost: radhakishan404)
  • Skill: skills/orbit-onboarding/SKILL.md — workflow, Orbit usage rules, and markdown brief template
  • Agent: Created in Automate → Agents as Orbit Onboarding Navigator, with instructions to always follow the skill and require Orbit-backed evidence
  • Docs: docs/AGENT_SETUP.md for setup, test prompts, and AI Catalog publish steps
  • License: MIT (LICENSE in repo)

Repository commit with the skill and docs:
https://gitlab.com/gitlab-ai-hackathon/transcend/21418861/-/commit/f60151085859bb4b58fa6f7581692dd2cb9aec04

Challenges we ran into

  • Duo credits / Agentic mode: Agentic chat (tools/skills/Orbit) needs Agentic ON and sufficient Duo credits. With Agentic off, Duo answered with generic onboarding text instead of running the Orbit workflow— which helped clarify that the skill is designed for agentic, tool-backed execution.
  • Tight timeline: Waiting for Showcase project provisioning, then shipping skill + agent + submission in one day.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • End-to-end Showcase artifact: skill in repo + enabled Duo agent aligned with GitLab’s Orbit onboarding use case
  • Clear developer story: pain → graph-backed brief → auditable Orbit queries
  • Public agent on the hackathon project, ready for AI Catalog publish and Duo Chat when credits/agentic testing is available

What we learned

  • Project skills (SKILL.md) are a practical way to encode workflow automation (steps + output contract) on the Duo Agent Platform
  • Orbit value shows up when the agent must cite graph-derived paths and MRs, not when chat runs without tools
  • Hackathon onboarding issue #1 and Contributor Platform flow matter as much as the code

What's next for Orbit Onboarding Navigator

  • Publish and iterate from AI Catalog feedback
  • Optional flow triggered from a new contributor issue (@ai-…)
  • Deeper CODEOWNERS / ownership edges in Orbit queries
  • Team-specific onboarding templates per service or monorepo area

Built With

  • duo
  • gitlab
  • gitlab-duo-agent-platform
  • gitlab-orbit
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