GitLab 18.5: Intelligence that moves software development forward

This post introduces the 18.5 release of GitLab, focusing on AI-assisted features and UI modernization. Key contributions include the Security Analyst Agent for automating vulnerability triage, the GitLab Duo Planner for backlog management, and the integration of popular AI tools (Claude, OpenAI Codex, Google Gemini CLI, Amazon Q Developer, OpenCode) into the AI Catalog as native GitLab agents. The self-hosted GitLab Duo Agent Platform moves to beta, allowing AI agents and flows to run within an organization's infrastructure. Security enhancements include Static Reachability Analysis for Java (alongside Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript) to identify exploitable vulnerabilities, Secret Validity Checks for GitLab-issued security tokens to distinguish active from expired secrets, Custom Rules for Advanced SAST to define organization-specific detection logic, and Advanced SAST C and C++ language support.