What platforms does GitGumbo support?

GitGumbo works with GitLab.com and GitHub.com. You sign in with your existing account using OAuth, and can also add personal access tokens (PATs) to connect additional accounts, such as a separate work account. Self-hosted GitLab and GitHub Enterprise Server are not supported yet.

How does GitGumbo detect stale merge requests?

GitGumbo tracks the last activity on each merge request and flags any that have been idle for three days or more. It also surfaces MRs with unresolved review threads, merge conflicts, and failing pipelines.

What data does GitGumbo access?

GitGumbo reads the issues and merge requests (pull requests on GitHub) of the projects you explicitly add: their labels, assignees, milestones and statuses, pipeline and check results, review approvals and threads, the links between issues (blocked by, blocking and relates to), and recently closed items. On GitLab it also reads each work item's type and Status. Confidential issues are read too, and shown only to people the provider would show them to. It does not read your source code, commit contents or diffs, or anything from projects you haven't added.

Can I use GitGumbo with a self-hosted GitLab instance?

Not yet. GitGumbo currently connects to GitLab.com and GitHub.com only, and there is no way to point it at a self-hosted GitLab instance or GitHub Enterprise Server. Support for self-hosted instances is on the roadmap.

Is my data shared with other users?

Your data is shared only within the firms you belong to. A firm is a shared workspace — everyone in it sees the same boards and projects. If you work solo, you get your own private firm that no one else can access, and your data is never shared with users outside your firms.

Is my data encrypted?

Yes, in two layers. Everything GitGumbo stores lives on an encrypted disk: the database, the cache, the local backups and the service's own secrets. That disk unlocks only by reaching a key server kept off the machine, so a copied disk, a snapshot or a stolen drive is unreadable on its own. Inside the database, the most identifying fields are encrypted again by the application: issue and merge request titles, milestone titles, branch names, the snapshots of linked issues, webhook deliveries waiting to be processed, and every access token. Off-site backups are encrypted before they leave the server. This is encryption at rest: GitGumbo decrypts your data to draw your board, so it is not end-to-end encryption, and we do not claim it is.

Can my team share a board?

Yes. GitGumbo organizes work into firms — shared workspaces that own boards and members. Owners and admins invite teammates by email or username from Firm settings, and invitees join automatically the next time they sign in — there is no link to click or invitation to accept. An email invite also sends a short notice so the person knows to sign in. An invite nobody uses expires after 30 days. Everyone in the firm sees the same projects and boards. Each member has a role — owner, admin, or member. You can belong to more than one firm and switch between them from the firm switcher, and billing is handled per firm.

What is the kanban board view?

The board view organizes your issues into columns, with each card showing its linked merge requests and their status. Out of the box, GitLab projects mirror your own board's lists — whether those are labels, statuses, people or milestones — and GitHub projects use Stage:: labels or follow a GitHub Project's Status field, or you can switch a GitHub board to Your columns and define them yourself. Dragging a card writes the change back to GitLab or GitHub, and what it writes depends on what the column means: a label, an assignee, a milestone, or a status — a GitLab work-item status, or the Status in the GitHub Project the board follows. On GitLab this needs the api scope, which signing in with GitLab already grants.

Does GitGumbo understand GitLab's Status field?

Yes. GitLab 18.4 gave work items a native Status — To do, In progress, Done — intended to replace using labels to track lifecycle. GitGumbo syncs it and shows it on every card. Any project in a GitLab group has the field, on every tier, Free included; projects in a personal namespace don't have it. Status lists on a board are a GitLab Premium feature: a board whose lists are statuses is mirrored as it stands, so a team that has moved off labels needs to change nothing, and dragging a card between status columns writes the new status back. GitHub issues have no Status of their own; a GitHub board can instead follow a GitHub Project's Status field, and dragging a card there sets it.

What do the Blocked, Blocking and Relates to chips mean?

They show the links people made between issues in GitLab or GitHub. A red Blocked chip means the issue is waiting on others, a violet Blocking chip means others are waiting on it, and a plain Relates to chip means the issues are about the same thing without holding each other up. Each chip counts its links; point at it or click it for a panel listing them, with the column each linked card is in, while the board rings those cards and draws lines to them. If a linked card is scrolled out of its column, click the arrow label at the column's edge to bring it into view. GitGumbo only shows links that exist on the provider and never guesses one. GitLab stores blocking links only on its paid tiers, so a GitLab Free project shows Relates to but not Blocked or Blocking. A linked issue in another project shows its title only when that project is also monitored in your firm and your own access lets you read it; otherwise it reads "Issue in another project".

How do I find a card on a busy board?

Type in the board's search box: it matches titles, and a number finds cards by issue number or by the number of a linked merge request or pull request. The filter bar narrows the board to drafts, unresolved threads, conflicts, failed pipelines, Blocked/Blocking, Related, a milestone, and on GitLab to confidential or overdue issues or a work-item type; on GitHub the Assignee menu shows one person's cards. Filters are kept in the page address, so a link you share opens the same view. Each column also has its own sort.

Can I cap how many issues sit in a column?

Yes. On GitHub you set a column's WIP limit yourself in Your columns; on GitLab it comes from the list limits on your GitLab issue board, which GitLab offers on its Premium tier and above. Either way the column header counts against it — 7/5 — turning amber when you reach the limit and red when you go past it. It is a warning, not a wall: GitGumbo never blocks the drag, matching GitLab's own behaviour, because a board that refuses your work just gets worked around. The ratio hides while a filter is active, since a filtered count would be measuring something else.

Does the board show milestones and due dates?

Every card shows its milestone, on both providers. Due dates are GitLab-only — GitHub issues don't have one — and appear as a chip that turns amber within three days of the date and red once it has passed. You can filter the board to a single milestone, or flip on the Overdue toggle to see only what is late.

Can I sort issues within a column?

Yes. Each column has its own sort control: the board's default order, idle time, recently updated, when the ticket was created, when its merge request was created, or Blocking most, which puts the cards holding up the most other issues first. Click the same option again to reverse the direction. Your sort choice is remembered across sessions.

What are column automations (like 'In Review')?

Column automations run when you move an issue into a column, whether you drag it or use the move menu — any column except Open and Closed, so In Review is only the usual example. GitGumbo can mark the linked draft merge requests as ready, assign people to the issue, and add reviewers to the linked MRs. Each person sets up their own, per project and per column, in Settings. The card's assignees decide whose run: if you move a card you are assigned to, yours do; otherwise the first assignee who has automations for that column. A card with no assignee runs none.

Can I connect multiple accounts?

Yes. In addition to signing in with OAuth, you can add personal access tokens (PATs) in Settings to connect extra accounts for the same provider. This is useful if you work across several GitHub organizations or GitLab groups under different accounts. Each token is encrypted at rest.

Do I have to move my issues into GitGumbo?

No. There is no import step at all. Your issues stay in GitLab and GitHub, and GitGumbo reads them where they already live — so there is no CSV to upload, and no second copy of your work to keep in sync. You connect an account, pick the repositories you want on a board, and the issues that are already there show up.

What happens to my work if I stop using GitGumbo?

It is already where it started. Every move you make on a board is written straight back to the provider — dragging a card sets the label, the assignee, the milestone or the status on the real issue, and closing a card closes it in GitLab or GitHub. So there is no export to run and nothing to reconcile: your issues are current at the moment you stop. The one thing that is ours, and the one thing you lose, is the board arrangement — your custom columns, column automations, pinned cards, saved filters and column order. That is configuration, not work.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about GitGumbo and how it works.

What platforms does GitGumbo support?: GitGumbo works with GitLab.com and GitHub.com. You sign in with your existing account using OAuth, and can also add personal access tokens (PATs) to connect additional accounts, such as a separate work account. Self-hosted GitLab and GitHub Enterprise Server are not supported yet.
How does GitGumbo detect stale merge requests?: GitGumbo tracks the last activity on each merge request and flags any that have been idle for three days or more. It also surfaces MRs with unresolved review threads, merge conflicts, and failing pipelines.
How often does GitGumbo sync my data?: On Pro, GitGumbo registers webhooks with GitLab and GitHub — where the connected account has permission to create them — so most changes show up within seconds. A background sync always runs automatically as the baseline (and is the only sync mechanism on Free), catching anything webhooks miss. Syncs are incremental — if nothing has changed, the overhead is very low. You can trigger a manual sync at any time from the board view (subject to a brief cooldown), and the last sync timestamp is always visible so you know how current your data is. See Real-time updates for what webhooks need and how to fix one that couldn’t be set up.
What data does GitGumbo access?: GitGumbo reads the issues and merge requests (pull requests on GitHub) of the projects you explicitly add: their labels, assignees, milestones and statuses, pipeline and check results, review approvals and threads, the links between issues (blocked by, blocking and relates to), and recently closed items. On GitLab it also reads each work item's type and Status. Confidential issues are read too, and shown only to people the provider would show them to. It does not read your source code, commit contents or diffs, or anything from projects you haven't added.
Can I use GitGumbo with a self-hosted GitLab instance?: Not yet. GitGumbo currently connects to GitLab.com and GitHub.com only, and there is no way to point it at a self-hosted GitLab instance or GitHub Enterprise Server. Support for self-hosted instances is on the roadmap.
Is my data shared with other users?: Your data is shared only within the firms you belong to. A firm is a shared workspace — everyone in it sees the same boards and projects. If you work solo, you get your own private firm that no one else can access, and your data is never shared with users outside your firms.
Is my data encrypted?: Yes, in two layers. Everything GitGumbo stores lives on an encrypted disk: the database, the cache, the local backups and the service's own secrets. That disk unlocks only by reaching a key server kept off the machine, so a copied disk, a snapshot or a stolen drive is unreadable on its own. Inside the database, the most identifying fields are encrypted again by the application: issue and merge request titles, milestone titles, branch names, the snapshots of linked issues, webhook deliveries waiting to be processed, and every access token. Off-site backups are encrypted before they leave the server. This is encryption at rest: GitGumbo decrypts your data to draw your board, so it is not end-to-end encryption, and we do not claim it is.
Can my team share a board?: Yes. GitGumbo organizes work into firms — shared workspaces that own boards and members. Owners and admins invite teammates by email or username from Firm settings, and invitees join automatically the next time they sign in — there is no link to click or invitation to accept. An email invite also sends a short notice so the person knows to sign in. An invite nobody uses expires after 30 days. Everyone in the firm sees the same projects and boards. Each member has a role — owner, admin, or member. You can belong to more than one firm and switch between them from the firm switcher, and billing is handled per firm.
What is the kanban board view?: The board view organizes your issues into columns, with each card showing its linked merge requests and their status. Out of the box, GitLab projects mirror your own board's lists — whether those are labels, statuses, people or milestones — and GitHub projects use Stage:: labels or follow a GitHub Project's Status field, or you can switch a GitHub board to Your columns and define them yourself. Dragging a card writes the change back to GitLab or GitHub, and what it writes depends on what the column means: a label, an assignee, a milestone, or a status — a GitLab work-item status, or the Status in the GitHub Project the board follows. On GitLab this needs the api scope, which signing in with GitLab already grants.
Do board columns have to be labels?: No. A GitLab board is mirrored as it stands: if its lists are statuses, people or milestones rather than labels, those are the columns you get, with nothing to configure. On GitHub, switch a board to Your columns and define them yourself — each column can match on a label, a person or a milestone, so “a column per teammate” or “a column per release” works without inventing labels to stand in for them. Dragging a card into an assignee column reassigns the issue, and into a milestone column sets the milestone, on both GitLab and GitHub.
Does GitGumbo understand GitLab's Status field?: Yes. GitLab 18.4 gave work items a native Status — To do, In progress, Done — intended to replace using labels to track lifecycle. GitGumbo syncs it and shows it on every card. Any project in a GitLab group has the field, on every tier, Free included; projects in a personal namespace don't have it. Status lists on a board are a GitLab Premium feature: a board whose lists are statuses is mirrored as it stands, so a team that has moved off labels needs to change nothing, and dragging a card between status columns writes the new status back. GitHub issues have no Status of their own; a GitHub board can instead follow a GitHub Project's Status field, and dragging a card there sets it.
What do the Blocked, Blocking and Relates to chips mean?: They show the links people made between issues in GitLab or GitHub. A red Blocked chip means the issue is waiting on others, a violet Blocking chip means others are waiting on it, and a plain Relates to chip means the issues are about the same thing without holding each other up. Each chip counts its links; point at it or click it for a panel listing them, with the column each linked card is in, while the board rings those cards and draws lines to them. If a linked card is scrolled out of its column, click the arrow label at the column's edge to bring it into view. GitGumbo only shows links that exist on the provider and never guesses one. GitLab stores blocking links only on its paid tiers, so a GitLab Free project shows Relates to but not Blocked or Blocking. A linked issue in another project shows its title only when that project is also monitored in your firm and your own access lets you read it; otherwise it reads "Issue in another project".
How do I find a card on a busy board?: Type in the board's search box: it matches titles, and a number finds cards by issue number or by the number of a linked merge request or pull request. The filter bar narrows the board to drafts, unresolved threads, conflicts, failed pipelines, Blocked/Blocking, Related, a milestone, and on GitLab to confidential or overdue issues or a work-item type; on GitHub the Assignee menu shows one person's cards. Filters are kept in the page address, so a link you share opens the same view. Each column also has its own sort.
Can I cap how many issues sit in a column?: Yes. On GitHub you set a column's WIP limit yourself in Your columns; on GitLab it comes from the list limits on your GitLab issue board, which GitLab offers on its Premium tier and above. Either way the column header counts against it — 7/5 — turning amber when you reach the limit and red when you go past it. It is a warning, not a wall: GitGumbo never blocks the drag, matching GitLab's own behaviour, because a board that refuses your work just gets worked around. The ratio hides while a filter is active, since a filtered count would be measuring something else.
Does the board show milestones and due dates?: Every card shows its milestone, on both providers. Due dates are GitLab-only — GitHub issues don't have one — and appear as a chip that turns amber within three days of the date and red once it has passed. You can filter the board to a single milestone, or flip on the Overdue toggle to see only what is late.
Is there an API?: Yes — a read-only HTTP API over your projects, issues, merge requests and labels, plus the derived board itself, on GitLab and GitHub: the columns, the issues bucketed into each, every issue’s linked merge requests, and its blocking and relates-to links, in one call. Mint a token at /settings/api — that is your firm’s own API access card, not the provider access tokens on /settings — and send it as a Bearer token. The OpenAPI spec is generated from the same schemas the API serves, so the documentation cannot drift from the behaviour. API access is included on Pro (1,000 requests an hour) and Team (5,000); on Free, requests are refused. See the API reference for every endpoint and schema.
Can I move issues between columns on a phone or tablet?: Yes. On a touch device, dragging a card would fight with swiping the board sideways, so instead each card shows a Move button — an up-and-down arrows icon. Tap it, pick a column, then pick where in it the issue lands: the top, the bottom, or after a particular card. Picking Closed closes the issue. It writes exactly what a drag would, whatever the column is: a label, an assignee, a milestone or a GitLab status. The button appears whenever you have permission to move issues. On a computer, turn on Settings → Accessibility → Move cards without dragging to get the same button there. Everything else — copying the branch name or title, jumping to the MR, toggling draft — works the same on touch as on desktop, with full-size tap targets and no hover.
Can I sort issues within a column?: Yes. Each column has its own sort control: the board's default order, idle time, recently updated, when the ticket was created, when its merge request was created, or Blocking most, which puts the cards holding up the most other issues first. Click the same option again to reverse the direction. Your sort choice is remembered across sessions.
What are column automations (like 'In Review')?: Column automations run when you move an issue into a column, whether you drag it or use the move menu — any column except Open and Closed, so In Review is only the usual example. GitGumbo can mark the linked draft merge requests as ready, assign people to the issue, and add reviewers to the linked MRs. Each person sets up their own, per project and per column, in Settings. The card's assignees decide whose run: if you move a card you are assigned to, yours do; otherwise the first assignee who has automations for that column. A card with no assignee runs none.
Can I connect multiple accounts?: Yes. In addition to signing in with OAuth, you can add personal access tokens (PATs) in Settings to connect extra accounts for the same provider. This is useful if you work across several GitHub organizations or GitLab groups under different accounts. Each token is encrypted at rest.
Do I have to move my issues into GitGumbo?: No. There is no import step at all. Your issues stay in GitLab and GitHub, and GitGumbo reads them where they already live — so there is no CSV to upload, and no second copy of your work to keep in sync. You connect an account, pick the repositories you want on a board, and the issues that are already there show up.
What happens to my work if I stop using GitGumbo?: It is already where it started. Every move you make on a board is written straight back to the provider — dragging a card sets the label, the assignee, the milestone or the status on the real issue, and closing a card closes it in GitLab or GitHub. So there is no export to run and nothing to reconcile: your issues are current at the moment you stop. The one thing that is ours, and the one thing you lose, is the board arrangement — your custom columns, column automations, pinned cards, saved filters and column order. That is configuration, not work.
How much does GitGumbo cost?: GitGumbo has a Free plan (3 seats, 1 connected account, up to 5 repos, public or private, 15-minute sync, closed cards kept with no time limit, and no analytics dashboard) and a Pro plan at $9 per seat / month or $90 per seat / year (17% less), for up to 5 seats — unlimited repos, both providers, real-time sync, the read API, and 90 days of analytics history. A Team tier ($16 per seat / month, no seat limit, 180 days of analytics history, plus the cross-project Insights view) is defined but not yet purchasable — you can join the waitlist from the pricing page. Pro starts with a 14-day free trial, no card required — if you don’t add one, the trial simply ends and you go back to Free. Tax may be added at checkout, depending on your location. See Pricing for the full comparison.
Where can I get help?: The guides explain every part of the board, and the docs search finds the right section. On the Support page you can ask the assistant, which answers from the guides, or send us a message, and a person will reply, usually within one working day.