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GitLab authentication

Zide connects to GitLab to provide issue tracking, merge requests, releases, pipelines, and other features.

You can authenticate Zide with OAuth, which is recommended, or a personal access token.

Authenticate with OAuth

To authenticate Zide with OAuth, complete the following steps.

  1. Click File > Settings.
  2. In Settings, click Providers.
  3. In Providers, click Add Account.
  4. In the Add Account dialog, click GitLab.
  5. In the Connect to GitLab dialog, copy the one-time code.
  6. Click Open in browser to open the GitLab verification page.
  7. In GitLab, enter the copied one-time code, then click Authorize
  8. Click Confirm.
  9. In Zide, click Done. Zide is now connected to your GitLab account.

Authenticate with a personal access token

To authenticate Zide with a personal access token, complete the following steps.

  1. Click File > Settings.
  2. In Settings, click Providers.
  3. In Providers, click Add Account.
  4. In the Add Account dialog, click GitLab.
  5. In the Connect to GitLab dialog, click Use Personal Access Token instead.
  6. In the Connect to GitLab — Personal Access Token dialog, enter the base URL of your GitLab instance in the Instance URL field. The default URL is gitlab.com.
  7. In the Personal Access Token field, enter your personal access token. To generate a personal access token, see the Personal access tokens GitLab documentation.
  8. Click Done. Zide is now connected to your GitLab account.

Zide validates the token format and checks it against the GitLab API to confirm the token includes the required api, read_api scope.

Tokens

Tokens are stored securely in the native keychain of the following operating systems:

  • Windows: Data Protection API
  • macOS: Keychain
  • Linux: Secret Service or pass

Account metadata such as the username, avatar URL, and auth method is stored in Zide’s local SQLite database. Tokens remain in the operating system’s secure credential store.

OAuth tokens with expiration dates are refreshed automatically in the background. Personal access tokens do not expire unless they are revoked manually on GitLab.

Reconnect required

An account’s token lives in the OS keychain while the rest of the account lives in Zide’s database. If the keychain is unavailable when you connect an account (on Linux, a locked or stopped Secret Service is the usual cause), Zide shows the keychain error and does not add the account. Reconnecting an existing account the same way leaves that account exactly as it was, still using its previous token.

If a token is removed from the keychain outside Zide, the account is marked Reconnect required in Settings > Providers. Zide does not authenticate with an account in that state; click Reconnect to store a working token again.