Does GitLab have a mobile app? The 2026 answer

GitHub has had an official mobile app for years. GitLab has not, and in 2026 that is still the case. If you searched for “GitLab app” on Google Play or the App Store, everything you found was built by someone outside GitLab Inc.

That is not a reason to give up on GitLab from your phone. Here is what is actually available, what each option is good for, and what to check before you trust an app with your account.

Is there an official GitLab app?

No. GitLab Inc. has never shipped a native mobile app for Android or iOS.

• The request is old. The issue titled Official GitLab App for Android and iOS (gitlab-org/gitlab #369066) was opened in July 2022. In October 2026 it is still open, with no milestone and no one assigned. A forum thread asking where the official app is dates back to March 2020 and has only community replies.
• The roadmap points elsewhere. GitLab’s 2026 releases put their weight behind AI agents. GitLab 19.5, released on 15 October 2026, made the GitLab MCP server generally available — an interface that lets AI assistants read and act on merge requests and pipelines. That is useful, but it is not a mobile app.
• Third-party apps fill the gap. Because GitLab’s REST and GraphQL APIs are public, independent developers build GitLab clients. Every one of them must say it is not affiliated with GitLab Inc. — that is GitLab’s trademark policy, not a warning sign.

What can you do with GitLab on a phone today?

Five options, from built-in to dedicated:

Option	Good for	Missing
GitLab in a mobile browser	Everything, in principle — it is the full web app	Push notifications; diffs are cramped on a small screen
Email notifications	Knowing that something happened	Acting on it; the inbox mixes GitLab with everything else
GitLab for Slack app	Channel updates on merge requests and pipelines, slash commands	Your personal review queue; reading a diff
An AI assistant + GitLab MCP server	Asking for a summary, or to retry a pipeline, in plain language	Reviewing code line by line; notifications
A third-party GitLab app	Push alerts, a To-Do inbox, readable diffs, approve and merge	Varies by app — check what it supports

The mobile website

GitLab’s web interface is responsive, so it works on a phone. You can read a merge request, comment, approve and merge. In practice, two things push people to look for an app: there is no notification that tells you it is your turn, and a diff built for a wide monitor is hard to review on a 6-inch screen.

Email, Slack and Teams

GitLab’s notifications are email. You choose a level — Global, Watch, Participate, On mention, Custom or Disabled — per group or project, and GitLab mails you accordingly. The GitLab for Slack app can post merge request and pipeline events to a channel, and Microsoft Teams can receive them through a webhook. None of these is a personal push notification with a button that does something.

AI assistants

With the GitLab MCP server, an assistant that supports MCP can list your merge requests, read a diff, approve, or retry a failed pipeline when you ask. It is a good fit for quick, conversational actions. It does not replace a review screen, and it does not tap you on the shoulder when a review is requested.

Which third-party GitLab apps exist?

More than you might expect. A short version, as listed in the stores on 16 October 2026:

• Android: MergeBell, Glabby, LabCoat (open source) and GitBear on Google Play, plus GitAlchemy and OctoLab on F-Droid.
• iPhone: GLab, Comeet, Greenlight: CI, Tanuki, Control for GitLab and PocketLab, among others. MergeBell’s iPhone app is coming soon.

They differ a lot: some only read, some lock every action behind a subscription, some work only with gitlab.com. Our comparison of GitLab apps for Android and iPhone goes through them one by one.

What should you check before giving an app your GitLab token?

1. The scope it asks for. An app that approves and merges needs a token with the api scope. An app that only shows things should be happy with read_api. Be wary of an app that asks for more than it does. Our guide to GitLab token scopes explains each one.
2. Where the token lives. It should be in the phone’s secure storage — the iPhone Keychain or the Android Keystore — and nowhere else.
3. Whether a server sees it. Push notifications require something to check GitLab while your phone sleeps. Find out what that server holds. The safest design gives the server a separate, read-only key and never your main token.
4. Self-managed support. If your company runs its own GitLab, check that the app supports your GitLab version and how it signs in (usually a personal access token).
5. Signs of life. Look at the last update date. GitLab ships a release every month, and an app that has not changed in two years will slowly break.

Where MergeBell fits

MergeBell is an independent GitLab client built by one developer, for one job: clearing your review queue from your phone.

• Available now on Android (Android 12 or later) through Google Play; the iPhone app is coming soon.
• Free for the review loop: the To-Do inbox, diffs with line comments, approve and merge (including squash and auto-merge), pipelines with live logs and retry, issues, search and files — plus push alerts for new To-Dos, checked every five minutes.
• Pro ($4.99 a month or $14.99 a year) adds one-minute and Instant alerts, pipeline watches, live pipeline tracking on the Lock Screen, review drafts with Request changes, suggestions and more accounts.
• Your token stays on the phone. Alerts run through a relay that holds only a separate read-only key, and refuses any key that could write. The security page lists every GitLab endpoint it calls.

It works with gitlab.com and with self-managed GitLab 16.0 or later.