How to Connect Gitlab (self-Managed) with Jira Cloud?

[Saad Ahmad]

Hi Folks,

We have gitlab (self-managed), hosted on prem and not publicly accessible. i went through several setup documents, but I'm lost in setting up the connection.

Tasks done so far:

1- installed 'Gitlab for jira cloud' app

2- in gitlab, i have created an application, by following the link. https://gitlab.com/-/jira_connect/oauth_callbacks

As you can see below, at step 3, when I enter the URL (not https) and click Save, it's not moving further, and I presume it could be due to the fact that our GitLab is not publicly accessible. How can I securely build a connection between both systems? 

[James Gamble]

Hola Saad,

Your assumption is correct: the official GitLab for Jira Cloud integration requires either Jira Cloud or GitLab.com to access certain parts of the self-managed GitLab instance. A GitLab server that’s completely private or air-gapped can’t use this integration as-is.

There are two important requirements for this setup. First, the GitLab Self-Managed instance must use HTTPS with a publicly trusted certificate, so entering an HTTP URL isn’t supported. Second, if you install GitLab for Jira Cloud from the Marketplace, GitLab states that the self-managed instance must be publicly accessible and recommends placing an internet-facing reverse proxy in front of GitLab when it sits behind a firewall. GitLab documents those requirements here.

You don’t necessarily need to expose the entire GitLab application broadly to the internet. A more controlled design would be an HTTPS reverse proxy or application gateway in front of GitLab, restricted to the endpoints and source networks required by the integration. Your GitLab instance also needs outbound access to Jira Cloud.

GitLab also supports a manual Forge-based installation of the GitLab for Jira Cloud app. That avoids relying on GitLab.com for the app lifecycle. However, it still doesn’t fully meet a private-network requirement because Jira Cloud requires inbound HTTPS access to the GitLab /-/jira_connect endpoint, and GitLab requires outbound HTTPS access to *.atlassian.net.

So I’d first confirm whether your security team will allow a narrowly scoped HTTPS reverse proxy for the integration. If GitLab must remain entirely unreachable from Atlassian Cloud and GitLab.com, I don’t see a supported way to use GitLab for Jira Cloud for the development panel integration.

Thanks,

James