Understand the Breaking Changes in GitLab 18.0 | GitLab Solutions

Breaking Changes in GitLab 18.0: What You Need to Know

GitLab 18.0 introduces several breaking changes designed to enhance security, performance, and the consistency of workflows across the platform. Users preparing for the upgrade should familiarise themselves with these changes to ensure a smooth transition and continued operational efficiency.

CI/CD Pipeline and Runners

GitLab 18.0 removes support for shell executors on GitLab-hosted runners, including the old Ruby-based GitLab Runner. This change encourages migration to modern, supported executors like Docker, Kubernetes, or custom executors, ensuring better isolation and security in your CI/CD workflows.

Additionally, the multi-project pipelines keyword trigger now requires explicit project references in cross-project triggers. This improves visibility and control over your CI/CD architecture across teams and groups.

Security Changes and Feature Cleanups

GitLab has deprecated and removed a variety of outdated features and configuration points, including some legacy API endpoints, old SAST analyzers, and outdated LDAP group sync settings. These removals increase maintainability and streamline security posture across self-managed and SaaS GitLab instances.

User Experience Improvements

GitLab is simplifying feature flags and permissions in 18.0. Some rarely used permissions have been consolidated or removed to better reflect typical usage patterns in your development lifecycle. If you manage permissions across complex organisational structures, review your group and project permissions before upgrading.

Action Steps for Administrators

We strongly advise all administrators and DevOps teams to review the GitLab upgrade paths and test changes in a staging environment before deploying GitLab 18.0 in production. Verify all custom CI/CD pipeline configurations and ensure runners are compatible with the latest release.

For users in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, United Kingdom and remote clients in Israel, South Africa, and Paraguay, our team at IDEA GitLab Solutions offers expert consulting support and licensing services. Let us help you prepare, upgrade, and optimise your GitLab usage in line with 18.0 requirements and best practices.

Need Help?

If you're unsure how these changes affect your GitLab instance or need help with the migration, don’t hesitate to reach out to our certified specialists at IDEA GitLab Solutions. We're here to help you boost your DevOps success story with tailored GitLab support.