Asana and GitLab: how to connect your workflow

If your team plans in Asana and ships in GitLab, progress lives in two places. Commits and merge requests happen in one, and the people tracking the work are looking at the other. Copying updates across by hand is slow, and it is the first thing to slip when a deadline gets close.

The good news is that GitLab already has a way to do this, and it is free. The less good news is that Astogi does not support GitLab natively. This guide covers what GitLab gives you, where it gets awkward, and what your options are if it is not enough.

Option 1: GitLab's built-in Asana integration

GitLab ships a project integration for Asana on every tier, including Free, on GitLab.com and self-managed instances. Once it is on, GitLab checks commit messages for Asana references and adds the commit as a comment on each task it finds.

A reference is either:

• a full Asana task URL, such as https://app.asana.com/1/12345/project/67890/task/987654, or
• a task ID starting with a hash, such as #987654.

Every task found in the message gets the comment. You can also close a task straight from a commit by putting one of these words in front of the reference: fix, fixed, fixes, fixing, close, closes, closed or closing. So fixes #987654 comments on the task and completes it.

Setting it up

1. In Asana, create a personal access token from your developer settings.
2. In GitLab, open your project and go to Settings, then Integrations.
3. Select Asana and tick Active.
4. Paste the token.
5. Optionally list branches in the Restrict to branch field, separated by commas, if you only want activity from certain branches to post.
6. Use Test settings, then save.

The integration is configured per project. If you have thirty repositories, that is thirty setups, unless your instance admin applies it at group or instance level.

Where it gets awkward

It works, but a few things tend to bite once a team uses it every day.

The ID is not something anyone remembers. Asana's internal task ID is a long number. #1204245952913600 in a commit message is accurate and unreadable. You will end up pasting it from the task URL every time, and git log becomes a list of digits.

Comments come from one person. The token belongs to whoever created it, so every comment appears as that user. If they leave the company or their token is revoked, the integration goes quiet with no loud failure.

It posts commit messages, nothing more. You get the text of the commit on the task. There is no merge request status and no pipeline result.

There is no check that the reference is right. A mistyped digit either matches nothing or, worse, matches a different task.

Option 2: put a readable number on every task first

The reference problem is fixable without touching GitLab. If every Asana task carries a short, readable number, people can cite it from memory and read it in a commit log.

Astogi's automatic task numbering writes a prefixed number straight into the task name, for example RS-0042: Fix the login redirect, with a prefix you choose per project. Asana has its own ID custom field too, and it is a fair choice if you just want a number in a column. The difference is that Astogi puts the number in the title, where it shows up in lists, notifications, search and anything you copy out of Asana.

To be clear about the limit: Astogi's commit matching is built for GitHub and Bitbucket. The GitLab integration above matches on Asana's internal ID or URL, not on an Astogi number. So numbering helps your team talk about tasks and write better commit messages, but it does not by itself make GitLab post to the task.

Option 3: a connection built for your setup

If you want GitLab activity to land on Asana tasks by the readable number, or you want merge requests and pipelines in the picture, that is custom work. We build custom Asana integrations around specific workflows. Tell us which GitLab events matter (commits, merge requests, pipelines, releases), where they should show up in Asana, and whether you are on GitLab.com or self-managed, and we will scope and quote it.

We would rather say so plainly than imply GitLab works out of the box. If you are on GitHub or Bitbucket, Git commit tracking works with no custom work. See the guides for GitHub and Bitbucket.

Which route fits

	GitLab's Asana integration	Astogi
GitLab support	Yes, built in	Not native, custom build
Cost	Included in every GitLab tier	Paid plans, see pricing
Task reference	Asana task ID or URL	Readable number in the task name (GitHub and Bitbucket)
Close a task from a commit	Yes, with fix, close and similar	No
Setup	Per project, token required	Dashboard, per repository

For most GitLab teams the built-in integration is the right starting point. Add task numbering if the IDs are the part your team dislikes.

Frequently asked questions

Does GitLab's Asana integration cost extra? No. It is available on Free, Premium and Ultimate, on GitLab.com and self-managed.

Can I restrict it to certain branches? Yes. The Restrict to branch field takes a comma separated list.

Can a commit complete an Asana task? Yes. Use fix, fixes, close or closes before the reference.

Does Astogi work with GitLab? Not natively. It supports GitHub and Bitbucket. GitLab can be built as a custom integration.

Will task numbering work with GitLab's integration? Numbering gives tasks a short, readable name, but GitLab matches Asana's internal ID or task URL, so keep using one of those in the commit.

Where to start

• Turn on GitLab's built-in Asana integration for the project and test it with a throwaway commit.
• If the IDs are a pain, set up automatic task numbering.
• For anything beyond commit comments, get in touch on the custom integration page.

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