File Skill

Repository file operations for GitLab using glab api raw endpoint calls.

Quick Reference

Operation	Command Pattern	Risk
Get file info	`glab api projects/:id/repository/files/:path?ref=:branch`	-
Get raw content	`glab api projects/:id/repository/files/:path/raw?ref=:branch`	-
Get blame	`glab api projects/:id/repository/files/:path/blame?ref=:branch`	-
Create file	`glab api projects/:id/repository/files/:path -X POST -f ...`	⚠️
Update file	`glab api projects/:id/repository/files/:path -X PUT -f ...`	⚠️
Delete file	`glab api projects/:id/repository/files/:path -X DELETE -f ...`	⚠️⚠️

Risk Legend: - Safe | ⚠️ Caution | ⚠️⚠️ Warning | ⚠️⚠️⚠️ Danger

When to Use This Skill

ALWAYS use when:

User wants to read file content from GitLab (not local)
User wants to create/update/delete files via GitLab API
User needs file blame information
User wants to download raw file content
User mentions "repository file", "blob", "raw content"

NEVER use when:

User wants to edit local files (use file editing tools)
User wants to search code (use gitlab-search)
User wants to browse repository tree (use gitlab-repo)
User wants to commit multiple files (use git locally)

API Prerequisites

Required Token Scopes: api

Permissions:

Read files: Reporter+ (for private repos)
Create/update/delete files: Developer+ (need push access)

URL Encoding

File paths must be URL-encoded. Slashes in paths become %2F:

# src/main.py -> src%2Fmain.py
echo 'src/main.py' | jq -Rr @uri
# Output: src%2Fmain.py

Available Commands

Get File Info (Base64 Encoded)

# Get file metadata and content (base64)
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/README.md?ref=main" --method GET

# With URL-encoded path
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'src/main.py' | jq -Rr @uri)?ref=main"

# From specific branch
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/config.json?ref=develop" --method GET

# From tag
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/version.txt?ref=v1.0.0" --method GET

# From commit SHA
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/app.py?ref=abc123" --method GET

Response includes:

file_name - File name
file_path - Full path
size - File size in bytes
encoding - Content encoding (base64)
content - Base64-encoded content
content_sha256 - SHA256 hash
ref - Branch/tag/commit
blob_id - Blob SHA
commit_id - Last commit SHA
last_commit_id - Same as commit_id

Decode Base64 Content

# Get and decode file content
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/README.md?ref=main" | \
  jq -r '.content' | base64 -d

Get Raw File Content

# Get raw file content (not base64)
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/README.md/raw?ref=main" --method GET

# With encoded path
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'src/app.py' | jq -Rr @uri)/raw?ref=main"

# Binary file (save to file)
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'images/logo.png' | jq -Rr @uri)/raw?ref=main" > logo.png

Get File Blame

# Get blame information
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'src/main.py' | jq -Rr @uri)/blame?ref=main" --method GET

# Parse blame output
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'src/main.py' | jq -Rr @uri)/blame?ref=main" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.commit.author_name): lines \(.lines | length)"'

Create File

# Create new file with content
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'docs/new-file.md' | jq -Rr @uri)" --method POST \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f content="# New File\n\nContent here" \
  -f commit_message="Add new documentation file"

# Create with base64 content
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'data/config.json' | jq -Rr @uri)" --method POST \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f content="$(cat config.json | base64)" \
  -f encoding="base64" \
  -f commit_message="Add configuration file"

# Create on new branch
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'feature/new.txt' | jq -Rr @uri)" --method POST \
  -f branch="feature-branch" \
  -f start_branch="main" \
  -f content="Feature content" \
  -f commit_message="Add feature file"

# Create with author info
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/script.sh" --method POST \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f content="#!/bin/bash\necho Hello" \
  -f commit_message="Add script" \
  -f author_email="dev@example.com" \
  -f author_name="Developer"

Update File

# Update file content
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/README.md" --method PUT \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f content="# Updated README\n\nNew content here" \
  -f commit_message="Update README"

# Update with base64 (for binary or complex files)
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'config/settings.json' | jq -Rr @uri)" --method PUT \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f content="$(cat settings.json | base64)" \
  -f encoding="base64" \
  -f commit_message="Update settings"

# Update on feature branch
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/src%2Fapp.py" --method PUT \
  -f branch="feature-update" \
  -f content="$(cat app.py | base64)" \
  -f encoding="base64" \
  -f commit_message="Refactor app module"

# Update with last known commit (for conflict detection)
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/data.json" --method PUT \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f content="{ \"updated\": true }" \
  -f commit_message="Update data" \
  -f last_commit_id="abc123def456"

Delete File

# Delete file
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'old-file.txt' | jq -Rr @uri)" --method DELETE \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f commit_message="Remove deprecated file"

# Delete with author info
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'temp/test.txt' | jq -Rr @uri)" --method DELETE \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f commit_message="Clean up temp files" \
  -f author_email="dev@example.com" \
  -f author_name="Developer"

File Operation Options

Option	Type	Description
`branch`	string	Target branch (required for write ops)
`start_branch`	string	Source branch for new files
`content`	string	File content (plain text or base64)
`encoding`	string	Content encoding: `text` (default) or `base64`
`commit_message`	string	Commit message (required for write ops)
`author_email`	string	Custom author email
`author_name`	string	Custom author name
`last_commit_id`	string	Expected last commit (for conflict detection)

Common Workflows

Workflow 1: Download and View File

# Get file content
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'config/app.yml' | jq -Rr @uri)/raw?ref=main"

Workflow 2: Update Configuration File

# 1. Download current file
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/config.json/raw?ref=main" > config.json

# 2. Edit locally
# ... make changes to config.json ...

# 3. Upload updated file
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/config.json" --method PUT \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f content="$(cat config.json | base64)" \
  -f encoding="base64" \
  -f commit_message="Update configuration"

Workflow 3: Create File on Feature Branch

# Create new file on new branch
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'docs/feature.md' | jq -Rr @uri)" --method POST \
  -f branch="feature-docs" \
  -f start_branch="main" \
  -f content="# Feature Documentation\n\nDetails here..." \
  -f commit_message="Add feature documentation"

Workflow 4: Check File History via Blame

# Get blame info for a file
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo 'src/critical.py' | jq -Rr @uri)/blame?ref=main" | \
  jq -r '.[] | "\(.commit.short_id) \(.commit.author_name): \(.lines | length) lines"'

Workflow 5: Batch Read Multiple Files

# Read multiple files
for file in "README.md" "package.json" "Dockerfile"; do
  echo "=== $file ==="
  glab api "projects/123/repository/files/$(echo "$file" | jq -Rr @uri)/raw?ref=main"
  echo ""
done

Workflow 6: Copy File Between Branches

# 1. Get file from source branch
content=$(glab api "projects/123/repository/files/config.json/raw?ref=develop")

# 2. Create/update on target branch
echo "$content" | base64 > /tmp/content.b64
glab api "projects/123/repository/files/config.json" --method PUT \
  -f branch="main" \
  -f content="$(cat /tmp/content.b64)" \
  -f encoding="base64" \
  -f commit_message="Sync config from develop"

Troubleshooting

Issue	Cause	Solution
404 Not Found	File doesn't exist	Verify path and branch
400 Path encoding	Slashes not encoded	Use `jq -Rr @uri` to encode
Binary content garbled	Not using base64	Use `/raw` endpoint or decode base64
Conflict on update	File changed	Use `last_commit_id` for optimistic locking
403 Forbidden	No push access	Need Developer+ role
Large file fails	Size limit	GitLab has file size limits

Size Limits

Default max file size: 10 MB via API
Large files: Use Git LFS instead
Binary files: Always use base64 encoding

Best Practices

URL-encode paths: Always encode file paths with slashes
Use base64 for binary: Encode binary files as base64
Meaningful commits: Write descriptive commit messages
Use feature branches: Don't commit directly to main for big changes
Check for conflicts: Use last_commit_id for critical updates

gitlab-file