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GitStart's Documentation

Onboarding Setup

Q: What is required to get started with GitStart?

Most of the setup process is done through our dashboard at clients.gitstart.com. We’ll require you to register your organization with a GitStart account, create the sliced repositories for us to work on, and link up your ticketing system to assign GitStart Agent tickets.

Q: How do I create Sliced Repositories for GitStart?

These are the repos you want GitStart to work on.

  1. Connect Repositories from GitHub or GitLab through the GitStart dashboard:
    • A GitHub/GitLab admin user is required to install the GitStart app.
    • Select the relevant GitHub/GitLab repositories for GitStart development.
  2. Configure Slices – share only a subset of your Repositories:
    • Specify folders to share and ignore, environment variables, build and run commands.
      • GitStart developers work by spinning up containers (e.g., Docker) based on the sliced repository. A properly configured slice ensures developers can replicate your environment locally.
      • We support standard commands like npm, pnpm, yarn, or allow you to upload a DockerFile.
    • Build the sliced repo to confirm successful configurations.
      • Please ensure you share all the required “sliced” repositories, including any repos for dependencies required for GitStart to successfully work on your tickets.
      • If a build fails, you can make changes to the config based on the error log or reach out to our team at support@gitstart.com.

If it helps, we also created Video instructions for the steps.

Q: How do I create sliced repositories on GitLab?

For GitLab, create a new account acting as a bot account. Usually the bot account is named with the prefix gitstart- for clarity and ease of identification. Then, follow GitLab’s guide to generate a personal access token (PAT). The PAT allows our system to use the bot account to push and pull code to your repositories. You will have to add the bot account to the GitLab Group that your repositories are in. With that, input the domain of your GitLab, e.g. https://gitlab.com or https://gitlab.company.com, and the PAT to our dashboard.

Q: How do I sync tickets to GitStart?

On the dashboard, there’s a tab to integrate your Ticketing System:

  1. Ticket Connector via Dashboard:
    1. An admin user is required to install the GitStart app.
    2. Select the appropriate space (JIRA project, Linear team, or GitHub repository) from which you want to import issues and set up criteria.
    3. Configure the import logic through filters on the GitStart dashboard.
      1. Dashboard Filter: You can use label = gitstart and then add gitstart label to assign tickets, but you can also configure your custom filter logic.
  2. PAT Token:
    1. If you require more granular permission control, we can also support syncing through PAT token, but we will need to work with you on the manual setup.

If it helps, we also created Video instructions for the steps

Q: How do I hand off tickets to GitStart?

There are two ways:

  1. Create tickets on the GitStart Dashboard
    • GitStart Ticket Studio: Use the AI Chat Interface to generate structured tickets quickly.
    • Click the “Hand Off” button: to officially assign tickets to GitStart Agent.
  2. Import Tickets if you have already integrated the ticket connector
    • “Triage Tab”:
      • Imported tickets from the connected ticketing system will appear on the GitStart dashboard Triage Tab.
      • You can refine and enhance ticket descriptions, which syncs back your upstream ticket descriptions in real time.
    • Click the “Hand Off” button: to officially assign tickets to GitStart Agent.

Q: Can I change the ticket description after a ticket is handed off?

If you sync tickets from your ticketing system, you can change the upstream ticket descriptions, and we’ll sync the updates to the ticket description (with possibly a few hours of delay).

If you create tickets on the GitStart dashboard, currently, we do not support the feature of editing a handed-off ticket.

Q: What tech stacks and frameworks do we support?

  • Frontend: React, Vue.js, Nuxt.js, Next.js, Angular, TailwindCSS
  • Backend: Node.JS, C#, Python, Django, Ruby on Rails, PHP/Laravel
  • Mobile: React Native, Flutter, Native iOS (Swift), Native Android (Kotlin)
  • Testing: Cypress, Playwright, Jest, Mocha

Q: How do I set up billing?

You can fill in your credit card details during the dashboard setup. We also accept ACH transfers, for which we’ll send a Stripe invoice link monthly to facilitate payment.

Q: How do I communicate with GitStart day-to-day?

Please join the shared communication channel that connects your organization with ours. This channel will allow you to:

  • Stay updated through regular standups.
  • Review and approve PR costs.
  • Resolve issues such as onboarding blockers.
  • Discuss real-time feedback and handle day-to-day interactions seamlessly.

Available Communication Channels

  1. Slack

    • Existing Slack Users: You can connect via your organization’s Slack account through our dashboard.
    • Guest Users: We’ll send you a guest invitation to join our Workspace (no payment required).

  2. Microsoft Teams or Google Chat

    • Available for clients with an annual contract.

Q: Who will I be working with after all the setup?

We’ll schedule a 45-minute call onboarding call to officially kickstart the engagement.

  1. Team Introduction:
    • Meet your dedicated GitStart team: Technical Project Manager, Solution Architect, and Client Experience Manager.
  2. Align Expectations:
    • Define ceremonies: Bi-Weekly Sprint Planning and Monthly Feedback Reviews.
    • GitStart Way: Go over any specific DevEx and QA requirements to setup long-term success with GitStart.
    • Ticket discussion: Clarify the first batch of tickets and any onboarding setup issues.