A pain point I have encountered with GitLab is that large GitLab-ci.yml files become hard to read and maintain. YAML syntax is strict, and errors are easy to make, while debugging pipeline logic can sometimes take time, leading to slower iteration when the pipeline grows complex. I propose an improvement idea of better visual pipeline editors and stronger validations and linting before a commit. Regarding runner management and scaling, managing self-hosted runners requires effort and scaling runners during peak usage can be challenging, which leads to pipeline delays during high load. An expected improvement here is smarter auto-scaling by default, along with better runner health visibility and alerts. Concerning security features, advanced security scans are locked behind paid tiers, limiting coverage for smaller teams unless the budget allows. I suggest introducing more basic security features in the free tier and clearer guidance on prioritizing vulnerabilities. Another area for improvement is UI performance and navigation. Finding older pipelines or logs or settings sometimes takes extra clicks, leading to small but noticeable productivity loss. An improvement would be a faster UI for large repositories and enhanced global search and filtering.
