Glean’s January product drop introduces Code Search and Code Writer to help developers jump from “what’s going on here?” to a draft pull request in minutes—all grounded in your company’s repos, tickets, docs and chats.

Why this matters

Engineering context is scattered across code, configs, ADRs, tickets and PRs. Glean’s new capabilities pull that context together: Code Search surfaces the most relevant files, diffs and references; Code Writer uses that context to propose small fixes and PR drafts—without losing enterprise guardrails.

Key benefits

• Improved search: Query across all connected repos and instantly open the right file, diff or reference.

• Faster writing: Generate draft PRs for minor changes/bug fixes using project-specific context.

• Built into the Assistant: Code Search can invoke automatically when your prompt is code-related; no extra setup for basic usage.

What’s new or how it works

• Code Search lives inside Glean Assistant and Agents, querying your connected code hosts (e.g., GitHub/GitLab) to return files, diffs and references that answer code questions.

• Code Writer uses that retrieved context to propose minimal, reviewable changes (e.g., small bug fixes), speeding up the authoring step before human review.

• Both features are part of Glean’s January “Drop,” which also includes broader Assistant upgrades.

Practical steps or examples

1. Connect your repos
   In Glean, connect GitHub or GitLab so Code Search can index code and metadata (commits, PRs, tickets). Enabled by default after connection.

2. Ask a code question in Assistant
   Example: “Where do we validate OAuth scopes for the payments API?” The Assistant automatically invokes Code Search and returns relevant files/diffs with citations.

3. Open the result and inspect context
   Jump directly to the file or diff from the result list to confirm the logic and dependencies.

4. Use Code Writer for a small fix
   Prompt: “Draft a PR to fix the null check in the scope validator and add a unit test.” Review the proposed change, run tests locally, then commit via your normal workflow.

5. (Optional) Bring it to your IDE or agent workflow
   Glean highlights that Code Search/Writer are first-class in Assistant/Agents and can be surfaced in tools you already use.

FAQs

Q1: What exactly shipped in January?
Code Search (deep repo search inside Assistant/Agents) and Code Writer (context-aware PR drafting for small changes), alongside broader Assistant updates.

Q2: How do these features improve productivity?
They collapse the “find → fix” loop: search gathers code + references in one step; Writer drafts changes grounded in that context, reducing time spent on boilerplate.

Q3: Is it easy to adopt?
Yes. Once a supported code host is connected, Code Search is available by default in Assistant; teams can then opt into Writer workflows and keep standard code review gates.

Next Steps

Want these features configured with your GitHub/GitLab, Jira and Slack? Book a Glean assessment with Generation Digital—connect your stack, define guardrails, and train teams to go from search to shipped changes faster.