diff --git a/.changeset/twelve-oranges-grin.md b/.changeset/twelve-oranges-grin.md
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+---
+'@backstage/plugin-catalog-backend-module-gitlab': patch
+---
+
+Update GitlabDiscoveryEntityProvider to use `project.id` rather than `project.path_with_namespace` for `hasFile` check in `shouldProcessProject`
+
+Solves [#30147](https://github.com/backstage/backstage/issues/30147):
+
+> Use of project.id avoids edgecases caused by path encoding or project structure changes
+> [...]
+> It also simplifies reasoning about the GitLab API usage, since IDs are immutable, while paths are not.
+
+```diff
+const hasFile = await client.hasFile(
+-    project.path_with_namespace,
++    project.id.toString(),
+    project_branch,
+    this.config.catalogFile,
+);
+```