diff --git a/.changeset/nice-peas-retire.md b/.changeset/nice-peas-retire.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7b7b13706d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/nice-peas-retire.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'@backstage/integration': minor
+'@backstage/backend-defaults': patch
+---
+
+Updated `GitlabUrlReader.readUrl` and `GitlabUrlReader.readTree` to accept a user-provided token, supporting both bearer and private tokens.
diff --git a/packages/integration/api-report.md b/packages/integration/api-report.md
index 4c8e8accf2..cf4b380ad9 100644
--- a/packages/integration/api-report.md
+++ b/packages/integration/api-report.md
@@ -508,7 +508,10 @@ export function getGitLabIntegrationRelativePath(
 ): string;
 
 // @public
-export function getGitLabRequestOptions(config: GitLabIntegrationConfig): {
+export function getGitLabRequestOptions(
+  config: GitLabIntegrationConfig,
+  token?: string,
+): {
   headers: Record<string, string>;
 };