diff --git a/.changeset/khaki-tools-tease.md b/.changeset/khaki-tools-tease.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e4383c9e33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/khaki-tools-tease.md
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend': minor
+---
+
+Updated `publish:gitlab` action properties to support additional Gitlab project settings:
+
+- general project settings provided by gitlab project create API (new `settings` property)
+- branch level settings to create additional branches and make them protected (new `branches` property)
+- project level environment variables settings (new `projectVariables` property)
+
+Marked existed properties `repoVisibility` and `topics` as deprecated, as they are covered by `settings` property.
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/api-report.md b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/api-report.md
index 17e13131cf..ba7576b1bb 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/api-report.md
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/api-report.md
@@ -679,6 +679,36 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
     gitAuthorEmail?: string | undefined;
     setUserAsOwner?: boolean | undefined;
     topics?: string[] | undefined;
+    settings?:
+      | {
+          path?: string | undefined;
+          auto_devops_enabled?: boolean | undefined;
+          ci_config_path?: string | undefined;
+          description?: string | undefined;
+          topics?: string[] | undefined;
+          visibility?: 'internal' | 'private' | 'public' | undefined;
+        }
+      | undefined;
+    branches?:
+      | {
+          name: string;
+          protect?: boolean | undefined;
+          create?: boolean | undefined;
+          ref?: string | undefined;
+        }[]
+      | undefined;
+    projectVariables?:
+      | {
+          key: string;
+          value: string;
+          description?: string | undefined;
+          variable_type?: string | undefined;
+          protected?: boolean | undefined;
+          masked?: boolean | undefined;
+          raw?: boolean | undefined;
+          environment_scope?: string | undefined;
+        }[]
+      | undefined;
   },
   JsonObject
 >;
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/debug/wait.examples.test.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/debug/wait.examples.test.ts
index 11cc83c696..5242943aa9 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/debug/wait.examples.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/debug/wait.examples.test.ts
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ describe('debug:wait examples', () => {
     const start = new Date().getTime();
     await action.handler(context);
     const end = new Date().getTime();
-    expect(end - start).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(50);
+    expect(end - start).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(45);
+    expect(end - start).toBeLessThanOrEqual(55);
   });
 });
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.examples.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.examples.ts
index ac259866e3..b20fcf52e9 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.examples.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.examples.ts
@@ -68,4 +68,79 @@ export const examples: TemplateExample[] = [
       ],
     }),
   },
+  {
+    description: 'Initializes a git repository with additional settings.',
+    example: yaml.stringify({
+      steps: [
+        {
+          id: 'publish',
+          action: 'publish:gitlab',
+          name: 'Publish to GitLab',
+          input: {
+            repoUrl: 'gitlab.com?repo=project_name&owner=group_name',
+            settings: {
+              ci_config_path: '.gitlab-ci.yml',
+              visibility: 'public',
+            },
+          },
+        },
+      ],
+    }),
+  },
+  {
+    description: 'Initializes a git repository with branches settings',
+    example: yaml.stringify({
+      steps: [
+        {
+          id: 'publish',
+          action: 'publish:gitlab',
+          name: 'Publish to GitLab',
+          input: {
+            repoUrl: 'gitlab.com?repo=project_name&owner=group_name',
+            branches: [
+              {
+                name: 'dev',
+                create: true,
+                protected: true,
+                ref: 'master',
+              },
+              {
+                name: 'master',
+                protected: true,
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+      ],
+    }),
+  },
+  {
+    description: 'Initializes a git repository with environment variables',
+    example: yaml.stringify({
+      steps: [
+        {
+          id: 'publish',
+          action: 'publish:gitlab',
+          name: 'Publish to GitLab',
+          input: {
+            repoUrl: 'gitlab.com?repo=project_name&owner=group_name',
+            projectVariables: [
+              {
+                key: 'key1',
+                value: 'value1',
+                protected: true,
+                masked: false,
+              },
+              {
+                key: 'key2',
+                value: 'value2',
+                protected: true,
+                masked: false,
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        },
+      ],
+    }),
+  },
 ];
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.test.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.test.ts
index dc8e3eb0ee..b2f3dc6480 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.test.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.test.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,15 @@ const mockGitlabClient = {
   ProjectMembers: {
     add: jest.fn(),
   },
+  Branches: {
+    create: jest.fn(),
+  },
+  ProtectedBranches: {
+    protect: jest.fn(),
+  },
+  ProjectVariables: {
+    create: jest.fn(),
+  },
 };
 jest.mock('@gitbeaker/node', () => ({
   Gitlab: class {
@@ -77,6 +86,73 @@ describe('publish:gitlab', () => {
     input: {
       repoUrl: 'gitlab.com?repo=repo&owner=owner',
       repoVisibility: 'private' as const,
+      settings: {
+        ci_config_path: '.gitlab-ci.yml',
+      },
+    },
+    workspacePath: 'lol',
+    logger: getVoidLogger(),
+    logStream: new PassThrough(),
+    output: jest.fn(),
+    createTemporaryDirectory: jest.fn(),
+  };
+  const mockContextWithSettings = {
+    input: {
+      repoUrl: 'gitlab.com?repo=repo&owner=owner',
+      repoVisibility: 'private' as const,
+      topics: ['topic'],
+      settings: {
+        ci_config_path: '.gitlab-ci.yml',
+        visibility: 'internal' as const,
+        topics: ['topic1', 'topic2'],
+      },
+    },
+    workspacePath: 'lol',
+    logger: getVoidLogger(),
+    logStream: new PassThrough(),
+    output: jest.fn(),
+    createTemporaryDirectory: jest.fn(),
+  };
+  const mockContextWithBranches = {
+    input: {
+      repoUrl: 'gitlab.com?repo=repo&owner=owner',
+      repoVisibility: 'private' as const,
+      branches: [
+        {
+          name: 'dev',
+          create: true,
+          ref: 'master',
+          protect: true,
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'stage',
+          create: true,
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'perf',
+          protect: true,
+        },
+      ],
+    },
+    workspacePath: 'lol',
+    logger: getVoidLogger(),
+    logStream: new PassThrough(),
+    output: jest.fn(),
+    createTemporaryDirectory: jest.fn(),
+  };
+  const mockContextWithVariables = {
+    input: {
+      repoUrl: 'gitlab.com?repo=repo&owner=owner',
+      repoVisibility: 'private' as const,
+      projectVariables: [
+        {
+          key: 'key',
+          value: 'value',
+          description: 'description',
+          protected: true,
+          masked: true,
+        },
+      ],
     },
     workspacePath: 'lol',
     logger: getVoidLogger(),
@@ -146,6 +222,8 @@ describe('publish:gitlab', () => {
       name: 'bob',
       visibility: 'private',
     });
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Branches.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.ProtectedBranches.protect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
   it('should call the correct Gitlab APIs when the owner is an organization', async () => {
@@ -162,7 +240,10 @@ describe('publish:gitlab', () => {
       namespace_id: 1234,
       name: 'repo',
       visibility: 'private',
+      ci_config_path: '.gitlab-ci.yml',
     });
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Branches.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.ProtectedBranches.protect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
   it('should call the correct Gitlab APIs when the owner is not an organization', async () => {
@@ -179,7 +260,103 @@ describe('publish:gitlab', () => {
       namespace_id: 12345,
       name: 'repo',
       visibility: 'private',
+      ci_config_path: '.gitlab-ci.yml',
     });
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Branches.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.ProtectedBranches.protect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('should call the correct Gitlab APIs when using project settings with override of visibility and topics', async () => {
+    mockGitlabClient.Users.current.mockResolvedValue({ id: 12345 });
+    mockGitlabClient.Namespaces.show.mockResolvedValue({ id: 1234 });
+    mockGitlabClient.Projects.create.mockResolvedValue({
+      http_url_to_repo: 'http://mockurl.git',
+    });
+
+    await action.handler(mockContextWithSettings);
+
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Namespaces.show).toHaveBeenCalledWith('owner');
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Projects.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      namespace_id: 1234,
+      name: 'repo',
+      visibility: 'internal',
+      topics: ['topic1', 'topic2'],
+      ci_config_path: '.gitlab-ci.yml',
+    });
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Branches.create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.ProtectedBranches.protect).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it('should call the correct Gitlab APIs for branches and protectd branches when branch settings provided', async () => {
+    mockGitlabClient.Users.current.mockResolvedValue({ id: 12345 });
+    mockGitlabClient.Namespaces.show.mockResolvedValue({ id: 1234 });
+    mockGitlabClient.Projects.create.mockResolvedValue({
+      id: 123456,
+      http_url_to_repo: 'http://mockurl.git',
+    });
+
+    await action.handler(mockContextWithBranches);
+
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Namespaces.show).toHaveBeenCalledWith('owner');
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Projects.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      namespace_id: 1234,
+      name: 'repo',
+      visibility: 'private',
+    });
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Branches.create).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.ProtectedBranches.protect).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Branches.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      123456,
+      'dev',
+      'master',
+    );
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Branches.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      123456,
+      'stage',
+      'master',
+    );
+
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.ProtectedBranches.protect).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      123456,
+      'dev',
+    );
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.ProtectedBranches.protect).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      123456,
+      'perf',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('should call the correct Gitlab APIs for variables when their configuration is provided', async () => {
+    mockGitlabClient.Users.current.mockResolvedValue({ id: 12345 });
+    mockGitlabClient.Namespaces.show.mockResolvedValue({ id: 1234 });
+    mockGitlabClient.Projects.create.mockResolvedValue({
+      id: 123456,
+      http_url_to_repo: 'http://mockurl.git',
+    });
+
+    await action.handler(mockContextWithVariables);
+
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Namespaces.show).toHaveBeenCalledWith('owner');
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.Projects.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      namespace_id: 1234,
+      name: 'repo',
+      visibility: 'private',
+    });
+
+    expect(mockGitlabClient.ProjectVariables.create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      123456,
+      {
+        key: 'key',
+        value: 'value',
+        description: 'description',
+        variable_type: 'env_var',
+        protected: true,
+        masked: true,
+        raw: false,
+        environment_scope: '*',
+      },
+    );
   });
 
   it('should call initRepoAndPush with the correct values', async () => {
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.ts
index 25f78452a4..6d86841a20 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
   return createTemplateAction<{
     repoUrl: string;
     defaultBranch?: string;
+    /** @deprecated in favour of settings.visibility field */
     repoVisibility?: 'private' | 'internal' | 'public';
     sourcePath?: string;
     token?: string;
@@ -45,7 +46,32 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
     gitAuthorName?: string;
     gitAuthorEmail?: string;
     setUserAsOwner?: boolean;
+    /** @deprecated in favour of settings.topics field */
     topics?: string[];
+    settings?: {
+      path?: string;
+      auto_devops_enabled?: boolean;
+      ci_config_path?: string;
+      description?: string;
+      topics?: string[];
+      visibility?: 'private' | 'internal' | 'public';
+    };
+    branches?: Array<{
+      name: string;
+      protect?: boolean;
+      create?: boolean;
+      ref?: string;
+    }>;
+    projectVariables?: Array<{
+      key: string;
+      value: string;
+      description?: string;
+      variable_type?: string;
+      protected?: boolean;
+      masked?: boolean;
+      raw?: boolean;
+      environment_scope?: string;
+    }>;
   }>({
     id: 'publish:gitlab',
     description:
@@ -63,6 +89,7 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
           },
           repoVisibility: {
             title: 'Repository Visibility',
+            description: `Sets the visibility of the repository. The default value is 'private'. (deprecated, use settings.visibility instead)`,
             type: 'string',
             enum: ['private', 'public', 'internal'],
           },
@@ -105,12 +132,135 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
           },
           topics: {
             title: 'Topic labels',
-            description: 'Topic labels to apply on the repository.',
+            description:
+              'Topic labels to apply on the repository. (deprecated, use settings.topics instead)',
             type: 'array',
             items: {
               type: 'string',
             },
           },
+          settings: {
+            title: 'Project settings',
+            description:
+              'Additional project settings, based on https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/projects.html#create-project attributes',
+            type: 'object',
+            properties: {
+              path: {
+                title: 'Project path',
+                description:
+                  'Repository name for new project. Generated based on name if not provided (generated as lowercase with dashes).',
+                type: 'string',
+              },
+              auto_devops_enabled: {
+                title: 'Auto DevOps enabled',
+                description: 'Enable Auto DevOps for this project',
+                type: 'boolean',
+              },
+              ci_config_path: {
+                title: 'CI config path',
+                description: 'Custom CI config path for this project',
+                type: 'string',
+              },
+              description: {
+                title: 'Project description',
+                description: 'Short project description',
+                type: 'string',
+              },
+              topics: {
+                title: 'Topic labels',
+                description: 'Topic labels to apply on the repository',
+                type: 'array',
+                items: {
+                  type: 'string',
+                },
+              },
+              visibility: {
+                title: 'Project visibility',
+                description:
+                  'The visibility of the project. Can be private, internal, or public. The default value is private.',
+                type: 'string',
+                enum: ['private', 'public', 'internal'],
+              },
+            },
+          },
+          branches: {
+            title: 'Project branches settings',
+            type: 'array',
+            items: {
+              type: 'object',
+              required: ['name'],
+              properties: {
+                name: {
+                  title: 'Branch name',
+                  type: 'string',
+                },
+                protect: {
+                  title: 'Should branch be protected',
+                  description: `Will mark branch as protected. The default value is 'false'`,
+                  type: 'boolean',
+                },
+                create: {
+                  title: 'Should branch be created',
+                  description: `If branch does not exist, it will be created from provided ref. The default value is 'false'`,
+                  type: 'boolean',
+                },
+                ref: {
+                  title: 'Branch reference',
+                  description: `Branch reference to create branch from. The default value is 'master'`,
+                  type: 'string',
+                },
+              },
+            },
+          },
+          projectVariables: {
+            title: 'Project variables',
+            description:
+              'Project variables settings based on Gitlab Project Environments API - https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/project_level_variables.html#create-a-variable',
+            type: 'array',
+            items: {
+              type: 'object',
+              required: ['key', 'value'],
+              properties: {
+                key: {
+                  title: 'Variable key',
+                  description:
+                    'The key of a variable; must have no more than 255 characters; only A-Z, a-z, 0-9, and _ are allowed',
+                  type: 'string',
+                },
+                value: {
+                  title: 'Variable value',
+                  description: 'The value of a variable',
+                  type: 'string',
+                },
+                description: {
+                  title: 'Variable description',
+                  description: `The description of the variable. The default value is 'null'`,
+                  type: 'string',
+                },
+                variable_type: {
+                  title: 'Variable type',
+                  description: `The type of a variable. The default value is 'env_var'`,
+                  type: 'string',
+                  enum: ['env_var', 'file'],
+                },
+                protected: {
+                  title: 'Variable protection',
+                  description: `Whether the variable is protected. The default value is 'false'`,
+                  type: 'boolean',
+                },
+                raw: {
+                  title: 'Variable raw',
+                  description: `Whether the variable is in raw format. The default value is 'false'`,
+                  type: 'boolean',
+                },
+                environment_scope: {
+                  title: 'Variable environment scope',
+                  description: `The environment_scope of the variable. The default value is '*'`,
+                  type: 'string',
+                },
+              },
+            },
+          },
         },
       },
       output: {
@@ -145,6 +295,9 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
         gitAuthorEmail,
         setUserAsOwner = false,
         topics = [],
+        settings = {},
+        branches = [],
+        projectVariables = [],
       } = ctx.input;
       const { owner, repo, host } = parseRepoUrl(repoUrl, integrations);
 
@@ -204,6 +357,7 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
         name: repo,
         visibility: repoVisibility,
         ...(topics.length ? { topics } : {}),
+        ...(Object.keys(settings).length ? { ...settings } : {}),
       });
 
       // When setUserAsOwner is true the input token is expected to come from an unprivileged user GitLab
@@ -247,6 +401,66 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
         gitAuthorInfo,
       });
 
+      if (branches) {
+        for (const branch of branches) {
+          const {
+            name,
+            protect = false,
+            create = false,
+            ref = 'master',
+          } = branch;
+
+          if (create) {
+            try {
+              await client.Branches.create(projectId, name, ref);
+            } catch (e) {
+              throw new InputError(
+                `Branch creation failed for ${name}. ${printGitlabError(e)}`,
+              );
+            }
+            ctx.logger.info(
+              `Branch ${name} created for ${projectId} with ref ${ref}`,
+            );
+          }
+
+          if (protect) {
+            try {
+              await client.ProtectedBranches.protect(projectId, name);
+            } catch (e) {
+              throw new InputError(
+                `Branch protection failed for ${name}. ${printGitlabError(e)}`,
+              );
+            }
+            ctx.logger.info(`Branch ${name} protected for ${projectId}`);
+          }
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (projectVariables) {
+        for (const variable of projectVariables) {
+          const variableWithDefaults = Object.assign(variable, {
+            variable_type: variable.variable_type ?? 'env_var',
+            protected: variable.protected ?? false,
+            masked: variable.masked ?? false,
+            raw: variable.raw ?? false,
+            environment_scope: variable.environment_scope ?? '*',
+          });
+
+          try {
+            await client.ProjectVariables.create(
+              projectId,
+              variableWithDefaults,
+            );
+          } catch (e) {
+            throw new InputError(
+              `Environment variable creation failed for ${
+                variableWithDefaults.key
+              }. ${printGitlabError(e)}`,
+            );
+          }
+        }
+      }
+
       ctx.output('commitHash', commitResult?.commitHash);
       ctx.output('remoteUrl', remoteUrl);
       ctx.output('repoContentsUrl', repoContentsUrl);
@@ -254,3 +468,7 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
     },
   });
 }
+
+function printGitlabError(error: any): string {
+  return JSON.stringify({ code: error.code, message: error.description });
+}