MCP GitLab Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides comprehensive GitLab API integration. This server enables LLMs to interact with GitLab repositories, manage merge requests, issues, and perform various Git operations.

Features

Core Features

🔍 Project Management - List, search, and get details about GitLab projects
📝 Issues - List, read, search, and comment on issues
🔀 Merge Requests - List, read, update, approve, and merge MRs
📁 Repository Files - Browse, read, and commit changes to files
🌳 Branches & Tags - List and manage branches and tags
🔧 CI/CD Pipelines - View pipeline status and history
💬 Discussions - Read and resolve merge request discussions
🎯 Smart Operations - Batch operations, AI summaries, and smart diffs

Advanced Features

Batch Operations - Execute multiple GitLab operations atomically with rollback support
AI-Optimized Summaries - Generate concise summaries of MRs, issues, and pipelines
Smart Diffs - Get structured diffs with configurable context and size limits
Safe Preview - Preview file changes before committing
Cross-Reference Support - Reference results from previous operations in batch mode

Installation

Using uvx (recommended - no installation needed)

# Run directly without installation
uvx mcp-gitlab

From source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Vijay-Duke/mcp-gitlab.git
cd mcp-gitlab

# Install dependencies and run with uv
uv sync
uv run mcp-gitlab

# Or install in development mode with test dependencies
uv sync --all-extras
uv run pytest  # to run tests

Configuration

Environment Variables

Set one of the following authentication tokens:

# Private token (recommended for personal use)
export GITLAB_PRIVATE_TOKEN="your-private-token"

# OAuth token
export GITLAB_OAUTH_TOKEN="your-oauth-token"

# GitLab URL (optional, defaults to https://gitlab.com)
export GITLAB_URL="https://gitlab.example.com"

Getting a GitLab Token

Go to your GitLab profile settings
Navigate to "Access Tokens"
Create a new token with the following scopes:
- api - Full API access
- read_repository - Read repository content
- write_repository - Write repository content (for commits)

Usage

With Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

Using uvx (recommended - no installation needed):

{
  "mcp-gitlab": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["mcp-gitlab"],
    "env": {
      "GITLAB_PRIVATE_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
    }
  }
}

Using uv (if you've cloned the repository):

{
  "mcp-gitlab": {
    "command": "uv",
    "args": ["run", "mcp-gitlab"],
    "cwd": "/path/to/mcp-gitlab",
    "env": {
      "GITLAB_PRIVATE_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/mcp-gitlab with the full path to where you cloned the repository.

Running with uvx

The easiest way to run the MCP GitLab server is using uvx:

# Set your GitLab token
export GITLAB_PRIVATE_TOKEN="your-token-here"

# Run the server directly with uvx
uvx mcp-gitlab

Standalone Usage

# If running from source (after uv sync)
uv run mcp-gitlab

# Or run the Python module directly
uv run python -m mcp_gitlab

Available Tools

Project Management

`gitlab_list_projects`

List accessible GitLab projects with pagination and search.

{
  "owned": false,
  "search": "my-project",
  "per_page": 20,
  "page": 1
}

`gitlab_get_project`

Get detailed information about a specific project.

{
  "project_id": "group/project"
}

`gitlab_get_current_project`

Get the GitLab project information from the current git repository.

{
  "path": "."
}

Issues

`gitlab_list_issues`

List project issues with state filtering.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "state": "opened",
  "per_page": 20
}

`gitlab_get_issue`

Get a single issue with full details.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "issue_iid": 123
}

`gitlab_add_issue_comment`

Add a comment to an issue.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "issue_iid": 123,
  "body": "Thanks for reporting this!"
}

Merge Requests

`gitlab_list_merge_requests`

List merge requests with filtering options.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "state": "opened"
}

`gitlab_get_merge_request`

Get detailed merge request information.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456
}

`gitlab_update_merge_request`

Update merge request fields.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456,
  "title": "Updated title",
  "description": "New description",
  "labels": "bug,priority"
}

`gitlab_merge_merge_request`

Merge a merge request with options.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456,
  "squash": true,
  "should_remove_source_branch": true
}

`gitlab_approve_merge_request`

Approve a merge request.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456
}

Repository Operations

`gitlab_get_file_content`

Read file content from the repository.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "file_path": "src/main.py",
  "ref": "main"
}

`gitlab_create_commit`

Create a commit with multiple file changes.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "branch": "feature-branch",
  "commit_message": "Add new features",
  "actions": [
    {
      "action": "create",
      "file_path": "new_file.py",
      "content": "print('Hello')"
    },
    {
      "action": "update",
      "file_path": "existing.py",
      "content": "# Updated content"
    }
  ]
}

`gitlab_compare_refs`

Compare two branches, tags, or commits.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "from_ref": "main",
  "to_ref": "feature-branch"
}

Advanced Tools

`gitlab_batch_operations`

Execute multiple operations atomically with rollback support.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "operations": [
    {
      "name": "get_issue",
      "tool": "gitlab_get_issue",
      "arguments": {"issue_iid": 123}
    },
    {
      "name": "create_mr",
      "tool": "gitlab_create_merge_request",
      "arguments": {
        "source_branch": "fix-{{get_issue.iid}}",
        "target_branch": "main",
        "title": "Fix: {{get_issue.title}}"
      }
    }
  ]
}

`gitlab_summarize_merge_request`

Generate an AI-friendly summary of a merge request.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456,
  "max_length": 500
}

`gitlab_smart_diff`

Get a structured diff with context and size limits.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "from_ref": "main",
  "to_ref": "feature",
  "context_lines": 3,
  "max_file_size": 50000
}

Complete Tool List

Projects: gitlab_list_projects, gitlab_get_project, gitlab_get_current_project, gitlab_search_projects
Issues: gitlab_list_issues, gitlab_get_issue, gitlab_add_issue_comment
Merge Requests: gitlab_list_merge_requests, gitlab_get_merge_request, gitlab_update_merge_request, gitlab_close_merge_request, gitlab_merge_merge_request, gitlab_add_merge_request_comment, gitlab_get_merge_request_notes, gitlab_approve_merge_request, gitlab_get_merge_request_approvals, gitlab_get_merge_request_discussions, gitlab_resolve_discussion, gitlab_get_merge_request_changes, gitlab_rebase_merge_request
Repository: gitlab_get_file_content, gitlab_list_repository_tree, gitlab_list_commits, gitlab_get_commit, gitlab_get_commit_diff, gitlab_create_commit, gitlab_cherry_pick_commit, gitlab_compare_refs, gitlab_list_tags
Branches: gitlab_list_branches
Pipelines: gitlab_list_pipelines, gitlab_summarize_pipeline
Search: gitlab_search_projects, gitlab_search_in_project
Users: gitlab_list_user_events, gitlab_list_project_members
Releases: gitlab_list_releases
Webhooks: gitlab_list_project_hooks
AI Tools: gitlab_summarize_merge_request, gitlab_summarize_issue, gitlab_summarize_pipeline
Advanced: gitlab_batch_operations, gitlab_smart_diff, gitlab_safe_preview_commit

Examples

Auto-detect and List Issues

# First get current project from git repo
project = await session.call_tool("gitlab_get_current_project")

# Then list open issues
issues = await session.call_tool("gitlab_list_issues", {
    "state": "opened"
})

Create a Fix with Batch Operations

# Atomically: get issue → create branch → commit fix → create MR
result = await session.call_tool("gitlab_batch_operations", {
    "operations": [
        {
            "name": "issue",
            "tool": "gitlab_get_issue", 
            "arguments": {"issue_iid": 123}
        },
        {
            "name": "fix",
            "tool": "gitlab_create_commit",
            "arguments": {
                "branch": "fix-issue-{{issue.iid}}",
                "commit_message": "Fix: {{issue.title}}",
                "actions": [{
                    "action": "update",
                    "file_path": "src/bug.py",
                    "content": "# Fixed code here"
                }]
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "mr",
            "tool": "gitlab_create_merge_request",
            "arguments": {
                "source_branch": "fix-issue-{{issue.iid}}",
                "target_branch": "main",
                "title": "Fix: {{issue.title}}",
                "description": "Fixes #{{issue.iid}}"
            }
        }
    ]
})

Development

Running Tests

# Run all tests
uv run pytest tests/ -v

# Run with coverage
uv run pytest tests/ --cov=mcp_gitlab

# Run specific test file
uv run pytest tests/test_gitlab_client.py -v

Code Style

The project uses:

Black for code formatting
isort for import sorting
flake8 for linting
mypy for type checking

# Format code
black src/ tests/
isort src/ tests/

# Run linters
flake8 src/ tests/
mypy src/

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

Ensure your token has the required scopes (api, read_repository, write_repository)
Check token expiration date
Verify GitLab URL if using self-hosted instance

Rate Limiting

GitLab API has rate limits. The server handles rate limit errors gracefully and returns appropriate error messages.

Large Responses

Responses are automatically truncated if they exceed size limits. Use pagination parameters to retrieve data in chunks.

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

Built on the Model Context Protocol
Uses python-gitlab for GitLab API interaction
Inspired by the need for better LLM-GitLab integration

This server cannot be installed

security - not tested

license - permissive license

quality - not tested

How are these scores calculated?

remote-capable server

The server can be hosted and run remotely because it primarily relies on remote services or has no dependency on the local environment.

Enables comprehensive GitLab integration allowing LLMs to manage projects, issues, merge requests, repository files, CI/CD pipelines, and perform batch operations. Supports advanced features like AI-optimized summaries, smart diffs, and atomic operations with rollback support.

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