---
title: First Steps with GitLab MCP
description: "Getting started prompts for GitLab MCP Server. Learn to discover projects, check todos, explore repositories, and find team members with ready-to-use example prompts and API parameters."
head:
- - meta
- name: keywords
content: gitlab mcp getting started, explore projects, list repositories, gitlab todos, project discovery, first steps
---
# First Steps with GitLab MCP
Your first interactions with GitLab MCP. These prompts help you explore what's available and understand the basics.
## Discover Your Projects
> "List all projects I have access to"
> "Show me the projects in the `my-org` group"
> "Find projects with the topic `python`"
::: code-group
```json [List your projects]
{
"action": "list",
"membership": true,
"per_page": 20
}
```
```json [Search by name]
{
"action": "search",
"q": "backend-api",
"per_page": 20
}
```
```json [Browse a group]
{
"action": "list",
"group_id": "my-org",
"per_page": 20
}
```
:::
## Check Your Todos
> "What tasks need my attention?"
> "Show me my pending review requests"
> "Mark all my todos as done"
::: code-group
```json [Pending todos]
{
"per_page": 20,
"state": "pending"
}
```
```json [Review requests]
{
"per_page": 20,
"action": "review_requested"
}
```
:::
## Explore a Project
> "Show me the file structure of `my-org/backend-api`"
> "Read the README of `my-org/frontend`"
> "What branches exist in `my-org/api`?"
::: code-group
```json [File tree]
{
"action": "tree",
"project_id": "my-org/backend-api",
"per_page": 100
}
```
```json [Read a file]
{
"action": "content",
"project_id": "my-org/backend-api",
"file_path": "README.md"
}
```
```json [List branches]
{
"action": "list_branches",
"project_id": "my-org/backend-api"
}
```
:::
## Find People
> "Who are the members of `my-org/backend-api`?"
> "Find the user with username `alice`"
::: code-group
```json [Project members]
{
"project_id": "my-org/backend-api",
"per_page": 50
}
```
```json [Search users]
{
"search": "alice",
"per_page": 20
}
```
:::
## Next Steps
- [Explore a Repository](/prompts/quick-start/explore-repo) — Dive deeper into project contents
- [Check Status](/prompts/quick-start/check-status) — Monitor MRs and pipelines
