---
title: Project Management Tools
description: "GitLab project management tools — work items, milestones, labels, and iteration tracking via MCP"
head:
- - meta
- name: keywords
content: GitLab project management, work items, issues, epics, milestones, labels, team members, MCP
---
# Project Management Tools
Work items, milestones, labels, and team collaboration tools.
## Tools Overview
| Tool | Type | Purpose |
|------|------|---------|
| `browse_work_items` | Query | List and get issues, epics, tasks |
| `manage_work_item` | Command | Create, update, delete work items |
| `browse_milestones` | Query | Milestone tracking and burndown |
| `manage_milestone` | Command | Create, update, delete milestones |
| `browse_labels` | Query | List and get labels |
| `manage_label` | Command | Create, update, delete labels |
| `browse_members` | Query | Team member information (projects and groups) |
| `manage_member` | Command | Add/remove team members |
## Work Items
GitLab work items include Issues, Epics, Tasks, Incidents, and more.
### browse_work_items
<!-- @autogen:tool browse_work_items -->
| Action | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `list` | List work items with filtering |
| `get` | Get single work item details |
<!-- @autogen:end -->
::: code-group
```json [List issues]
{
"action": "list",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"state": ["OPEN"],
"types": ["ISSUE"],
"first": 20,
"simple": true
}
```
```json [List epics]
{
"action": "list",
"namespace": "my-org",
"state": ["OPEN"],
"types": ["EPIC"],
"first": 20,
"simple": true
}
```
```json [Get by ID]
{
"action": "get",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"id": "5953"
}
```
```json [Get by IID]
{
"action": "get",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"iid": "95"
}
```
:::
:::info
Time tracking: when available, `browse_work_items` returns a `TIME_TRACKING` widget with fields like `timeEstimate` and `totalTimeSpent`. In `simple: true` mode, time tracking is included as a simplified widget.
:::
### manage_work_item
<!-- @autogen:tool manage_work_item -->
| Action | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `create` | Create a new work item |
| `update` | Update an existing work item |
| `delete` | Delete a work item |
| `add_link` | Add a relationship link between two work items |
| `remove_link` | Remove a relationship link between two work items |
<!-- @autogen:end -->
::: code-group
```json [Create issue]
{
"action": "create",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"workItemType": "ISSUE",
"title": "Fix login timeout",
"description": "Session expires too quickly",
"assigneeIds": ["42"],
"labelIds": ["101"]
}
```
```json [Create epic]
{
"action": "create",
"namespace": "my-org",
"workItemType": "EPIC",
"title": "Q2 Platform Migration",
"description": "Epic for all migration tasks"
}
```
```json [Close issue]
{
"action": "update",
"id": "5953",
"state": "CLOSE"
}
```
:::
### Work Item Types
| Type | Namespace | Description |
|------|-----------|-------------|
| `ISSUE` | Project | Standard issues |
| `TASK` | Project | Sub-tasks |
| `EPIC` | Group | Cross-project themes |
| `INCIDENT` | Project | Production incidents |
| `TEST_CASE` | Project | QA test cases |
| `REQUIREMENT` | Project | Requirements tracking |
## Milestones
Track sprint progress and release planning.
### browse_milestones
<!-- @autogen:tool browse_milestones -->
| Action | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `list` | List milestones with optional filtering |
| `get` | Get a single milestone by ID |
| `issues` | List issues assigned to a milestone |
| `merge_requests` | List merge requests assigned to a milestone |
| `burndown` | Get burndown chart data for a milestone |
<!-- @autogen:end -->
::: code-group
```json [Active milestones]
{
"action": "list",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"state": "active",
"per_page": 20
}
```
```json [Burndown chart]
{
"action": "burndown",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"milestone_id": "42",
"per_page": 20
}
```
```json [Milestone issues]
{
"action": "issues",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"milestone_id": "42",
"per_page": 50
}
```
:::
### manage_milestone
::: code-group
```json [Create milestone]
{
"action": "create",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"title": "Sprint 15",
"start_date": "2025-02-03",
"due_date": "2025-02-14"
}
```
```json [Close milestone]
{
"action": "update",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"milestone_id": "42",
"state_event": "close"
}
```
```json [Promote to group]
{
"action": "promote",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"milestone_id": "42"
}
```
:::
## Labels
Organize and categorize work items.
### Examples
::: code-group
```json [List labels]
{
"action": "list",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"per_page": 50
}
```
```json [Create label]
{
"action": "create",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"name": "priority::high",
"color": "#FF0000",
"description": "High priority items"
}
```
```json [Update label]
{
"action": "update",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"label_id": "priority::high",
"color": "#CC0000"
}
```
:::
## Team Members
Manage project and group membership.
### Examples
::: code-group
```json [List members (browse_members)]
{
"action": "list_project",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"per_page": 50
}
```
```json [Add developer]
{
"action": "add_to_project",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"user_id": "42",
"access_level": 30
}
```
```json [Change role]
{
"action": "update_project",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"user_id": "42",
"access_level": 40
}
```
:::
### Access Levels
| Level | Role | Capabilities |
|-------|------|-------------|
| 0 | No access | No access to the project |
| 5 | Minimal | Read-only, minimal permissions |
| 10 | Guest | View issues, leave comments |
| 20 | Reporter | View code, create issues |
| 30 | Developer | Push code, create MRs |
| 40 | Maintainer | Merge MRs, manage settings |
| 50 | Owner | Full control |
## Related
- [Sprint Planning Prompts](/prompts/project-management/sprint-planning)
- [Issue Triage Prompts](/prompts/project-management/issue-triage)
- [Team Onboarding Guide](/guides/team-onboarding)
