GitLab MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables you to interact with your GitLab account. Get diffs, analyze merge requests, review code, cherry-pick changes, and more.

Features

This MCP server provides comprehensive tools for interacting with GitLab repositories, including:

Core Repository Features

• Listing projects and retrieving details

• Managing branches and repositories

• Working with merge requests and diffs

• Adding comments and internal notes to merge requests

• Updating merge request attributes

• Listing and working with issues

• Getting and comparing repository file contents

Project Settings & Integrations

• Managing project integrations and services

• Configuring and controlling Slack integration

• Setting up, updating, and testing webhooks

CI/CD Management

• Working with pipeline trigger tokens

• Managing CI/CD variables

• Triggering and controlling pipelines

User & Group Administration

• Listing and managing users

• Working with groups and group memberships

• Managing project members and access levels

Related MCP server: gitlab mcp

🚀 Perfect Match: MCP-Workflow Integration

MCP-GitLab + MCP-Workflow = GitLab Development Superpowers!

This MCP server works seamlessly with MCP-Workflow to provide structured, workflow-driven GitLab development. Together, they deliver:

🔄 Structured GitLab Operations

• Guided Development: Follow proven workflows for every GitLab operation

• Code Review Excellence: Systematic merge request reviews with comprehensive feedback

• Issue Management: Step-by-step issue analysis and resolution workflows

🎯 Workflow-Driven GitLab

• Consistent Process: Every GitLab action follows established, repeatable workflows

• Never Get Lost: Complex operations broken down into clear, sequential steps

• Quality Assurance: Built-in validation and quality gates throughout

💡 Real-World Example

# 1. Agent uses MCP-Workflow to start "GitLab Merge Request Review"
workflow_get_step("gitlab-mr-review")

# 2. Workflow guides systematic MR analysis using this MCP server
gitlab_get_merge_request(project_id="web/runner", merge_request_iid=45)
gitlab_get_merge_request_changes(project_id="web/runner", merge_request_iid=45)

# 3. Agent follows workflow to provide line-specific code feedback
gitlab_create_merge_request_discussion(
  project_id="web/runner",
  merge_request_iid=45,
  body="Consider using a constant for this magic number",
  position={
    base_sha: "abc123...",
    head_sha: "def456...",
    old_path: "src/utils.js",
    new_path: "src/utils.js",
    new_line: 42
  }
)

# 4. Workflow ensures comprehensive review completion
workflow_get_step("review-completion-checklist")

🏆 Why This Combination Works

• 🧭 Guided Navigation: MCP-Workflow provides the roadmap, this server provides the GitLab tools

• 🔒 Consistency: Same high-quality process every time, regardless of project complexity

• ⚡ Efficiency: No more wondering "what's next?" - structured workflows guide every step

• 🎨 Flexibility: 29+ interconnected workflows covering every GitLab development scenario

• 🔄 Context Preservation: Workflow state maintained across long development sessions

• 🎯 Precision: Line-specific code comments with full GitLab discussion threading

• 🛡️ Quality: Built-in review gates, security analysis, and best practice enforcement

Get Started: Install both MCP servers and experience structured GitLab development!

🔧 This MCP Server Provides

• 70+ GitLab Tools: Complete API coverage for repositories, merge requests, issues, CI/CD, webhooks

• Line-Level Code Comments: Precise feedback with gitlab_create_merge_request_discussion

• Multi-Client Support: Concurrent access for team collaboration

• Session Management: Robust session handling with automatic recovery

• Production Ready: Comprehensive logging, monitoring, and error handling

Installation

Option 1: Using Pre-built Docker Image (Recommended)

The easiest way to run the GitLab MCP Server is using the pre-built Docker image:

# Pull the latest image
docker pull ghcr.io/atla-digital/mcp-gitlab:latest

# Run the container
docker run -d -p 3001:3000 --name mcp-gitlab-server ghcr.io/atla-digital/mcp-gitlab:latest

The server will be available at http://localhost:3001/mcp

Option 2: Using Docker Compose

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  mcp-gitlab:
    image: ghcr.io/atla-digital/mcp-gitlab:latest
    ports:
      - "3001:3000"
    restart: unless-stopped

Then run:

docker compose up -d

Option 3: Building from Source

If you want to build from source or contribute to the project:

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)

• npm

• A GitLab account with an API token

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/atla-digital/mcp-gitlab.git
cd mcp-gitlab

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the server:

npm run build

4. Install git hooks (optional, but recommended for contributors):

npm run install-hooks

This installs a pre-commit hook that automatically regenerates TOOLS.md when src/utils/tools-data.ts changes.

5. Deploy the server:

docker compose up --build -d

The server will be available at http://localhost:3001/mcp

Configuration

This server implements Streamable HTTP as the primary MCP transport, which is now natively supported by Claude Code.

For Claude Code/Desktop (Recommended)

The easiest way to add the GitLab MCP server is using the Claude CLI:

# For GitLab.com
claude mcp add sm-gitlab http://host.docker.internal:3001/mcp \
  --transport http \
  --scope user \
  -H "X-GitLab-Token: YOUR_GITLAB_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-GitLab-URL: https://gitlab.com"

# For self-hosted GitLab
claude mcp add sm-gitlab http://host.docker.internal:3001/mcp \
  --transport http \
  --scope user \
  -H "X-GitLab-Token: YOUR_GITLAB_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "X-GitLab-URL: https://your-gitlab-instance.com"

Manual Configuration (Alternative)

Alternatively, you can manually add the following to your MCP settings file (~/.claude.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sm-gitlab": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://host.docker.internal:3001/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "X-GitLab-Token": "YOUR_GITLAB_API_TOKEN",
        "X-GitLab-URL": "https://your-gitlab-instance.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Configuration Details

• X-GitLab-Token: Your GitLab API token (required)

• X-GitLab-URL: Your GitLab instance URL (optional, defaults to https://gitlab.com)

Important Notes:

• The server automatically appends /api/v4 to the GitLab URL if not present

• Only GitLab API v4 is supported

• You can generate a token in your GitLab account under Settings > Access Tokens

Example GitLab URLs:

# For GitLab.com
-H "X-GitLab-URL: https://gitlab.com"

# For self-hosted GitLab
-H "X-GitLab-URL: https://your-gitlab-instance.com"

# Already includes /api/v4 (also works)
-H "X-GitLab-URL: https://gitlab.com/api/v4"

Environment Configuration

The server supports configuration via environment variables with validation and sensible defaults:

# Copy the example configuration
cp .env.example .env

# Edit with your values
nano .env

Available Configuration Options:

Example

PORT=3000
NODE_ENV=development
LOG_LEVEL=info
SESSION_MAX_AGE=604800000
SESSION_CLEANUP_INTERVAL=300000
AXIOS_TIMEOUT=30000
ENABLE_REQUEST_LOGGING=true
ENABLE_DETAILED_ERRORS=false

Logging & Monitoring

The server features comprehensive structured logging with Winston:

Log Components:

• API Logger: GitLab API requests and responses

• Session Logger: Session creation, cleanup, and lifecycle

• Server Logger: HTTP server events and errors

• Auth Logger: Authentication and authorization events

Log Formats:

• Console: Colorized, human-readable format for development

• Files: JSON format in production (saved to logs/ directory)

Log Level Control: Set the LOG_LEVEL environment variable to control verbosity:

• error: Only errors

• warn: Warnings and errors

• info: General information, warnings, and errors (default)

• http: HTTP requests/responses plus above

• debug: Detailed debugging information plus above

Production Logging:

# Set log level for production
LOG_LEVEL=warn NODE_ENV=production npm start

# View logs in production
tail -f logs/combined.log
tail -f logs/error.log

Updating to Latest Version

To update to the latest version when using the pre-built Docker image:

# Stop the current container
docker stop mcp-gitlab-server
docker rm mcp-gitlab-server

# Pull the latest image
docker pull ghcr.io/atla-digital/mcp-gitlab:latest

# Run with the new image
docker run -d -p 3001:3000 --name mcp-gitlab-server ghcr.io/atla-digital/mcp-gitlab:latest

Or if using Docker Compose:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Available Tools

For a complete list of available tools and their parameters, see TOOLS.md.

Example Usage

Here are examples of how to use these tools with AI assistants that support MCP:

List your projects

Could you list my GitLab projects?

Get information about a specific merge request

Can you show me the details of merge request with ID 123 in the project 'mygroup/myproject'?

Add a comment to a merge request

Please add a comment to merge request 123 in project 'mygroup/myproject' saying "This looks good, but please add more tests."

Add an internal note to a merge request

Add an internal note to merge request 123 in project 'mygroup/myproject' that says "Needs security review before merging." Make sure it's only visible to team members.

Update a merge request title and description

Update the title of merge request 123 in project 'mygroup/myproject' to "Fix login page performance issues" and update the description to include "This PR addresses the slow loading times on the login page by optimizing database queries."

Compare branches

Compare the 'feature-branch' with 'main' in the project 'mygroup/myproject' and show me the differences.

Practical Workflows

Reviewing a Merge Request

1. Show me merge request 123 in project 'mygroup/myproject'
2. Show me the changes for this merge request
3. Add an internal note with my review comments
4. Update the merge request title to better reflect the changes

Project Exploration

1. List all my GitLab projects
2. Show me the details of project 'mygroup/myproject'
3. List all branches in this project
4. Show me the content of the README.md file in the main branch

Available Resources

gitlab://projects

List of GitLab projects accessible with your API token.

Integration with AI Assistants

The GitLab MCP Server integrates with AI assistants that support the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Capabilities

When connected to an AI assistant, this server enables the assistant to:

1. View and analyze code: The assistant can fetch file contents, view branch differences, and examine merge request changes for better code understanding.

2. Provide code reviews: The assistant can analyze merge requests and provide feedback through comments or internal notes.

3. Manage project workflows: The assistant can update merge request attributes, add comments, and help with repository management tasks.

4. Explore project structure: The assistant can browse projects, branches, and files to understand the codebase structure.

5. Configure CI/CD and integrations: The assistant can help set up webhooks, manage CI/CD variables, and configure project integrations.

Getting the Most from AI Assistant Integration

• Be specific when asking about projects, merge requests, or files

• Provide project IDs or paths when possible

• Use the assistant for code review by asking it to analyze specific merge requests

• Have the assistant help with repository configuration and management tasks

• Use internal notes for team-only feedback on merge requests

License

MIT