GitLab AI MCP Server

A high-performance, containerized Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI coding assistants (Claude, Codex, Gemini, Kimi) to any GitLab instance — self-hosted or cloud.

What you can do

Related MCP server: GitLab MCP Server

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose v2

• A GitLab Personal Access Token with api scope

WSL2 (Windows users): Install Docker Desktop for Windows with the WSL2 backend enabled — this is the easiest path. All commands below are run inside your WSL2 terminal.

1. Clone and configure

git clone https://github.com/haziqasjad/gitlab-ai-mcp.git
cd gitlab-ai-mcp
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env:

GITLAB_URL=https://gitlab.example.com   # your GitLab instance URL
GITLAB_TOKEN=glpat-your-token           # your Personal Access Token

2. Choose your setup and start

Option A — Core only (recommended to start — no local AI, works on any machine):

docker compose up -d --build

Option B — With local AI on CPU (Ollama runs on CPU, ~4 GB model download on first run):

docker compose --profile ollama up -d --build

Option C — With local AI on NVIDIA GPU (fastest inference — requires extra setup below):

docker compose --profile ollama -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.gpu.yml up -d --build

Options B and C enable extra AI features: log triage, privacy scanning, discussion summarisation. If Ollama is not running, these features return a clear error — all other features work normally.

Setting up NVIDIA GPU (Option C only)

Skip this section if you don't have an NVIDIA GPU — Option B works fine on CPU.

🐧 Native Linux

Step 1 — Verify your NVIDIA drivers are installed:

nvidia-smi

You should see your GPU listed. If not, install the drivers for your distro first: NVIDIA Driver Downloads

Step 2 — Install NVIDIA Container Toolkit (Ubuntu/Debian):

curl -fsSL https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/gpgkey \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg

curl -s -L https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/stable/deb/nvidia-container-toolkit.list \
  | sed 's#deb https://#deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg] https://#g' \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nvidia-container-toolkit.list

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nvidia-container-toolkit

For other distros, see the official install guide.

Step 3 — Configure Docker and verify:

sudo nvidia-ctk runtime configure --runtime=docker
sudo systemctl restart docker

# Confirm Docker can see your GPU
docker run --rm --gpus all ubuntu nvidia-smi

Step 4 — Start the stack:

docker compose --profile ollama -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.gpu.yml up -d --build

🪟 WSL2 (Windows)

WSL2 uses the NVIDIA drivers installed on Windows — you do not install GPU drivers inside WSL.

Step 1 — Install NVIDIA drivers on Windows (if not already installed):

Download and install from NVIDIA Driver Downloads. Reboot Windows after installing.

Step 2 — Verify GPU is visible inside WSL2:

nvidia-smi

If this works, your GPU is available in WSL2. If not, make sure you have WSL2 (not WSL1):

wsl --set-default-version 2

Step 3 — Install NVIDIA Container Toolkit inside WSL2:

curl -fsSL https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/gpgkey \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg

curl -s -L https://nvidia.github.io/libnvidia-container/stable/deb/nvidia-container-toolkit.list \
  | sed 's#deb https://#deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/nvidia-container-toolkit-keyring.gpg] https://#g' \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/nvidia-container-toolkit.list

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y nvidia-container-toolkit

Step 4 — Configure Docker:

If using Docker Desktop for Windows (recommended):

• Open Docker Desktop → Settings → Resources → GPU → enable your GPU → Apply & Restart

If using Docker Engine directly in WSL2:

sudo nvidia-ctk runtime configure --runtime=docker
sudo service docker restart   # WSL2 uses service, not systemctl

Step 5 — Verify Docker can see your GPU:

docker run --rm --gpus all ubuntu nvidia-smi

Step 6 — Start the stack:

docker compose --profile ollama -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.gpu.yml up -d --build

3. Verify the server is running

docker compose ps

You should see gitlab-ai-mcp with status Up. Test it directly:

docker compose exec gitlab-ai-mcp python run_tests.py

4. Register with your AI CLI

First, get your checkout path:

pwd   # run this inside the Gitlab_AI_MCP directory

WSL2 users: Use the Linux path shown by pwd (e.g. /home/yourname/Gitlab_AI_MCP), not the Windows path. Your AI CLI must be running inside the same WSL2 terminal for this path to work.

Then register using that path:

Claude Code:

claude mcp add gitlab-ai-mcp -- /your/path/to/Gitlab_AI_MCP/scripts/run_codex_mcp.sh

Codex CLI:

codex mcp add gitlab-ai-mcp -- /your/path/to/Gitlab_AI_MCP/scripts/run_codex_mcp.sh

Gemini CLI:

gemini mcp add gitlab-ai-mcp -- /your/path/to/Gitlab_AI_MCP/scripts/run_codex_mcp.sh

Kimi Code CLI:

kimi mcp add gitlab-ai-mcp -- /your/path/to/Gitlab_AI_MCP/scripts/run_codex_mcp.sh

⚙️ Configuration

All settings go in your .env file:

🔧 Troubleshooting

Container won't start:

docker compose logs gitlab-ai-mcp

GITLAB_TOKEN or GITLAB_URL errors:

• Make sure your .env file exists and has no extra spaces around =

• Confirm your token has api scope in GitLab → Settings → Access Tokens

Ollama model not downloading (Options B/C):

docker compose logs gitlab-ai-ollama-pull

GPU not detected (Option C):

• Run nvidia-smi — if this fails, your drivers are not installed

• Run docker run --rm --gpus all ubuntu nvidia-smi — if this fails, the Container Toolkit is not configured

WSL2 — nvidia-smi not found inside WSL:

• Make sure you are on WSL2, not WSL1: run wsl --list --verbose in PowerShell and check the VERSION column

• Install NVIDIA drivers on Windows (not inside WSL) and reboot

WSL2 — systemctl: command not found:

• WSL2 does not use systemd by default — use sudo service docker restart instead

• Or enable systemd in WSL2: add [boot] systemd=true to /etc/wsl.conf, then restart WSL (wsl --shutdown in PowerShell)

WSL2 — Docker Desktop GPU toggle missing:

• Requires Docker Desktop 4.17 or later and WSL2 backend — update Docker Desktop if the GPU option is not visible

WSL2 — docker compose not found:

• Docker Desktop installs Compose automatically — open Docker Desktop and ensure it is running before using the WSL2 terminal

📁 Project Structure

server.py                  — MCP server entrypoint
config.py                  — Settings (reads from .env)
gitlab/client.py           — Async HTTP/2 GitLab API client
services/
  gitlab_service.py        — Business logic and response formatting
  local_ai_service.py      — Ollama integration for local AI features
  review_digest.py         — MR discussion digest helpers
tools/                     — MCP tool definitions (one file per domain)
tests/                     — Unit tests
scripts/run_codex_mcp.sh   — Launcher used by all AI CLIs
docker-compose.yml         — Base stack
docker-compose.gpu.yml     — NVIDIA GPU override (use with --profile ollama)