get_file_content

Instructions

Args:
    project_id: GitLab project ID
    file_path: Path to the file
    ref: Branch/tag reference (default: main)
    token: GitLab Personal Access Token (optional)
    ctx: MCP context (automatically injected)

Implementation Reference

• gitlab_clone_mcp_server/server.py:313-337 (handler)

  Handler function for the 'get_file_content' tool. Fetches file content from a GitLab repository using the GitLab API's repository files endpoint, URL-encodes the file path, decodes the base64-encoded content, and returns up to 2000 characters of the file content.

  @mcp.tool()
  async def get_file_content(project_id: int, file_path: str, ref: str = "main", token: str = None, ctx=None) -> str:
      """Get content of a repository file.
      
      Args:
          project_id: GitLab project ID
          file_path: Path to the file
          ref: Branch/tag reference (default: main)
          token: GitLab Personal Access Token (optional)
          ctx: MCP context (automatically injected)
      """
      import urllib.parse
      encoded_path = urllib.parse.quote(file_path, safe='')
      endpoint = f"/projects/{project_id}/repository/files/{encoded_path}?ref={ref}"
      data = await make_gitlab_request(endpoint, ctx=ctx, token=token)
      
      if isinstance(data, dict) and "error" in data:
          return f"Error: {data['error']}"
      
      import base64
      try:
          content = base64.b64decode(data['content']).decode('utf-8')
          return f"File: {file_path}\n\n{content[:2000]}{'...' if len(content) > 2000 else ''}"
      except:
          return "Unable to decode file content"

• gitlab_clone_mcp_server/server.py:313-314 (registration)

  Registration of 'get_file_content' as an MCP tool via the @mcp.tool() decorator on the async function.

  @mcp.tool()
  async def get_file_content(project_id: int, file_path: str, ref: str = "main", token: str = None, ctx=None) -> str:

• gitlab_clone_mcp_server/server.py:314-323 (schema)

  Input schema/type signature for get_file_content: expects project_id (int), file_path (str), optional ref (str, default 'main'), optional token (str), and automatically injected ctx. Returns a string.

  async def get_file_content(project_id: int, file_path: str, ref: str = "main", token: str = None, ctx=None) -> str:
      """Get content of a repository file.
      
      Args:
          project_id: GitLab project ID
          file_path: Path to the file
          ref: Branch/tag reference (default: main)
          token: GitLab Personal Access Token (optional)
          ctx: MCP context (automatically injected)
      """

• gitlab_clone_mcp_server/server.py:11-52 (helper)

  Helper function 'make_gitlab_request' used by get_file_content to make authenticated API requests to the GitLab API.

  async def make_gitlab_request(endpoint: str, method: str = "GET", data: dict = None, ctx=None, token: str = None) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
      """Make a request to GitLab API with proper error handling."""
      # Priority: 1. Explicit token parameter, 2. Context headers, 3. Environment variable
      
      # If no explicit token provided, try to get from context
      if not token and ctx and hasattr(ctx, 'request_context') and ctx.request_context:
          # Try to get from request headers
          if hasattr(ctx.request_context, 'headers'):
              token = ctx.request_context.headers.get('GITLAB_TOKEN')
      
      # Fallback to environment variable
      if not token:
          token = os.getenv("GITLAB_TOKEN")
      
      if not token:
          return {"error": "GitLab token not provided. Please provide a token parameter, GITLAB_TOKEN in the request headers, or set the environment variable."}
      
      # Get GitLab URL (from context or environment)
      gitlab_url = os.getenv("GITLAB_URL", "https://gitlab.com")
      
      headers = {
          "PRIVATE-TOKEN": token,
          "Content-Type": "application/json"
      }
      
      url = f"{gitlab_url}/api/v4{endpoint}"
      
      async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
          try:
              if method == "GET":
                  response = await client.get(url, headers=headers, timeout=30.0)
              elif method == "POST":
                  response = await client.post(url, headers=headers, json=data, timeout=30.0)
              elif method == "PUT":
                  response = await client.put(url, headers=headers, json=data, timeout=30.0)
              elif method == "DELETE":
                  response = await client.delete(url, headers=headers, timeout=30.0)
              
              response.raise_for_status()
              return response.json() if response.content else {"success": True}
          except Exception as e:
              return {"error": str(e)}