Vijay-Duke/mcp-gitlab

MCP GitLab Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides comprehensive GitLab API integration. This server enables LLMs to interact with GitLab repositories, manage merge requests, issues, and perform various Git operations.

Features

Core Features

• 🔐 Authentication & Users - Get current user info and lookup user profiles
• 🔍 Project Management - List, search, and get details about GitLab projects
• 📝 Issues - List, read, search, and comment on issues
• 🔀 Merge Requests - List, read, update, approve, and merge MRs
• 📁 Repository Files - Browse, read, and commit changes to files
• 🌳 Branches & Tags - List and manage branches and tags
• 🔧 CI/CD Pipelines - View pipeline status, jobs, and artifacts
• 💬 Discussions - Read and resolve merge request discussions
• 🎯 Smart Operations - Batch operations, AI summaries, and smart diffs

Advanced Features

• Batch Operations - Execute multiple GitLab operations atomically with rollback support
• AI-Optimized Summaries - Generate concise summaries of MRs, issues, and pipelines
• Smart Diffs - Get structured diffs with configurable context and size limits
• Safe Preview - Preview file changes before committing
• Cross-Reference Support - Reference results from previous operations in batch mode

Installation

Using uvx (recommended - no installation needed)

# Run directly without installation
uvx mcp-gitlab

From source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Vijay-Duke/mcp-gitlab.git
cd mcp-gitlab

# Install dependencies and run with uv
uv sync
uv run mcp-gitlab

# Or install in development mode with test dependencies
uv sync --all-extras
uv run pytest  # to run tests

Configuration

Environment Variables

Set one of the following authentication tokens:

# Private token (recommended for personal use)
export GITLAB_PRIVATE_TOKEN="your-private-token"

# OAuth token
export GITLAB_OAUTH_TOKEN="your-oauth-token"

# GitLab URL (optional, defaults to https://gitlab.com)
export GITLAB_URL="https://gitlab.example.com"

Getting a GitLab Token

1. Go to your GitLab profile settings
2. Navigate to "Access Tokens"
3. Create a new token with the following scopes:
   • api - Full API access
   • read_repository - Read repository content
   • write_repository - Write repository content (for commits)

Usage

With Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:

Using uvx (recommended - no installation needed):

{
  "mcp-gitlab": {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": ["mcp-gitlab"],
    "env": {
      "GITLAB_PRIVATE_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
    }
  }
}

Using uv (if you've cloned the repository):

{
  "mcp-gitlab": {
    "command": "uv",
    "args": ["run", "mcp-gitlab"],
    "cwd": "/path/to/mcp-gitlab",
    "env": {
      "GITLAB_PRIVATE_TOKEN": "your-token-here"
    }
  }
}

Replace /path/to/mcp-gitlab with the full path to where you cloned the repository.

Running with uvx

The easiest way to run the MCP GitLab server is using uvx:

# Set your GitLab token
export GITLAB_PRIVATE_TOKEN="your-token-here"

# Run the server directly with uvx
uvx mcp-gitlab

Standalone Usage

# If running from source (after uv sync)
uv run mcp-gitlab

# Or run the Python module directly
uv run python -m mcp_gitlab

Available Tools

Authentication & User Info

gitlab_get_current_user

Get the currently authenticated user's profile information.

{}

Returns comprehensive information including:

• Basic info: ID, username, name, email
• Profile details: bio, organization, job title
• Account status: state, creation date, admin status
• Permissions: can_create_group, can_create_project
• Security: two_factor_enabled, external status

gitlab_get_user

Get details for a specific user by ID or username.

{
  "user_id": 12345
}

or

{
  "username": "johndoe"
}

Returns user information including:

• Basic info: ID, username, name
• Profile: avatar_url, web_url, bio
• Organization details: company, job title
• Account status and creation date

Project Management

gitlab_list_projects

List accessible GitLab projects with pagination and search.

{
  "owned": false,
  "search": "my-project",
  "per_page": 20,
  "page": 1
}

gitlab_get_project

Get detailed information about a specific project.

{
  "project_id": "group/project"
}

gitlab_get_current_project

Get the GitLab project information from the current git repository.

{
  "path": "."
}

Issues

gitlab_list_issues

List project issues with state filtering.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "state": "opened",
  "per_page": 20
}

gitlab_get_issue

Get a single issue with full details.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "issue_iid": 123
}

gitlab_add_issue_comment

Add a comment to an issue.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "issue_iid": 123,
  "body": "Thanks for reporting this!"
}

Merge Requests

gitlab_list_merge_requests

List merge requests with filtering options.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "state": "opened"
}

gitlab_get_merge_request

Get detailed merge request information.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456
}

gitlab_update_merge_request

Update merge request fields.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456,
  "title": "Updated title",
  "description": "New description",
  "labels": "bug,priority"
}

gitlab_merge_merge_request

Merge a merge request with options.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456,
  "squash": true,
  "should_remove_source_branch": true
}

gitlab_approve_merge_request

Approve a merge request.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456
}

Repository Operations

gitlab_get_file_content

Read file content from the repository.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "file_path": "src/main.py",
  "ref": "main"
}

gitlab_create_commit

Create a commit with multiple file changes.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "branch": "feature-branch",
  "commit_message": "Add new features",
  "actions": [
    {
      "action": "create",
      "file_path": "new_file.py",
      "content": "print('Hello')"
    },
    {
      "action": "update",
      "file_path": "existing.py",
      "content": "# Updated content"
    }
  ]
}

gitlab_compare_refs

Compare two branches, tags, or commits.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "from_ref": "main",
  "to_ref": "feature-branch"
}

CI/CD Jobs and Artifacts

gitlab_list_pipeline_jobs

List jobs in a specific CI/CD pipeline.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "pipeline_id": 789,
  "per_page": 20,
  "page": 1
}

gitlab_list_project_jobs

List jobs for a project with optional scope filtering.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "scope": "failed",
  "per_page": 25
}

gitlab_download_job_artifact

Get information about job artifacts (security note: content not downloaded).

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "job_id": 456,
  "artifact_path": "build.zip"
}

Advanced Tools

gitlab_batch_operations

Execute multiple operations atomically with rollback support.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "operations": [
    {
      "name": "get_issue",
      "tool": "gitlab_get_issue",
      "arguments": {"issue_iid": 123}
    },
    {
      "name": "create_mr",
      "tool": "gitlab_create_merge_request",
      "arguments": {
        "source_branch": "fix-{{get_issue.iid}}",
        "target_branch": "main",
        "title": "Fix: {{get_issue.title}}"
      }
    }
  ]
}

gitlab_summarize_merge_request

Generate an AI-friendly summary of a merge request.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "mr_iid": 456,
  "max_length": 500
}

gitlab_smart_diff

Get a structured diff with context and size limits.

{
  "project_id": "group/project",
  "from_ref": "main",
  "to_ref": "feature",
  "context_lines": 3,
  "max_file_size": 50000
}

User & Profile Management

gitlab_search_user

Search for GitLab users by name, username, or email.

{
  "search": "John",
  "per_page": 10
}

gitlab_get_user_details

Get comprehensive user profile and metadata.

{
  "username": "johndoe"
}

gitlab_get_my_profile

Get the current authenticated user's complete profile.

{}

gitlab_get_user_contributions_summary

Summarize user's recent contributions across issues, MRs, and commits.

{
  "username": "johndoe",
  "since": "2024-01-01",
  "until": "2024-01-31"
}

gitlab_get_user_activity_feed

Retrieve user's complete activity/events timeline.

{
  "username": "johndoe", 
  "target_type": "Issue",
  "after": "2024-01-01"
}

User's Issues & Merge Requests

gitlab_get_user_open_mrs

Get all open merge requests authored by a user.

{
  "username": "johndoe",
  "sort": "updated"
}

gitlab_get_user_review_requests

Get MRs where user is assigned as reviewer with pending action.

{
  "username": "johndoe",
  "priority": "high",
  "sort": "urgency"
}

gitlab_get_user_open_issues

Get open issues assigned to a user, prioritized by severity/SLA.

{
  "username": "johndoe",
  "sla_status": "overdue",
  "sort": "priority"
}

gitlab_get_user_reported_issues

Get issues reported/created by a user.

{
  "username": "johndoe",
  "state": "opened",
  "since": "2024-01-01"
}

gitlab_get_user_resolved_issues

Get issues closed/resolved by a user.

{
  "username": "johndoe",
  "since": "2024-01-01",
  "until": "2024-03-31"
}

User's Code & Commits

gitlab_get_user_commits

Get commits authored by a user within date range or branch.

{
  "username": "johndoe", 
  "branch": "main",
  "since": "2024-01-01",
  "include_stats": true
}

Complete Tool List

• Projects: gitlab_list_projects, gitlab_get_project, gitlab_get_current_project, gitlab_search_projects
• Issues: gitlab_list_issues, gitlab_get_issue, gitlab_add_issue_comment, gitlab_summarize_issue
• Merge Requests: gitlab_list_merge_requests, gitlab_get_merge_request, gitlab_update_merge_request, gitlab_close_merge_request, gitlab_merge_merge_request, gitlab_add_merge_request_comment, gitlab_get_merge_request_notes, gitlab_approve_merge_request, gitlab_get_merge_request_approvals, gitlab_get_merge_request_discussions, gitlab_resolve_discussion, gitlab_get_merge_request_changes, gitlab_rebase_merge_request
• Repository: gitlab_get_file_content, gitlab_list_repository_tree, gitlab_list_commits, gitlab_get_commit, gitlab_get_commit_diff, gitlab_create_commit, gitlab_cherry_pick_commit, gitlab_compare_refs, gitlab_list_tags
• Branches: gitlab_list_branches
• Pipelines & Jobs: gitlab_list_pipelines, gitlab_list_pipeline_jobs, gitlab_list_project_jobs, gitlab_download_job_artifact, gitlab_summarize_pipeline
• Search: gitlab_search_projects, gitlab_search_in_project
• Users: gitlab_get_current_user, gitlab_get_user, gitlab_list_user_events, gitlab_list_project_members
• User & Profile: gitlab_search_user, gitlab_get_user_details, gitlab_get_my_profile, gitlab_get_user_contributions_summary, gitlab_get_user_activity_feed
• User's Issues & MRs: gitlab_get_user_open_mrs, gitlab_get_user_review_requests, gitlab_get_user_open_issues, gitlab_get_user_reported_issues, gitlab_get_user_resolved_issues
• User's Code & Commits: gitlab_get_user_commits
• Releases: gitlab_list_releases
• Webhooks: gitlab_list_project_hooks
• AI Tools: gitlab_summarize_merge_request, gitlab_summarize_issue, gitlab_summarize_pipeline
• Advanced: gitlab_batch_operations, gitlab_smart_diff, gitlab_safe_preview_commit

Examples

Auto-detect and List Issues

# First get current project from git repo
project = await session.call_tool("gitlab_get_current_project")

# Then list open issues
issues = await session.call_tool("gitlab_list_issues", {
    "state": "opened"
})

Create a Fix with Batch Operations

# Atomically: get issue → create branch → commit fix → create MR
result = await session.call_tool("gitlab_batch_operations", {
    "operations": [
        {
            "name": "issue",
            "tool": "gitlab_get_issue", 
            "arguments": {"issue_iid": 123}
        },
        {
            "name": "fix",
            "tool": "gitlab_create_commit",
            "arguments": {
                "branch": "fix-issue-{{issue.iid}}",
                "commit_message": "Fix: {{issue.title}}",
                "actions": [{
                    "action": "update",
                    "file_path": "src/bug.py",
                    "content": "# Fixed code here"
                }]
            }
        },
        {
            "name": "mr",
            "tool": "gitlab_create_merge_request",
            "arguments": {
                "source_branch": "fix-issue-{{issue.iid}}",
                "target_branch": "main",
                "title": "Fix: {{issue.title}}",
                "description": "Fixes #{{issue.iid}}"
            }
        }
    ]
})

Development

Quick Start

# Install development dependencies
make install-dev

# Run all checks locally
make ci-local

# Format code
make format

# Run tests with coverage
make test-cov

CI/CD Pipeline

This project uses GitHub Actions for continuous integration and deployment:

• CI Pipeline: Runs on every push and PR

  • Linting (Ruff, Black, isort, MyPy)
  • Testing (pytest with coverage)
  • Security scanning (Bandit, Safety, pip-audit)
  • Multi-version Python testing (3.10, 3.11, 3.12)

• Code Quality:

  • SonarCloud analysis
  • CodeQL security analysis
  • Complexity metrics (Radon, Xenon)

• Release Pipeline: Automated releases on version tags

  • PyPI package publishing
  • Docker image building and publishing
  • GitHub release creation

Running Tests

# Run all tests
uv run pytest tests/ -v

# Run with coverage
uv run pytest tests/ --cov=mcp_gitlab

# Run specific test file
uv run pytest tests/test_gitlab_client.py -v

Code Style

The project uses:

• Black for code formatting
• isort for import sorting
• flake8 for linting
• mypy for type checking

# Format code
black src/ tests/
isort src/ tests/

# Run linters
flake8 src/ tests/
mypy src/

Troubleshooting

Authentication Issues

• Ensure your token has the required scopes (api, read_repository, write_repository)
• Check token expiration date
• Verify GitLab URL if using self-hosted instance

Rate Limiting

GitLab API has rate limits. The server handles rate limit errors gracefully and returns appropriate error messages.

Large Responses

Responses are automatically truncated if they exceed size limits. Use pagination parameters to retrieve data in chunks.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0 - see the file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built on the Model Context Protocol
• Uses python-gitlab for GitLab API interaction
• Inspired by the need for better LLM-GitLab integration