GitLab

What it is

The GitLab MCP Server is a Model Context Protocol server for the GitLab API that supports project management and file operations. It exposes nine tools covering files, repositories, issues, merge requests, forks and branches. Branches are created automatically when files are created, updated or pushed to a branch that doesn't exist, and operations keep Git history without force pushing. The repository is archived (the URL is under servers-archived).

Who it's for

• Developers who want an MCP client such as Claude Desktop or VS Code to work with GitLab projects
• Teams using GitLab.com or self-hosted GitLab instances via a configurable API URL

Requirements

Setup

1. Create a Personal Access Token

   In GitLab go to User Settings > Access Tokens and select the required scopes (api for full access, read_api for read-only, read_repository and write_repository for repository operations). Create the token and save it securely.

2. Claude Desktop config (NPX)

   Add this to claude_desktop_config.json. GITLAB_API_URL is optional and intended for self-hosted instances.

   jsonCopy

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "gitlab": {
         "command": "npx",
         "args": [
           "-y",
           "@modelcontextprotocol/server-gitlab"
         ],
         "env": {
           "GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>",
           "GITLAB_API_URL": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4" // Optional, for self-hosted instances
         }
       }
     }
   }

3. Claude Desktop config (Docker)

   Alternatively, run the server through Docker using the mcp/gitlab image.

   jsonCopy

   {
     "mcpServers": { 
       "gitlab": {
         "command": "docker",
         "args": [
           "run",
           "--rm",
           "-i",
           "-e",
           "GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
           "-e",
           "GITLAB_API_URL",
           "mcp/gitlab"
         ],
         "env": {
           "GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>",
           "GITLAB_API_URL": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4" // Optional, for self-hosted instances
         }
       }
     }
   }

4. Build the Docker image (optional)

   To build the image locally:

   bashCopy

   docker build -t vonwig/gitlab:mcp -f src/gitlab/Dockerfile .

Examples

{
  "project_id": "<project ID or URL-encoded path>",
  "branch": "<branch>",
  "files": [
    { "file_path": "<path>", "content": "<content>" }
  ],
  "commit_message": "<message>"
}

{
  "project_id": "<project ID or URL-encoded path>",
  "title": "<issue title>",
  "description": "<optional description>",
  "labels": ["<label>"]
}

{
  "project_id": "<project ID or URL-encoded path>",
  "title": "<MR title>",
  "source_branch": "<branch with changes>",
  "target_branch": "<branch to merge into>",
  "draft": true
}

Pros & cons

Images