git-review-mcp

MCP server for AI-powered code review. Connect any AI assistant (GitHub Copilot, Claude, etc.) to GitLab or GitHub to list review requests, inspect diffs, and post accurate inline comments — with minimal token usage.

Features

• Multi-provider — GitLab and GitHub (including self-hosted / Enterprise)
• Review queue — list all MRs/PRs where you are a requested reviewer, across all projects
• Token-efficient review — lazy-loading design: index first, fetch diffs one file at a time
• Accurate inline comments — diffs are parsed server-side with pre-computed line numbers; the AI reads lineNo directly, no hunk-math guessing
• Noise filtering — lock files, dist/, *.map, images and other non-reviewable files are automatically skipped
• Post inline & general comments — targeted per-line notes or overall MR summary
• Read file content — fetch any file at a given ref for broader context
• Approve — approve an MR/PR directly from the AI assistant

Tools

| # | Tool | Description | |---|------|-------------| | 1 | git_list_my_reviews | List all open MRs/PRs where you are a requested reviewer (uses GITLAB_USER / GITHUB_USER) | | 2 | git_review_mr | Start a review — returns a lightweight index (metadata, commits, file list with stats). No full diffs yet. | | 3 | git_list_mrs | List MRs/PRs for a specific project | | 4 | git_get_mr | Get full details of an MR/PR | | 5 | git_get_mr_diff | Get the parsed diff for a single file — returns structured hunks with newLineNo/oldLineNo per line | | 6 | git_get_mr_commits | Get commit history (git log) | | 7 | git_post_comment | Post a general review comment on an MR/PR | | 8 | git_post_inline_comment | Post an inline comment on a specific file + line | | 9 | git_get_file | Get file content at a git ref | | 10 | git_approve_mr | Approve the MR/PR |

Token-efficient design

Raw unified diffs sent wholesale to an AI are expensive and cause line-number errors. This server solves both problems:

Lazy loading

git_review_mr returns only a file index (~500–800 tokens for a typical MR). The AI then calls git_get_mr_diff for each file it decides to review — one file at a time. Files that don't need review (config tweaks, renamed files, etc.) are never fetched.

Pre-computed line numbers

git_get_mr_diff parses the raw unified diff server-side and returns structured hunks:

{
  "path": "src/auth.ts",
  "hunks": [
    {
      "header": "@@ -45,8 +47,9 @@",
      "lines": [
        { "newLineNo": 47, "oldLineNo": 45, "type": "context",  "content": "const user = getUser();" },
        { "newLineNo": 48,                  "type": "added",    "content": "if (!user.verified) throw new Error();" },
        {                  "oldLineNo": 46, "type": "deleted",  "content": "if (!user) return null;" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The AI reads newLineNo: 48 directly — no hunk header parsing, no counting + lines. This eliminates the most common source of comments landing on the wrong line.

Use newLineNo for comments on added/context lines (side: "NEW") and oldLineNo for deleted lines (side: "OLD").

Automatic noise filtering

git_review_mr silently skips files matching these patterns and lists them in stats.skipped:

package-lock.json, yarn.lock, *.lock, dist/, build/, *.min.js, *.map, *.snap, node_modules/, coverage/, images, fonts, PDFs.

Configuration

Copy .env.example to .env and fill in your values.

GitLab

GITLAB_URL=https://gitlab.example.com
GITLAB_TOKEN=<personal-access-token>   # needs "api" scope
GITLAB_USER=your-username              # used by git_list_my_reviews

GitHub

GITHUB_TOKEN=<personal-access-token>  # needs "repo" scope
GITHUB_USER=your-login                # used by git_list_my_reviews
# For GitHub Enterprise:
GITHUB_URL=https://github.example.com/api/v3

When both providers are configured, GitLab takes precedence. Override with:

GIT_PROVIDER=github   # or gitlab

VS Code MCP setup

Add to your .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "servers": {
    "git-review": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@danielevilela/git-review-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://gitlab.example.com",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "${input:gitlabToken}",
        "GITLAB_USER": "your-username"
      }
    }
  }
}

Review workflow

The AI follows this flow automatically when you say "review MR #42 in project owner/repo":

git_list_my_reviews          → see what needs your attention
  ↓
git_review_mr                → lightweight index: title, commits, file list (~600 tokens)
  ↓
git_get_mr_diff (file 1)     → parsed hunks with line numbers (~300 tokens)
git_get_mr_diff (file 2)     → ...only files worth reviewing
  ↓
[AI produces comment list]   → { filePath, line, side, body } per issue found
  ↓
[You confirm / skip each]
  ↓
git_post_inline_comment × N  → comments land on the exact right lines
git_post_comment             → optional overall summary
git_approve_mr               → approve when satisfied

Running locally

cp .env.example .env   # fill in your values
npm install
npm run build
node dist/index.js

Test with MCP Inspector

npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector node dist/index.js

Opens http://localhost:5173 — pick git_list_my_reviews, run with no arguments to see your pending reviews.