GitLab MCP Server

MCP Server for the GitLab API, enabling project management, file operations, and more.

Development based on modelcontextprotocol gitlab

Features

• Automatic Branch Creation: When creating/updating files or pushing changes, branches are automatically created if they don't exist
• Comprehensive Error Handling: Clear error messages for common issues
• Git History Preservation: Operations maintain proper Git history without force pushing
• Batch Operations: Support for both single-file and multi-file operations

Tools

In readonly, the following tools are available: search_repositories, get_repository_tree, get_file_contents.

1. create_or_update_file

   • Create or update a single file in a project
   • Inputs:
     • project_id (string): Project ID or URL-encoded path
     • file_path (string): Path where to create/update the file
     • content (string): Content of the file
     • commit_message (string): Commit message
     • branch (string): Branch to create/update the file in
     • previous_path (optional string): Path of the file to move/rename
   • Returns: File content and commit details

2. push_files

   • Push multiple files in a single commit
   • Inputs:
     • project_id (string): Project ID or URL-encoded path
     • branch (string): Branch to push to
     • files (array): Files to push, each with file_path and content
     • commit_message (string): Commit message
   • Returns: Updated branch reference

3. search_repositories

   • Search for GitLab projects
   • Inputs:
     • search (string): Search query
     • page (optional number): Page number for pagination
     • per_page (optional number): Results per page (default 20)
   • Returns: Project search results

4. create_repository

   • Create a new GitLab project
   • Inputs:
     • name (string): Project name
     • description (optional string): Project description
     • visibility (optional string): 'private', 'internal', or 'public'
     • initialize_with_readme (optional boolean): Initialize with README
   • Returns: Created project details

5. get_file_contents

   • Get contents of a file or directory
   • Inputs:
     • project_id (string): Project ID or URL-encoded path
     • file_path (string): Path to file/directory
     • ref (optional string): Branch/tag/commit to get contents from
   • Returns: File/directory contents

6. create_issue

   • Create a new issue
   • Inputs:
     • project_id (string): Project ID or URL-encoded path
     • title (string): Issue title
     • description (optional string): Issue description
     • assignee_ids (optional number[]): User IDs to assign
     • labels (optional string[]): Labels to add
     • milestone_id (optional number): Milestone ID
   • Returns: Created issue details

7. create_merge_request

   • Create a new merge request
   • Inputs:
     • project_id (string): Project ID or URL-encoded path
     • title (string): MR title
     • description (optional string): MR description
     • source_branch (string): Branch containing changes
     • target_branch (string): Branch to merge into
     • draft (optional boolean): Create as draft MR
     • allow_collaboration (optional boolean): Allow commits from upstream members
   • Returns: Created merge request details

8. fork_repository

   • Fork a project
   • Inputs:
     • project_id (string): Project ID or URL-encoded path
     • namespace (optional string): Namespace to fork to
   • Returns: Forked project details

9. create_branch

   • Create a new branch
   • Inputs:
     • project_id (string): Project ID or URL-encoded path
     • branch (string): Name for new branch
     • ref (optional string): Source branch/commit for new branch
   • Returns: Created branch reference

10. get_repository_tree

    • Get the directory tree of a GitLab project
    • Inputs:
      • path (optional string): The path inside the repository. Used to get content of subdirectories
      • ref (optional string): The name of a repository branch or tag or commit SHA
      • recursive (optional boolean): Boolean value to get a recursive tree
    • Returns: Directory tree

Setup

Personal Access Token

Create a GitLab Personal Access Token with appropriate permissions:

• Go to User Settings > Access Tokens in GitLab
• Select the required scopes:
  • api for full API access
  • read_api for read-only access
  • read_repository and write_repository for repository operations
• Create the token and save it securely

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

NPX

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

You can add a --readonly parameter to control tools that only provide read operations, to prevent AI from making unintended modifications to the repository.

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

Environment Variables

• GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN: Your GitLab personal access token (required)
• GITLAB_API_URL: Base URL for GitLab API (optional, defaults to https://gitlab.com/api/v4)

License

This MCP server is licensed under the MIT License. This means you are free to use, modify, and distribute the software, subject to the terms and conditions of the MIT License. For more details, please see the LICENSE file in the project repository.