GitLab MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for GitLab integration with Claude Code and AI assistants.

Features

• Projects: List and get project details
• Branches: List and create branches
• Issues: Create and list issues
• Merge Requests: Create and list MRs
• Files: Read and write repository files
• Search: Search code in repositories

Requirements

• Bun >= 1.0 or Node.js >= 18
• GitLab Personal Access Token with api scope

Installation

The server is published on npm and can be run directly:

# Using Bun (recommended)
bunx @carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server

# Using Node.js
npx @carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server

No need to clone the repository or install dependencies manually.

Configuration

Set the following environment variables:

Variable	Required	Default	Description
GITLAB_TOKEN	Yes	-	GitLab Personal Access Token
GITLAB_HOST	No	https://gitlab.com	GitLab instance URL

For self-hosted GitLab with self-signed certificates:

export NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0

Environment Variables Setup

There are two approaches to configure credentials:

Option A: Variables in MCP Config (Simplest)

Pass all variables directly in the MCP configuration. Easiest for quick setup on new machines.

⚠️ Note: Token is stored in the config file (local, private). Acceptable for personal use.

Option B: System Environment Variables (More Secure)

Keep sensitive tokens at system/user level, only pass non-sensitive values in MCP config.

<details> <summary><strong>Windows (PowerShell)</strong></summary>

# Set permanently for current user
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GITLAB_TOKEN", "glpat-your-token", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GITLAB_HOST", "https://your-gitlab.com", "User")

# Verify
[Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("GITLAB_TOKEN", "User")

Restart your terminal/IDE after setting variables.

</details>

<details> <summary><strong>macOS / Linux</strong></summary>

# Add to ~/.zshrc (macOS) or ~/.bashrc (Linux)
echo 'export GITLAB_TOKEN="glpat-your-token"' >> ~/.zshrc
echo 'export GITLAB_HOST="https://your-gitlab.com"' >> ~/.zshrc

# Reload
source ~/.zshrc

# Verify
echo $GITLAB_TOKEN

</details>

---

IDE / Tool Configuration

💡 Tip: Use bunx if you have Bun installed, or npx for Node.js. Both work identically.

⚠️ Important: ${VARIABLE} syntax does NOT work in most MCP configs - values are treated as literal strings, not resolved. Use Option A (hardcoded values) or Option B (system variables that the server reads from process.env).

⚠️ Windows Configuration

On Windows, you must wrap npx or bunx commands with cmd /c. Use this format:

{
  "command": "cmd",
  "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"]
}

Or with Bun:

{
  "command": "cmd",
  "args": ["/c", "bunx", "@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"]
}

Important: The package name must always be the last argument in the args array.

---

Claude Code CLI

<details> <summary><strong>Option A: All variables in config</strong></summary>

claude mcp add-json GitLab '{
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "bunx",
  "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
  "env": {
    "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
    "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-your-token",
    "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
  }
}'

</details>

<details> <summary><strong>Option B: Token from system env</strong></summary>

Set GITLAB_TOKEN as system variable (see above), then:

claude mcp add-json GitLab '{
  "type": "stdio",
  "command": "bunx",
  "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
  "env": {
    "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
    "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
  }
}'

</details>

Verify:

claude mcp list
# Expected: GitLab: bunx ... - ✓ Connected

---

VS Code (with MCP extension)

Edit ~/.vscode/mcp.json or .vscode/mcp.json in your project:

{
  "servers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-your-token",
        "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Cursor

Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-your-token",
        "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Zed

Edit ~/.config/zed/settings.json (macOS/Linux) or %APPDATA%\Zed\settings.json (Windows):

{
  "context_servers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "command": {
        "path": "bunx",
        "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
        "env": {
          "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
          "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-your-token",
          "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

---

OpenCode

Edit ~/.config/opencode/config.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "GitLab": {
        "type": "stdio",
        "command": "bunx",
        "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
        "env": {
          "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
          "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-your-token",
          "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Codex (OpenAI CLI)

Edit ~/.codex/config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-your-token",
        "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Windsurf

Edit ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-your-token",
        "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
      }
    }
  }
}

---

Claude Desktop

Edit the Claude Desktop config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": ["@carmeloricarte/gitlab-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_HOST": "https://your-gitlab.com",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-your-token",
        "NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED": "0"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Projects

• list_projects - List accessible GitLab projects
• get_project - Get details of a specific project

Branches

• list_branches - List branches in a project
• create_branch - Create a new branch

Issues

• create_issue - Create a new issue
• list_issues - List issues in a project

Merge Requests

• create_merge_request - Create a merge request
• list_merge_requests - List merge requests

Files

• get_file - Get file contents from repository
• create_or_update_file - Create or update a file

Search

• search_code - Search for code in a project

Development

If you want to contribute or run the server locally for development:

Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/CarmeloRicarte/gitlab-mcp-server.git
cd gitlab-mcp-server
bun install

Project Structure

src/
├── index.ts              # Entry point
├── server.ts             # MCP server setup
├── config.ts             # Environment configuration
├── client/
│   └── gitlab-client.ts  # GitLab API client
├── tools/
│   ├── index.ts          # Tool registration
│   ├── projects.ts
│   ├── branches.ts
│   ├── issues.ts
│   ├── merge-requests.ts
│   ├── files.ts
│   └── search.ts
└── types/
    └── gitlab.ts         # TypeScript types
scripts/
└── add-shebang.js        # Adds Node shebang to compiled output
tests/
├── setup.ts              # Test utilities & mocks
├── client/
│   └── gitlab-client.test.ts
└── tools/
    └── *.test.ts

Run Server

bun run start
# or with hot reload
bun run dev

Run Tests

# Run all tests
bun test

# Run with watch mode
bun test:watch

# Run with coverage
bun test:coverage

Type Check

bun run typecheck

Build

# Build for production (compiles to dist/index.js with Node.js compatibility)
bun run build

# Add shebang to compiled output (done automatically on publish)
bun run add-shebang

Publish

Publishing to npm is automated via prepublishOnly:

npm version patch  # or minor/major
npm publish

This automatically:

1. Compiles TypeScript to JavaScript (bun run build)
2. Adds #!/usr/bin/env node shebang (bun run add-shebang)

Architecture

The server uses dependency injection for the GitLab client, making it easy to mock in tests:

import { GitLabClient } from "./src/client/gitlab-client";
import { createServer } from "./src/server";

// For testing with a mock client
const mockClient = new GitLabClient({
  apiBase: "https://mock.gitlab.com/api/v4",
  token: "test-token",
});
const server = createServer(mockClient);

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Feel free to open issues and pull requests.

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

Please make sure to:

• Follow the existing code style
• Add tests for new features
• Update documentation as needed

License

MIT