GitLab MCP Server

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@zereight/mcp-gitlab

Agent-workflow-optimized GitLab MCP — manage projects, merge requests, issues, pipelines, wiki, releases, tags, milestones, and more through stdio, SSE, and Streamable HTTP.

Supports PAT, OAuth, read-only mode, dynamic API URLs, and remote authorization for VS Code, Claude, Cursor, Copilot, and other MCP clients.

Why use this GitLab MCP?

• 261 tools + discover_tools — start with a small toolset; activate more at runtime without CQRS-style grouping
• MR 2-step review — list_merge_request_changed_files → batched get_merge_request_file_diff
• Agent Skill built in — workflow guidance in skills/gitlab-mcp/
• Flexible auth — Personal Access Token, local OAuth2 browser flow, MCP OAuth proxy, and per-request remote authorization
• Multiple transports — stdio for local clients, SSE for legacy clients, and Streamable HTTP for modern remote deployments
• Client-friendly setup — examples for Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, OpenCode, Copilot, Cline, Roo Code, Cursor, Kilo Code, and Amp Code
• Self-hosted ready — works with custom GitLab instances, proxy settings, and dynamic API URL routing

How we compare

Full comparison →

Quick start: choose either Personal Access Token or OAuth2 setup below, install @zereight/mcp-gitlab, and use zereight-mcp-gitlab in your MCP client configuration.

Client Setup Guides

• Claude Code Setup Guide
• VS Code Setup Guide
• GitHub Copilot Setup Guide
• Codex Setup Guide
• Cursor Setup Guide
• JSON-Based MCP Clients Setup Guide - for Factory AI Droid, OpenClaw, and OpenCode style clients
• OAuth2 Authentication Setup Guide
• Environment Variables Reference
• Stateless Mode — Multi-Pod HPA
• Custom Agents and Multiple PAT Setup

Usage

Setup Overview

Authentication Methods

The server supports four authentication methods:

For local/desktop use (most common):

1. Personal Access Token (GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN) — simplest setup
2. OAuth2 — Local Browser (GITLAB_USE_OAUTH) — recommended for better security

For server/remote deployments:

3. OAuth2 — MCP Proxy (GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH) — for remote MCP clients such as Claude.ai
4. Remote Authorization (REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION) — multi-user deployments where each caller provides their own token

Quick setup paths

• Claude Code: see Claude Code Setup Guide
• VS Code: see VS Code Setup Guide
• GitHub Copilot: see GitHub Copilot Setup Guide
• Codex: see Codex Setup Guide
• Cursor: see Cursor Setup Guide
• Factory AI Droid / OpenClaw / OpenCode style clients: see JSON-Based MCP Clients Setup Guide
• OAuth browser flow details: see OAuth2 Authentication Setup Guide
• OAuth without a localhost callback (SSO, remote shell, background clients): run zereight-mcp-gitlab auth (GitLab 17.9+ device flow; 17.2–17.8 need oauth2_device_grant_flow), then start the server with GITLAB_USE_OAUTH=true. See standalone device-flow command.

For the simplest local setup, start with a Personal Access Token. For browser-based local auth, use OAuth2. For remote or multi-user deployments, continue to the MCP OAuth and Remote Authorization sections later in this README.

Install the server once:

brew tap zereight/gitlab-mcp https://github.com/zereight/gitlab-mcp
brew install zereight/gitlab-mcp/zereight-mcp-gitlab

Or with npm:

npm install -g @zereight/mcp-gitlab

Or with Nix, by adding this flake to your own:

# flake.nix
inputs.gitlab-mcp.url = "github:zereight/gitlab-mcp";

# wherever you configure your MCP client:
command = lib.getExe inputs.gitlab-mcp.packages.${system}.default;

The store path is pinned by your lock file; update it with nix flake update gitlab-mcp.

The examples use zereight-mcp-gitlab, a less collision-prone alias for the legacy mcp-gitlab binary. If your MCP client cannot find it, use the absolute path from which zereight-mcp-gitlab.

No global install? Pin npx to the previous stable release (the version these docs recommend), for example npx -y @zereight/mcp-gitlab@2.1.62. If you always want the newest release, use npx -y @zereight/mcp-gitlab@latest instead. The server prints a notice to stderr on startup when a newer version is available (disable with GITLAB_DISABLE_VERSION_CHECK=true).

Using CLI Arguments (for clients with env var issues)

Some MCP clients (like GitHub Copilot CLI) have issues with environment variables. Use CLI arguments instead:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab": {
      "command": "zereight-mcp-gitlab",
      "args": ["--token=YOUR_GITLAB_TOKEN", "--api-url=https://gitlab.com/api/v4"],
      "tools": ["*"]
    }
  }
}

Available CLI arguments:

• --token - GitLab Personal Access Token (replaces GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN)
• --api-url - GitLab API URL (replaces GITLAB_API_URL)
• --read-only=true - Enable read-only mode (replaces GITLAB_READ_ONLY_MODE, deprecated — prefer --permission-mode=readonly)
• --permission-mode - Permission level: readonly, modify (no delete tools), or full (replaces GITLAB_PERMISSION_MODE, default full)
• --use-wiki=true - Enable wiki API (replaces USE_GITLAB_WIKI, legacy — prefer GITLAB_TOOLSETS=wiki)
• --use-milestone=true - Enable milestone API (replaces USE_MILESTONE, legacy — prefer GITLAB_TOOLSETS=milestones)
• --use-pipeline=true - Enable pipeline API (replaces USE_PIPELINE, legacy — prefer GITLAB_TOOLSETS=pipelines)
• --disable-version-check=true - Disable the startup new-version notice (replaces GITLAB_DISABLE_VERSION_CHECK)
• --masking-enabled=true - Enable text-response masking (replaces GITLAB_MASKING_ENABLED)
• --masking-config - Path to a masking configuration file (replaces GITLAB_MASKING_CONFIG)
• --masking-policy-file - Path to a protected managed-policy file (replaces GITLAB_MASKING_POLICY_FILE)
• --masking-workspace-dir - Directory used to resolve masking files (replaces GITLAB_MASKING_WORKSPACE_DIR)

CLI arguments take precedence over environment variables.

zereight-mcp-gitlab auth is a subcommand (not an MCP server flag). It runs GitLab device flow and exits. See CLI Arguments.

Fine-grained tool filtering: use GITLAB_PERMISSION_MODE=modify to allow create/update while blocking every delete tool (including delete mutations through execute_graphql and push_files delete/move actions), or GITLAB_PERMISSION_MODE=readonly for read-only access. You can also enable toolset groups with GITLAB_TOOLSETS=<group,…>, allow-list individual tools with GITLAB_TOOLS=<tool,…> (e.g. read-only groups plus a few specific write tools), and deny-list by pattern with GITLAB_DENIED_TOOLS_REGEX. The legacy USE_GITLAB_WIKI / USE_MILESTONE / USE_PIPELINE flags are kept for backward compatibility only. See Tools Reference and Environment Variables.

• sse

docker run -i --rm \
  -e HOST=0.0.0.0 \
  -e GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_gitlab_token \
  -e GITLAB_API_URL="https://gitlab.com/api/v4" \
  -e GITLAB_PERMISSION_MODE=readonly \
  -e GITLAB_TOOLSETS=wiki,milestones,pipelines \
  -e SSE=true \
  -e SSE_AUTH_TOKEN=your_mcp_sse_token \
  -p 3333:3002 \
  zereight050/gitlab-mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "http://localhost:3333/sse",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer your_mcp_sse_token"
      }
    }
  }
}

• streamable-http

docker run -i --rm \
  -e HOST=0.0.0.0 \
  -e REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION=true \
  -e GITLAB_API_URL="https://gitlab.com/api/v4" \
  -e GITLAB_PERMISSION_MODE=readonly \
  -e GITLAB_TOOLSETS=wiki,milestones,pipelines \
  -e STREAMABLE_HTTP=true \
  -p 3333:3002 \
  zereight050/gitlab-mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "http://localhost:3333/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer glpat-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Using MCP OAuth Proxy (GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH)

For server/remote deployments only. This mode requires the MCP server to be deployed with a publicly accessible HTTPS URL. For local/desktop use, see GITLAB_USE_OAUTH above.

For remote MCP clients that support the MCP OAuth specification (e.g. Claude.ai). The server acts as a full OAuth 2.0 authorization server — unauthenticated requests receive a 401 + WWW-Authenticate response, which triggers the OAuth browser flow automatically on the client side.

Remote MCP clients such as OpenCode, MCPJam, and Claude.ai can send their own callback URL during authorization. If you cannot register every client callback URL in GitLab, enable GITLAB_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PROXY=true. With callback proxy mode, GitLab only needs one registered redirect URI: {MCP_SERVER_URL}/callback.

GITLAB_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI is for local OAuth (GITLAB_USE_OAUTH) only. It does not override remote MCP OAuth client callback URLs and should not be used to fix remote Unregistered redirect_uri errors.

This variable exists because the local OAuth flow starts a browser on the same machine as the MCP server and listens for the callback on a local HTTP server, for example http://127.0.0.1:8888/callback.

Remote MCP OAuth is different. In GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH=true mode, the MCP client provides its own callback URL during /authorize. GITLAB_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI does not replace that client-provided URL.

Use GITLAB_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI only when the MCP server itself owns the local browser callback. Use GITLAB_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PROXY=true when a remote MCP client owns the callback URL.

How it works: You deploy this MCP server somewhere with a public HTTPS URL. MCP clients connect to {MCP_SERVER_URL}/mcp. The server handles the OAuth 2.0 flow, exchanging credentials with GitLab on behalf of the client.

Prerequisites:

1. A publicly accessible HTTPS server URL (MCP_SERVER_URL) — use ngrok for local testing
2. A pre-registered GitLab OAuth application with api (or read_api) scopes — Go to Admin area → Applications, set Redirect URI to {MCP_SERVER_URL}/callback

When STREAMABLE_HTTP=true, server-side GitLab credentials (GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN, GITLAB_JOB_TOKEN, GITLAB_AUTH_COOKIE_PATH, or GITLAB_USE_OAUTH) require REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION=true, GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH=true, or STREAMABLE_HTTP_AUTH_TOKEN.

Troubleshooting Unregistered redirect_uri

Check the redirect_uri in the browser URL. If it points to a client callback such as http://127.0.0.1:xxxxx/.../callback, enable:

env

GITLAB_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PROXY=true

Do not fix remote MCP OAuth by changing GITLAB_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI. That variable is for local OAuth (GITLAB_USE_OAUTH) only.

docker run -i --rm \
  -e HOST=0.0.0.0 \
  -e GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH=true \
  -e GITLAB_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PROXY=true \
  -e STREAMABLE_HTTP=true \
  -e MCP_SERVER_URL=https://your-server.example.com \
  -e GITLAB_API_URL="https://gitlab.com/api/v4" \
  -e GITLAB_OAUTH_APP_ID=your_app_id \
  -p 3000:3002 \
  zereight050/gitlab-mcp

MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://your-server.example.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Using Remote Authorization (REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION)

For server/remote deployments only. Each HTTP caller provides their own GitLab token directly in request headers — no OAuth flow involved.

For multi-user or multi-tenant deployments where each caller provides their own GitLab token in the HTTP request header. No OAuth flow — the MCP server forwards the token to GitLab on behalf of the caller.

Header priority: Private-Token > JOB-TOKEN > Authorization: Bearer

GITLAB_ALLOW_UNAUTHENTICATED_TOOL_DISCOVERY=true is intended for MCP gateways or admin UIs that need to inspect tool metadata before a user provides a GitLab token. Leave it disabled unless the tool list is safe to expose in your deployment.

When MCP_SERVER_URL is not set, remote download URLs fall back to the local server address. Set MCP_TRUST_PROXY=true only if the server is reachable through a trusted reverse proxy and direct client access to the MCP server is blocked. This enables Express trust proxy for Streamable HTTP and SSE, derives public download URLs from Forwarded / X-Forwarded-Proto / X-Forwarded-Host / X-Forwarded-Prefix, and keeps OAuth endpoint rate limiting working when proxies send X-Forwarded-For with a client port (for example 1.2.3.4:5678). Existing OAuth+proxy deployments must set this explicitly after the flag was introduced.

Example request headers:

Private-Token: glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

or using a Bearer token:

Authorization: Bearer glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

⚠️ REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION is not compatible with SSE transport. STREAMABLE_HTTP=true is required.

Environment Variables

Use the dedicated reference for the full environment variable list:

• Environment Variables Reference

Most users only need one of these starting sets:

• Local PAT: GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN, GITLAB_API_URL
• Local OAuth: GITLAB_USE_OAUTH=true, GITLAB_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID, GITLAB_OAUTH_REDIRECT_URI, GITLAB_API_URL
• Remote multi-user HTTP: STREAMABLE_HTTP=true, REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION=true (or GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH=true), MCP_TRUST_PROXY=true (behind a reverse proxy), MAX_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE=300, MCP_SERVER_URL or MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS, HOST, PORT
• Multiple side-by-side deployments: set a distinct MCP_SERVER_NAME per instance (e.g. gitlab-selfhosted-readonly) so clients, logs, and telemetry can tell them apart
• Multi-pod HPA (stateless): above + OAUTH_STATELESS_MODE=true, OAUTH_STATELESS_SECRET (same across all pods). See Stateless Mode.

Commonly referenced variables:

• GITLAB_API_URL
• GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN
• GITLAB_USE_OAUTH
• REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION
• MCP_TRUST_PROXY
• MAX_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE
• MAX_SESSIONS
• MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS
• MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS
• GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH
• GITLAB_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PROXY
• OAUTH_REGISTER_RATE_LIMIT_PER_HOUR
• OAUTH_STATELESS_MODE
• OAUTH_STATELESS_SECRET

The reference document also covers:

• auth and OAuth variables
• MCP OAuth proxy variables
• project and tool filtering variables
• dynamic tool discovery via discover_tools (on-demand toolset activation)
• transport and session variables
• proxy and TLS variables

For callback proxy mode details, see GitLab MCP OAuth Callback Proxy.

Remote Authorization Setup (Multi-User Support)

When using REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION=true, the MCP server can support multiple users, each with their own GitLab token passed via HTTP headers. This is useful for:

• Shared MCP server instances where each user needs their own GitLab access
• IDE integrations that can inject user-specific tokens into MCP requests

Setup Example:

# Start server with remote authorization
docker run -d \
  -e HOST=0.0.0.0 \
  -e STREAMABLE_HTTP=true \
  -e REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION=true \
  -e GITLAB_API_URL="https://gitlab.com/api/v4" \
  -e GITLAB_PERMISSION_MODE=readonly \
  -e SESSION_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=3600 \
  -p 3333:3002 \
  zereight050/gitlab-mcp

Client Configuration:

Your IDE or MCP client must send one of these headers with each request:

Authorization: Bearer glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

or

Private-Token: glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The token is stored per session (identified by mcp-session-id header) and reused for subsequent requests in the same session.

Remote Authorization Client Configuration Example with Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "url": "http(s)://<your_mcp_gitlab_server>/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer glpat-..."
      }
    }
  }
}

Important Notes:

• Remote authorization only works with Streamable HTTP transport
• Each session is isolated - tokens from one session cannot access another session's data Tokens are automatically cleaned up when sessions close
• Session timeout: Auth tokens expire after SESSION_TIMEOUT_SECONDS (default 1 hour) of inactivity. After timeout, the client must send auth headers again. The transport session remains active.
• Each request resets the timeout timer for that session
• Rate limiting: /mcp requests are limited to MAX_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE per client IP, and per MCP session when using OAuth or remote authorization (default 60). See environment-variables.md.
• Capacity limit: Server accepts up to MAX_SESSIONS concurrent sessions (default 1000)

MCP OAuth Setup (Claude.ai Native OAuth)

When using GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH=true, the server acts as an OAuth proxy to your GitLab instance. Claude.ai (and any MCP-spec-compliant client) handles the entire browser authentication flow automatically — no manual Personal Access Token management needed.

Prerequisites:

A pre-registered GitLab OAuth application is required. GitLab restricts dynamically registered (unverified) applications to the mcp scope, which is insufficient for API calls (need api or read_api).

1. Go to your GitLab instance → Admin Area > Applications (instance-wide) or User Settings > Applications (personal)
2. Create a new application with:
   • Confidential: unchecked
   • Scopes: api, read_api, read_user (or whichever scopes you intend to request via GITLAB_OAUTH_SCOPES)
3. Save and copy the Application ID — this is your GITLAB_OAUTH_APP_ID

How it works:

1. User adds your MCP server URL in Claude.ai
2. Claude.ai discovers OAuth endpoints via /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server
3. Claude.ai registers itself via Dynamic Client Registration (POST /register) — handled locally by the MCP server (each client gets a virtual client ID)
4. Claude.ai redirects the user's browser to GitLab's login page using the pre-registered OAuth application
5. User authenticates; GitLab redirects back to https://claude.ai/api/mcp/auth_callback
6. Claude.ai sends Authorization: Bearer <token> on every MCP request
7. Server validates the token with GitLab and stores it per session

Server setup:

docker run -d \
  -e STREAMABLE_HTTP=true \
  -e GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH=true \
  -e GITLAB_OAUTH_APP_ID="your-gitlab-oauth-app-client-id" \
  -e GITLAB_API_URL="https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4" \
  -e MCP_SERVER_URL="https://your-mcp-server.example.com" \
  -p 3002:3002 \
  zereight050/gitlab-mcp

For local development (HTTP allowed):

MCP_DANGEROUSLY_ALLOW_INSECURE_ISSUER_URL=true \
STREAMABLE_HTTP=true \
GITLAB_MCP_OAUTH=true \
GITLAB_OAUTH_APP_ID=your-gitlab-oauth-app-client-id \
MCP_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:3002 \
GITLAB_API_URL=https://gitlab.com/api/v4 \
node build/index.js

Claude.ai configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "url": "https://your-mcp-server.example.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

No headers field is needed — Claude.ai obtains the token via OAuth automatically.

Environment variables:

Important Notes:

• MCP OAuth only works with Streamable HTTP transport (SSE=true is incompatible)
• Each user session stores its own OAuth token — sessions are fully isolated
• Session timeout, rate limiting, and capacity limits apply identically to the REMOTE_AUTHORIZATION mode (SESSION_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, MAX_REQUESTS_PER_MINUTE, MAX_SESSIONS)
• DCR rate limiting: POST /register is limited to OAUTH_REGISTER_RATE_LIMIT_PER_HOUR per client IP (default 20/hour). Separate from /mcp limits and GitLab API quotas. See environment-variables.md.
• Header auth fallback: when Private-Token or JOB-TOKEN request headers are present, OAuth validation is skipped and the raw token is used directly for that session. This allows PATs and CI job tokens to be used alongside the OAuth flow on the same server instance. Authorization: Bearer is always treated as an OAuth token — use Private-Token for PAT-based header auth.

Agent Skill Files

Pre-built skill files are available in skills/gitlab-mcp/ for AI agents that support skill/instruction loading (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, etc.).

• SKILL.md — Core guide (~800 tokens) with toolset overview, key workflows, and parameter hints
• reference/ — Detailed workflow docs for code review, merge requests, issues, pipelines, and vulnerability triage

Install with the skills CLI:

npx skills add zereight/gitlab-mcp --skill gitlab-mcp-skill

Register the skill directory in your AI client to get optimal tool usage guidance without relying solely on the full ListTools response.

Tools 🛠️

Wiki page titles vs. slugs

GitLab derives a wiki page's slug (its URL, /-/wikis/<slug>) from the page title. Passing title to update_wiki_page / update_group_wiki_page therefore renames the page and changes its URL — for nested pages it can also move the page to a different path — which breaks existing links.

To change only the displayed title while keeping the URL stable, do not pass title. Instead, store the display title in the page content's YAML front matter and update the content:

---
title: My Custom Display Title
---

Page body…

GitLab keeps the slug/URL untouched and shows the front-matter title in the UI. Read it back with get_wiki_page using render_html: true, which populates the front_matter field — the plain title field always reflects the slug-derived value.

Testing 🧪

The project includes comprehensive test coverage including remote authorization:

# Run all tests (API validation + remote auth)
npm test

# Run only remote authorization tests
npm run test:remote-auth

# Run all tests including readonly MCP tests
npm run test:all

# Run only API validation
npm run test:integration

All remote authorization tests use a mock GitLab server and do not require actual GitLab credentials.