GitLab MCP server

The GitLab MCP Server allows you to interact with GitLab repositories programmatically, providing functionality for project management, file operations, issue tracking, and more through a standardized Model Context Protocol interface.

Installation

Prerequisites

You'll need a GitLab Personal Access Token to use this MCP server:

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

Configuration Options

You can set up the GitLab MCP server using either Docker or NPX.

Docker Setup

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "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"
      }
    }
  }
}

NPX Setup

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

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

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)

Usage

The GitLab MCP server provides several tools for interacting with GitLab repositories. Here's how to use each one:

File Operations

Create or Update a File

create_or_update_file({
  project_id: "username/repo",
  file_path: "path/to/file.txt",
  content: "File content here",
  commit_message: "Add new file",
  branch: "main"
})

For renaming/moving a file, add the previous_path parameter:

create_or_update_file({
  project_id: "username/repo",
  file_path: "new/path/to/file.txt",
  content: "File content here",
  commit_message: "Move file to new location",
  branch: "main",
  previous_path: "old/path/to/file.txt"
})

Push Multiple Files in a Single Commit

push_files({
  project_id: "username/repo",
  branch: "main",
  commit_message: "Add multiple files",
  files: [
    {
      file_path: "file1.txt",
      content: "Content of file 1"
    },
    {
      file_path: "file2.txt",
      content: "Content of file 2"
    }
  ]
})

Get File Contents

get_file_contents({
  project_id: "username/repo",
  file_path: "path/to/file.txt",
  ref: "main"  // optional
})

Repository Management

Search Repositories

search_repositories({
  search: "project-name",
  page: 1,         // optional
  per_page: 20     // optional
})

Create Repository

create_repository({
  name: "new-project",
  description: "My new GitLab project",  // optional
  visibility: "private",                 // optional: 'private', 'internal', or 'public'
  initialize_with_readme: true           // optional
})

Fork Repository

fork_repository({
  project_id: "username/repo",
  namespace: "your-namespace"  // optional
})

Create Branch

create_branch({
  project_id: "username/repo",
  branch: "new-feature",
  ref: "main"  // optional, source branch
})

Issue and Merge Request Management

Create Issue

create_issue({
  project_id: "username/repo",
  title: "Bug in login function",
  description: "The login function fails when...",  // optional
  assignee_ids: [123, 456],                        // optional
  labels: ["bug", "priority"],                     // optional
  milestone_id: 1                                  // optional
})

Create Merge Request

create_merge_request({
  project_id: "username/repo",
  title: "Implement new feature",
  description: "This MR adds...",          // optional
  source_branch: "feature-branch",
  target_branch: "main",
  draft: true,                            // optional
  allow_collaboration: true               // optional
})

Key Features

• Automatic Branch Creation: When creating/updating files, 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

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.