GitLab MCP Server

What It Does

Connects Claude to GitLab for repository management, merge requests, issues, pipelines, and project administration. Three paths exist: GitLab’s built-in MCP server (available in GitLab 18.6+), Anthropic’s reference server (archived but functional), and community servers with expanded tool sets.

The built-in option is the future — it’s part of GitLab itself, uses OAuth 2.0 Dynamic Client Registration, and respects your existing GitLab permissions without any external dependencies.

What It Does Well

• Built-in MCP (18.6+) means no server to install or maintain. GitLab exposes MCP at https://your-gitlab.com/api/v4/mcp as a native feature. OAuth handles authentication through the browser, permissions follow your existing GitLab roles, and updates come with GitLab itself. This is the cleanest vendor MCP integration we’ve reviewed.
• Self-managed instance support is a differentiator. Unlike GitHub’s MCP which only works with github.com, GitLab’s built-in MCP works with self-managed GitLab installations. Point it at your company’s GitLab instance and it just works with the same OAuth flow.
• Community options fill gaps for older versions. If you’re stuck on GitLab < 18.6, zereight/gitlab-mcp offers 60+ tools with multi-user support and read-only mode. mcpland/gitlab-mcp adds a policy engine. You have options regardless of your GitLab version.

What It Doesn’t Do Well

• The reference server is archived and no longer maintained. @modelcontextprotocol/server-gitlab was moved to the servers-archived repo. It works today, but bugs won’t be fixed. If you’re on a GitLab version that supports the built-in MCP, use that instead.
• Built-in MCP requires GitLab 18.6+ which many organizations haven’t upgraded to yet. Enterprise GitLab upgrades move slowly. If your organization runs GitLab 17.x or earlier, you’re stuck with the archived reference server or community options until your admin team upgrades.

Setup Notes

For GitLab 18.6+: configure https://gitlab.com/api/v4/mcp (or your self-managed URL) as an HTTP MCP server in your client. OAuth handles auth through the browser. No tokens in config files.

For older versions: npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-gitlab with a Personal Access Token. Create the PAT at gitlab.com/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens with the scopes you need (api, read_repository, etc.).

Config

Built-in (GitLab 18.6+, recommended):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab": {
      "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Reference server (older versions):

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

Tested With

• Claude Desktop on Windows 11

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab-mcp": {
      "url": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4/mcp"
    }
  }
}