mcp-gitlab-server 0.0.4
GitLab MCP server
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.13
Keywords: gitlab, mcp

# mcp-gitlab-server

> **⚠️ Development Stage Notice**  
> This project is currently in **development stage**. Features and APIs may change without notice. Use with caution in production environments.


GitLab MCP server based on [python-gitlab](https://github.com/python-gitlab/python-gitlab).



## Install

### Using Personal Access Token (Most Common)
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "gitlab-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "<your GitLab personal access token>",
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://gitlab.com"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

### Using OAuth2 Token
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "gitlab-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_OAUTH_TOKEN": "<your GitLab OAuth2 token>",
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://gitlab.com"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

For self-hosted GitLab instances, set `GITLAB_URL` to your GitLab instance URL (e.g., `https://gitlab.example.com`). If not set, it defaults to `https://gitlab.com`.

## Authentication

This MCP server supports two authentication methods:

### Method 1: Personal Access Token (Recommended for most users)

1. Create a GitLab Personal Access Token:
   - Go to GitLab → User Settings → Access Tokens
   - Create a token with `read_api` scope (minimum required)

2. Set the `GITLAB_TOKEN` environment variable to your token value

### Method 2: OAuth2 Token (For OAuth2 applications)

1. If you have an OAuth2 token from a GitLab OAuth2 application flow
2. Set the `GITLAB_OAUTH_TOKEN` environment variable to your OAuth2 token value

**To create an OAuth2 application:**
1. Go to GitLab → User Settings → Applications
2. Create a new application with appropriate scopes (`read_api` minimum)
3. Use the OAuth2 flow to obtain an access token
4. Use that token as `GITLAB_OAUTH_TOKEN`

### Environment Variables

- **`GITLAB_TOKEN`** - Your GitLab Personal Access Token (if using personal token auth)
- **`GITLAB_OAUTH_TOKEN`** - Your GitLab OAuth2 Token (if using OAuth2 auth)
- **`GITLAB_URL`** - GitLab instance URL (defaults to `https://gitlab.com`)

**Note:** The server will first check for `GITLAB_OAUTH_TOKEN`, and if not found, will use `GITLAB_TOKEN`. You only need to set one of these.

## Tools

### Repository & Project Management
- **list_projects** - List GitLab projects accessible to the authenticated user (supports filtering by owned/starred and pagination)
- **list_groups** - List GitLab groups accessible to the authenticated user
- **list_group_projects** - List all projects within a specific GitLab group
- **get_user_info** - Get information about the authenticated user
- **search_repositories** - Search for GitLab repositories by name, description, or keywords
- **get_repository_details** - Get detailed information about a specific repository

### Code Access
- **read_repository_code** - Read the complete code structure and content of a repository with filtering options
- **read_repository_file** - Read the content of a specific file from a repository

### Merge Request Analytics
- **list_merge_requests** - List merge requests for a repository with filtering by state, ordering, and pagination
- **get_merge_request_analytics** - Calculate comprehensive merge request lifetime statistics including average time from creation to merge

### Repository Code Reading Features

The MCP server provides powerful code reading capabilities:

#### `read_repository_code`
Reads the entire repository structure and file contents with advanced filtering:

- **Selective Reading**: Include/exclude files using glob patterns (e.g., `*.py,*.js` or exclude `*.log,node_modules/*`)
- **Size Limits**: Control maximum files to read and file size limits to prevent overwhelming responses
- **Branch/Tag Support**: Read from any branch, tag, or commit SHA
- **Directory Filtering**: Focus on specific directories within the repository
- **Smart Filtering**: Automatically excludes common build artifacts, logs, and binary files

**Example Usage:**
- Read only Python files: `include_patterns: "*.py"`
- Exclude tests: `exclude_patterns: "*test*,*spec*"`
- Read specific directory: `path: "src/"`
- Different branch: `ref: "develop"`

#### `read_repository_file`
Reads individual files from a repository:

- **Single File Access**: Get content of specific files quickly
- **Metadata Included**: File size, encoding, last commit info
- **Binary Detection**: Safely handles binary files
- **Flexible References**: Works with branches, tags, or commit SHAs

**Limits & Safety:**
- Default: Max 50 files, 100KB per file
- Configurable limits to prevent timeouts
- Automatic binary file detection
- Graceful error handling for large repositories

### Merge Request Analytics Features

The MCP server provides comprehensive merge request analytics capabilities:

#### `list_merge_requests`
Lists merge requests with advanced filtering and sorting:

- **State Filtering**: Filter by state (`opened`, `closed`, `merged`, `all`)
- **Flexible Sorting**: Order by creation date, update date, or title
- **Rich Metadata**: Includes author, assignees, reviewers, labels, and voting info
- **Pagination Support**: Control number of results returned

#### `get_merge_request_analytics`
Calculates detailed merge request lifetime statistics:

- **Lifetime Analysis**: Average, median, min/max time from creation to merge
- **Statistical Distribution**: 25th, 75th, and 90th percentile analysis
- **Time Period Control**: Analyze MRs from the last N days (default: 90 days)
- **Detailed Breakdown**: Individual MR details with exact lifetime calculations
- **Multiple Time Units**: Results provided in both hours and days

**Example Questions You Can Answer:**
- "What is the average lifetime of an MR in the acapulco repository?"
- "How long do merge requests typically take to get merged?"
- "What's the distribution of merge request lifetimes?"
- "Which merge requests took the longest to merge?"

**Analytics Output:**
- Average, median, min, max merge times
- Percentile analysis (25th, 75th, 90th)
- Sample merge requests with individual lifetimes
- Complete dataset for further analysis

## Development

```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone <repo-url>
cd gitlab-mcp-server

# Install dependencies
uv sync

# Run in development mode
uv run python -m mcp_gitlab_server
```

### Testing Configuration

For development and testing purposes, you can use a local wheel file installation:

**MCP Configuration for Testing:**
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from", "/path/to/your/gitlab-mcp-server/dist/mcp_gitlab_server-0.1.0-py3-none-any.whl",
        "gitlab-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "your-gitlab-token-here",
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://gitlab.com"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

**Build and Test Steps:**
```bash
# Build the wheel file
uv build

# Test with MCP client (like Claude Desktop)
# Update your MCP configuration with the local wheel path
# The wheel file will be in ./dist/ directory

# For quick testing, verify the server starts:
uv run python -m mcp_gitlab_server
```