Set up GitLab MCP in Claude Code
Access the GitLab API to manage repositories, merge requests, issues, pipelines, and CI/CD workflows from your AI editor.
1
Locate the config file
Claude Code reads MCP server configuration from the following file:
~/.claude.jsonCreate this file if it does not already exist.
2
Add the configuration
You can configure GitLab MCP using the CLI command or by editing the config file directly.
Option A: CLI command
bash
claude mcp add gitlab-mcp -e GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=YOUR_GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN -e GITLAB_API_URL=YOUR_GITLAB_API_URL -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-gitlabOption B: Config file
json
{
"mcpServers": {
"gitlab-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-gitlab"
],
"env": {
"GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "YOUR_GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
"GITLAB_API_URL": "YOUR_GITLAB_API_URL"
}
}
}
}3
Set up environment variables
GitLab MCP requires the following environment variables:
GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKENRequiredGitLab personal access token
GITLAB_API_URLOptionalGitLab API URL (defaults to gitlab.com)
4
Verify it works
Restart Claude Code. GitLab MCP should appear in your MCP server list with 18 tools available.
This server adds approximately 9,270 tokens to your context window for tool definitions.