Set up GitLab MCP in Claude Desktop
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 Desktop reads MCP server configuration from the following file:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonCreate this file if it does not already exist.
2
Add the configuration
Add the following to your Claude Desktop 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 Desktop. 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.