MCP GitLab CrunchTools

A secure MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for GitLab projects, merge requests, issues, pipelines, and search. Works with any GitLab instance (gitlab.com, self-hosted, or enterprise).

Overview

This MCP server is designed to be:

Secure by default - Comprehensive threat modeling, input validation, and token protection
No third-party services - Runs locally via stdio, your API token never leaves your machine
Multi-instance - Works with gitlab.com, self-hosted GitLab, or enterprise instances via configurable URL
Cross-platform - Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows
Automatically updated - GitHub Actions monitor for CVEs and update dependencies
Containerized - Available at quay.io/crunchtools/mcp-gitlab built on Hummingbird Python base image

Naming Convention

| Component | Name | |-----------|------| | GitHub repo | crunchtools/mcp-gitlab | | Container | quay.io/crunchtools/mcp-gitlab | | Python package (PyPI) | mcp-gitlab-crunchtools | | CLI command | mcp-gitlab-crunchtools | | Module import | mcp_gitlab_crunchtools |

Why Hummingbird?

The container image is built on the Hummingbird Python base image from Project Hummingbird, which provides:

Minimal CVE exposure - Built with a minimal package set, dramatically reducing the attack surface
Regular updates - Security patches are applied promptly
Optimized for Python - Pre-configured Python environment with uv package manager
Production-ready - Proper signal handling and non-root user defaults

Features

Project Management (5 tools)

list_projects - List projects with filtering and search
get_project - Get project details by ID or path
list_project_branches - List repository branches
get_project_branch - Get a single branch
list_project_commits - List commits with date/path filtering

Group Management (3 tools)

list_groups - List groups with filtering
get_group - Get group details by ID or path
list_group_projects - List projects in a group (with subgroup support)

Merge Requests (7 tools)

list_merge_requests - List MRs by state, labels, milestone
get_merge_request - Get MR details
create_merge_request - Create a new MR
update_merge_request - Update MR title, description, state, assignees
list_mr_notes - List comments on an MR
create_mr_note - Add a comment to an MR
get_mr_changes - Get the diff for an MR

Issues (6 tools)

list_issues - List issues by state, labels, milestone, assignee
get_issue - Get issue details
create_issue - Create a new issue
update_issue - Update issue title, description, state, labels
list_issue_notes - List comments on an issue
create_issue_note - Add a comment to an issue

Pipelines (4 tools)

list_pipelines - List CI/CD pipelines with status filtering
get_pipeline - Get pipeline details
list_pipeline_jobs - List jobs in a pipeline
get_job_log - Get job log output

Search (2 tools)

search_global - Search across all accessible GitLab resources
search_project - Search within a specific project

Installation

With uvx (Recommended)

uvx mcp-gitlab-crunchtools

With pip

pip install mcp-gitlab-crunchtools

With Container

podman run -e GITLAB_TOKEN=your_token \
    quay.io/crunchtools/mcp-gitlab

Configuration

Environment Variables

| Variable | Required | Default | Description | |----------|----------|---------|-------------| | GITLAB_TOKEN | Yes | — | Personal Access Token | | GITLAB_URL | No | https://gitlab.com | GitLab instance URL |

Creating a GitLab Personal Access Token

Navigate to Access Tokens

Go to https://gitlab.com/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens
Or: Avatar > Preferences > Access Tokens

Create a Custom Token

Name: mcp-gitlab-crunchtools
Expiration: Set an appropriate date (90 days recommended)
Scopes: Select scopes based on your needs

Scope Selection

| Scope | Access Level | Capabilities | |-------|-------------|--------------| | read_api | Read-only | List/view projects, issues, MRs, pipelines | | api | Full access | All features including create/update |

Copy and Store Token

Copy the token immediately (starts with glpat-)
Store securely in a password manager

Add to Claude Code

claude mcp add mcp-gitlab-crunchtools \
    --env GITLAB_TOKEN=your_token_here \
    -- uvx mcp-gitlab-crunchtools

For self-hosted GitLab:

claude mcp add mcp-gitlab-crunchtools \
    --env GITLAB_TOKEN=your_token_here \
    --env GITLAB_URL=https://gitlab.example.com \
    -- uvx mcp-gitlab-crunchtools

For the container version:

claude mcp add mcp-gitlab-crunchtools \
    --env GITLAB_TOKEN=your_token_here \
    -- podman run -i --rm -e GITLAB_TOKEN quay.io/crunchtools/mcp-gitlab

Usage Examples

List Your Projects

User: List my GitLab projects
Assistant: [calls list_projects with membership=true]

View Merge Requests

User: Show open merge requests for my-org/backend
Assistant: [calls list_merge_requests with project_id="my-org/backend"]

Create an Issue

User: Create an issue in my-org/backend titled "Fix login timeout"
Assistant: [calls create_issue with title="Fix login timeout"]

Check Pipeline Status

User: Show failed pipelines for my-org/api
Assistant: [calls list_pipelines with status="failed"]

Search Code

User: Search for "authentication" in my-org/backend
Assistant: [calls search_project with scope="blobs"]

Security

This server was designed with security as a primary concern. See SECURITY.md for:

Threat model and attack vectors
Defense in depth architecture
Token handling best practices
Input validation rules
Audit logging

Key Security Features

Token Protection

Stored as SecretStr (never accidentally logged)
Environment variable only (never in files or args)
Sanitized from all error messages

Input Validation

Pydantic models for all inputs
Allowlist character validation for project/group IDs
Path traversal prevention

API Hardening

HTTPS enforcement (except localhost)
TLS certificate validation
Request timeouts (30s)
Response size limits (10MB)

Automated CVE Scanning

GitHub Actions scan dependencies weekly
Container security scanning with Trivy
CodeQL analysis for Python

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/crunchtools/mcp-gitlab.git
cd mcp-gitlab
uv sync

Run Tests

uv run pytest

Lint and Type Check

uv run ruff check src tests
uv run mypy src

Build Container

podman build -t mcp-gitlab .

License

AGPL-3.0-or-later

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please read SECURITY.md before submitting security-related changes.

Links

MCP Gitlab