Elicitation

Elicitation allows the server to ask the user for input through structured forms, enabling wizard-style creation flows for complex resources like issues, merge requests, and releases.

The problem

Standard MCP tools require the AI to provide all parameters upfront in a single tool call. For complex resources — where fields depend on earlier choices and missing data leads to errors — the AI must either guess values or ask multiple chat questions before calling the tool.

How it works

With elicitation, the server can pause execution and ask the user directly for input through the MCP client’s UI:

sequenceDiagram
    participant U as User
    participant AI as AI Assistant
    participant S as MCP Server
    participant GL as GitLab API

    U->>AI: "Create a merge request"
    AI->>S: gitlab_interactive_mr_create
    S-->>U: "Source branch?" (form field)
    U-->>S: "feature/login"
    S-->>U: "Target branch?" (form field)
    U-->>S: "main"
    S-->>U: "Title?" (form field)
    U-->>S: "Fix login redirect"
    S-->>U: "Squash commits?" (checkbox)
    U-->>S: Yes
    S-->>U: "Create MR with these settings?" (confirmation)
    U-->>S: Confirm
    S->>GL: Create merge request
    GL-->>S: MR created
    S-->>AI: MR !123 created successfully

Each step can validate input and adapt the next question based on the previous answer.

Interactive wizards

The server provides wizard-style creation tools:

Tool	Description
`gitlab_interactive_issue_create`	Step-by-step issue creation with project selection, labels, and assignment
`gitlab_interactive_mr_create`	Guided merge request creation with branch selection and options
`gitlab_interactive_release_create`	Release creation wizard with tag and milestone selection
`gitlab_interactive_project_create`	Project creation with namespace selection and configuration

Wizard benefits

Progressive disclosure — Only ask for required fields first, then optional ones
Validation at each step — Catch errors before the final API call
Dependent fields — Later fields can depend on earlier choices (e.g., branches depend on the selected project)
User confirmation — Always confirm before creating the resource

Confirmation for destructive actions

Elicitation is also used for confirmation prompts before destructive operations. When a user requests a delete or other irreversible action, the server can ask for explicit confirmation through the MCP client’s UI.

Requirements

Elicitation requires MCP client support:

Supported: Claude Desktop, Claude Code
Not yet supported: VS Code Copilot, Cursor

Graceful degradation

When elicitation is not available, the server falls back to standard parameterized tools. The AI assistant provides all parameters directly, without the interactive wizard flow. Functionality is preserved — only the interactive experience is reduced.