Compatibility
GitLab edition compatibility
Section titled “GitLab edition compatibility”GitLab MCP Server works with both Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE). The Enterprise/Premium catalog unlocks 16 additional enterprise-only meta-tools: set GITLAB_TIER=premium (or GITLAB_TIER=ultimate) in stdio mode, use --tier=premium/--tier=ultimate in HTTP mode, or rely on auto-detection from GET /license (fallback free). The legacy boolean GITLAB_ENTERPRISE=true (stdio) and --enterprise (HTTP) flags are still honored for back-compat but are deprecated.
| Feature | Community (CE) | Enterprise (EE) |
|---|---|---|
| Projects, Issues, MRs, Pipelines, CI/CD | ✅ | ✅ |
| Wikis, Labels, Milestones, Releases | ✅ | ✅ |
| Users, Groups, Members, Search | ✅ | ✅ |
| Deployments, Environments, Packages | ✅ | ✅ |
| 32 base meta-tools | ✅ | ✅ |
| 45 resources, 37 prompts | ✅ | ✅ |
| Merge Trains | ❌ | ✅ |
| DORA Metrics | ❌ | ✅ |
| Vulnerability Management | ❌ | ✅ |
| Audit Events | ❌ | ✅ |
| Compliance Policies | ❌ | ✅ |
| +16 enterprise meta-tools | ❌ | ✅ |
To enable enterprise features in stdio mode, set GITLAB_TIER=premium or GITLAB_TIER=ultimate. In HTTP mode, set --tier=premium/--tier=ultimate to force the Enterprise/Premium catalog, or omit it to let the server auto-detect CE/EE per token+URL entry when GitLab reports edition. The legacy GITLAB_ENTERPRISE=true (stdio) and --enterprise (HTTP) flags are still honored for back-compat.
Platform support
Section titled “Platform support”Pre-built binaries are available for all major platforms:
| OS | Architecture | Binary |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | amd64 | gitlab-mcp-server-linux-amd64 |
| Linux | arm64 | gitlab-mcp-server-linux-arm64 |
| macOS | amd64 (Intel) | gitlab-mcp-server-darwin-amd64 |
| macOS | arm64 (Apple Silicon) | gitlab-mcp-server-darwin-arm64 |
| Windows | amd64 | gitlab-mcp-server-windows-amd64.exe |
| Windows | arm64 | gitlab-mcp-server-windows-arm64.exe |
MCP client compatibility
Section titled “MCP client compatibility”Any client supporting the Model Context Protocol stdio transport can use this server. Tested clients:
| Client | Transport | Status |
|---|---|---|
| VS Code + GitHub Copilot | stdio | ✅ |
| Claude Desktop | stdio | ✅ |
| Cursor | stdio | ✅ |
| Claude Code (CLI) | stdio | ✅ |
| Windsurf | stdio | ✅ |
| JetBrains IDEs | stdio | ✅ |
| Zed | stdio | ✅ |
| Kiro | stdio | ✅ |
| Any Streamable HTTP client | HTTP | ✅ |
MCP protocol features
Section titled “MCP protocol features”GitLab MCP Server implements the full set of MCP capabilities beyond tools — resources, prompts, completions, elicitation, and progress notifications — so compatible clients get contextual data, prompt templates, and argument autocompletion in addition to tool calls.
| Capability | Supported |
|---|---|
| Tools | ✅ (up to 1065 self-managed Enterprise / 1071 GitLab.com + Orbit individual / 32 base, 49 self-managed, 50 GitLab.com meta) |
| Resources | ✅ (45) |
| Prompts | ✅ (37) |
| Completions | ✅ (17 argument types) |
| Elicitation | ✅ |
| Progress | ✅ |
The 1065 self-managed and 1071 GitLab.com figures are the expanded set of distinct tool instances. The 32 base, 49 self-managed, and 50 GitLab.com counts are meta-tool catalog sizes whose actions expand to that larger individual tool surface.
Frequently asked questions
Section titled “Frequently asked questions”Does GitLab MCP Server work with GitLab Community Edition?
Section titled “Does GitLab MCP Server work with GitLab Community Edition?”Yes. GitLab MCP Server works with both Community Edition (CE) and Enterprise Edition (EE). On CE it exposes the full base catalog — 32 base meta-tools, 45 resources, and 37 prompts — covering projects, issues, merge requests, pipelines, CI/CD, wikis, releases, users, groups, search, deployments, environments, and packages. Enterprise-only features such as merge trains, DORA metrics, vulnerability management, audit events, and compliance policies require a Premium or Ultimate license and are not available on CE.
How do I enable Enterprise tools?
Section titled “How do I enable Enterprise tools?”Set the licensing tier explicitly or let the server auto-detect it. In stdio mode, set GITLAB_TIER=premium or GITLAB_TIER=ultimate; in HTTP mode pass --tier=premium or --tier=ultimate. When the tier is omitted, the server auto-detects the edition from GET /license per token+URL entry, falling back to free. Forcing the Enterprise/Premium catalog adds 16 enterprise-only meta-tools. The legacy GITLAB_ENTERPRISE=true (stdio) and --enterprise (HTTP) flags are still honored for back-compat but are deprecated.
Which operating systems and architectures are supported?
Section titled “Which operating systems and architectures are supported?”Pre-built binaries are available for Linux, macOS, and Windows on both amd64 and arm64 — six binaries in total. macOS ships separate Intel (amd64) and Apple Silicon (arm64) builds. Each platform is a single static binary with no runtime dependencies.
Which MCP clients are compatible with GitLab MCP Server?
Section titled “Which MCP clients are compatible with GitLab MCP Server?”Any client that supports the Model Context Protocol can use GitLab MCP Server. Tested stdio clients include VS Code + GitHub Copilot, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Claude Code (CLI), Windsurf, JetBrains IDEs, Zed, and Kiro. Any Streamable HTTP client can connect through HTTP mode. The server also supports MCP resources (45), prompts (37), completions (17 argument types), elicitation, and progress notifications.