Tools Overview

GitLab MCP Server exposes GitLab operations as MCP tools that AI assistants can invoke directly. The server offers two operating modes to balance capability with token efficiency.

Operating modes

Individual mode

In individual mode, the server registers 1006 individual tools, each mapping to a single GitLab API operation. This provides maximum granularity but consumes significant LLM context tokens for tool discovery.

Meta-tool mode (default)

In meta-tool mode (META_TOOLS=true), related operations are consolidated into domain-level meta-tools. Each meta-tool accepts an action parameter that routes to the appropriate handler. This reduces the tool count to 42 base meta-tools (or 57 with enterprise features), dramatically improving LLM token efficiency while preserving full functionality.

{
  "tool": "gitlab_issue",
  "arguments": {
    "action": "create",
    "project": "my-group/my-project",
    "title": "Fix login redirect",
    "description": "Users are redirected to 404 after login",
    "labels": "bug,priority::high"
  }
}

Tool naming convention

All tools follow a consistent naming pattern:

Individual tools: gitlab_{action}_{resource} (e.g., gitlab_create_issue, gitlab_list_projects)
Meta-tools: gitlab_{domain} (e.g., gitlab_issue, gitlab_project)

Base meta-tools (42)

Project management

Meta-tool	Description	Key Actions
`gitlab_project`	Project CRUD and configuration	list, get, create, update, delete, archive, unarchive, fork, star, unstar, transfer
`gitlab_issue`	Issue lifecycle management	list, get, create, update, delete, close, reopen, subscribe, move, clone
`gitlab_milestone`	Milestone management	list, get, create, update, delete
`gitlab_label`	Label management	list, get, create, update, delete
`gitlab_issue_link`	Issue relationships	list, create, delete
`gitlab_issue_note`	Issue comments	list, get, create, update, delete
`gitlab_todo`	Todo/task management	list, mark_done, mark_all_done

Code & repository

Meta-tool	Description	Key Actions
`gitlab_branch`	Branch management	list, get, create, delete
`gitlab_protected_branch`	Branch protection rules	list, get, protect, unprotect
`gitlab_commit`	Commit operations	list, get, diff, refs, cherry_pick, revert
`gitlab_tag`	Tag management	list, get, create, delete
`gitlab_file`	Repository file operations	get, create, update, delete, raw
`gitlab_repository`	Repository tree and compare	tree, compare, archive, contributors
`gitlab_merge_request`	Merge request lifecycle	list, get, create, update, merge, close, reopen, rebase, approve, unapprove
`gitlab_mr_note`	MR comments	list, get, create, update, delete
`gitlab_mr_discussion`	MR discussion threads	list, get, create, reply, resolve, unresolve
`gitlab_mr_draft_note`	MR draft notes	list, get, create, update, delete, publish
`gitlab_mr_changes`	MR diff and changes	list, summary
`gitlab_mr_approval`	MR approval rules	get, approve, unapprove, configuration
`gitlab_wiki`	Wiki page management	list, get, create, update, delete

CI/CD

Meta-tool	Description	Key Actions
`gitlab_pipeline`	Pipeline management	list, get, create, cancel, retry, delete, wait
`gitlab_job`	CI job management	list, get, play, cancel, retry, trace, artifacts, wait
`gitlab_pipeline_schedule`	Scheduled pipelines	list, get, create, update, delete, trigger
`gitlab_ci_lint`	CI configuration validation	validate, project_lint
`gitlab_ci_variable`	CI/CD variables	list, get, create, update, delete
`gitlab_environment`	Environment management	list, get, create, update, delete, stop
`gitlab_deployment`	Deployment tracking	list, get
`gitlab_package`	Package registry	list, get, delete

Collaboration

Meta-tool	Description	Key Actions
`gitlab_member`	Project member management	list, get, add, update, remove
`gitlab_group`	Group management	list, get, create, update, delete, projects, subgroups
`gitlab_search`	Cross-resource search	code, issues, merge_requests, projects, users, commits, blobs
`gitlab_user`	User information	get, current, list, status
`gitlab_release`	Release management	list, get, create, update, delete
`gitlab_release_link`	Release asset links	list, get, create, update, delete
`gitlab_upload`	File uploads	upload

Administration & utilities

Meta-tool	Description	Key Actions
`gitlab_health`	Server health check	check, version
`gitlab_server_update`	Self-update management	check, apply
`gitlab_resolve_project`	Git remote to project resolution	resolve

Sampling & analysis

Meta-tool	Description
`gitlab_analyze_mr_changes`	AI analysis of merge request changes
`gitlab_summarize_issue`	AI-powered issue summarization
`gitlab_generate_release_notes`	Automated release notes generation
`gitlab_analyze_pipeline_failure`	Pipeline failure root cause analysis
`gitlab_summarize_mr_review`	MR review summarization
`gitlab_generate_milestone_report`	Milestone progress reporting
`gitlab_analyze_ci_configuration`	CI config quality analysis
`gitlab_analyze_issue_scope`	Issue scope and complexity estimation
`gitlab_review_mr_security`	Security review of MR changes
`gitlab_find_technical_debt`	Technical debt identification
`gitlab_analyze_deployment_history`	Deployment pattern analysis

Enterprise-only tools (15)

When GITLAB_ENTERPRISE=true, the server registers 15 additional meta-tools for GitLab Premium and Ultimate features:

gitlab_merge_train, gitlab_audit_event, gitlab_dora_metrics, gitlab_dependency, gitlab_external_status_check, gitlab_group_scim, gitlab_member_role, gitlab_enterprise_user, gitlab_attestation, gitlab_compliance_policy, gitlab_project_alias, gitlab_geo, gitlab_storage_move, gitlab_vulnerability, gitlab_security_finding