lab_dev-mcp-gitlab

Enhanced Developer Experience with AI and GitLab Integration

This project aims to enhance the developer experience by integrating AI capabilities with GitLab using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This integration allows developers to leverage AI-powered assistance directly within their workflow to increase productivity and automate routine tasks.

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose
VSCode or VSCodium IDE
GitLab Personal Access Token

Environment Setup

Copy the environment template:
```
cp .env.example .env
```
Add your GitLab credentials to the .env file:
```
GITLAB_TOKEN=your-gitlab-token-here
```

Start Services

Start the GitLab and MCP server:

docker-compose up -d

View real-time logs:

docker-compose logs -f

Access Services

GitLab: http://localhost:8080
MCP Server: http://localhost:3002
Documentation: Use ./scripts/serve-docs.sh

📚 Documentation

Serve Locally

To serve the documentation locally, run:

./scripts/serve-docs.sh

or directly with MkDocs using:

mkdocs serve

Key Documentation

Design Documentation: Explore system architecture and component design
Use Cases: Discover practical implementation scenarios
Implementation Guides: Learn setup and configuration procedures

🐳 Docker Services

GitLab MCP Server

Image: iwakitakuma/gitlab-mcp:latest
Port: 3002
Features: Project management, issues, merge requests, pipelines, and wiki

GitLab CE

Image: gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest
Ports: 8080 (HTTP), 2222 (SSH), 443 (HTTPS)
Features: Complete instance, container registry, and pages

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`GITLAB_TOKEN`	GitLab Personal Access Token	Required
`GITLAB_API_URL`	GitLab API endpoint	`http://gitlab/api/v4`
`GITLAB_READ_ONLY_MODE`	Restrict to read operations	`false`
`USE_GITLAB_WIKI`	Enable wiki functionality	`true`
`USE_MILESTONE`	Enable milestone management	`true`
`USE_PIPELINE`	Enable pipeline operations	`true`

AI Tool Integration

Claude Desktop Setup

Configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "GitLab communication server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@zereight/mcp-gitlab"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-token",
        "GITLAB_API_URL": "https://gitlab.com/api/v4"
      }
    }
  }
}

VSCode with Cline

Configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "GitLab-MCP": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@zereight/mcp-gitlab"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

🛠️ Development

Directory Structure

.
├── docs/                   # MkDocs documentation
│   ├── design/            # Architectural design
│   ├── use-cases/         # Use case documentation
│   └── implementation/    # Setup and configuration guides
├── nginx/                 # Nginx configurations
├── scripts/               # Utility scripts
├── docker-compose.yml     # Service orchestration file
├── mkdocs.yml            # MkDocs configuration
└── .env.example          # Environment template

Management Scripts

To start the documentation server, run ./scripts/serve-docs.sh

Docker Commands

# Start all services
docker-compose up -d

# View status
docker-compose ps

# Follow logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop services
docker-compose down

# Rebuild services
docker-compose up -d --build

📊 Features

GitLab Integration

✔️ Comprehensive project and repository management
✔️ Issue tracking and management
✔️ Merge request workflows
✔️ CI/CD pipeline operations
⚙️ Optional: Wiki management
⚙️ Optional: Milestone tracking

AI Capabilities

Code Review: AI-assisted merge request analysis
Issue Triage: Automated categorization and assignment
Documentation: Automated README and wiki generation
Code Suggestion: AI-based code generation
Pipeline Optimization: Performance improvements

IDE Support

Claude Desktop: Native MCP integration
VSCode + Cline: Plugin-based integration
Cursor: Built-in support
Roo Code: Configuration-based setup

📈 Recommendation for Production MCP Server

Key Criteria for Choosing an MCP Server

Performance: Look for servers with high responsiveness, stability under load, and effective concurrency handling.
Scalability: Ensure the MCP server supports horizontal and vertical scaling to handle increased workloads.
Monitoring and Optimization: Include comprehensive monitoring tools and plan for ongoing performance tuning.

Performance Insights

Refer to the Performance Analysis for detailed benchmarks and results:

Response Time: Average 95ms for standard operations
Throughput: Sustained at 1,000+ requests per minute
Scalability: Effective up to 10,000 concurrent users

For further exploration, see:

Enterprise Scenarios: Enterprise Use Cases
Best Practices: Security and Performance Best Practices

🔐 Security and Configuration

Access Token Setup

Go to GitLab → User Settings → Access Tokens
Create a token with required scopes:
- api: Full API access
- read_repository: Repository read access
- write_repository (optional): Write access

Enabling Read-Only Mode

To improve security, activate read-only mode:

GITLAB_READ_ONLY_MODE=true

🚀 Use Cases

AI-Assisted Code Review: Automated quality analysis
Intelligent Issue Management: Smart categorization and assignment
Automated Documentation: Project documentation generation
Pipeline Optimization: CI/CD performance improvements
Code Migration: Framework upgrade assistance

📖 Documentation

Access the complete documentation:

Setup Guide: [docs/implementation/setup.md]
Docker Configuration: [docs/implementation/docker-compose.md]
MCP Integration: [docs/implementation/mcp-integration.md]
Use Cases: [docs/use-cases/use-cases.md]

🤝 Contributing

For contributing guidelines, see Contributing Guide.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

🔗 Links

Explore AI-enhanced GitLab development today! 🚀