Gitlab MCP vs MCP Gitlab
A side-by-side look at the Gitlab MCP and MCP Gitlab MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Gitlab MCP for version control work; choose MCP Gitlab for version control as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Gitlab MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Version Control domain.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN, GITLAB_API_URL.
Choose MCP Gitlab when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Version Control domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
GITLAB_TOKEN, GITLAB_URL, SSL_CERT_FILE, GITLAB_SSL_VERIFY.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Version Control | Version Control |
| Quality signal | 36/100 · Fair | 40/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Not confirmed yet | Confirmed |
| Transport | — | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKENGITLAB_API_URL | GITLAB_TOKENGITLAB_URLSSL_CERT_FILEGITLAB_SSL_VERIFY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 2,061 | 2 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Gitlab MCP | View MCP Gitlab |
Tools & capabilities
Gitlab MCP tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
MCP Gitlab tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Gitlab MCP
No confirmed install command for Gitlab MCP yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
MCP Gitlab
{
"mcpServers": {
"mcp-gitlab": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-gitlab-crunchtools"
],
"env": {
"GITLAB_TOKEN": "YOUR_GITLAB_TOKEN_HERE",
"GITLAB_URL": "YOUR_GITLAB_URL_HERE",
"SSL_CERT_FILE": "YOUR_SSL_CERT_FILE_HERE",
"GITLAB_SSL_VERIFY": "YOUR_GITLAB_SSL_VERIFY_HERE"
}
}
}
}