MCP GitLab Jira Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for GitLab and Jira integration. This server allows AI agents like gemini-cli to interact with your GitLab and Jira instances.

Features

GitLab

Projects: List all accessible projects or filter them by name.
Merge Requests: List merge requests for a project, get detailed information (including diffs), add comments, and assign reviewers.
Pipeline/CI/CD: Get pipeline status, trigger/retry/cancel pipelines, get job details and logs.
Branch Management: List, create, delete branches and get branch details.
Issue Management: Create, list, update, close issues and manage comments.
Files: Get the content of a specific file at a given SHA.
Releases: List all releases for a project or filter them since a specific version.
Users: List project members, get a user's ID by username, and get user activities.

Jira

Tickets: Get detailed information about a ticket, get comments, add comments, search for tickets using JQL, create new tickets, get available transitions, update tickets, and transition tickets to a new status.
Project Management: Get all projects, project details, components, and versions.

Setup

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+
GitLab Personal Access Token with API access
Jira API Token
Access to a GitLab instance (on-premise or GitLab.com)
Access to a Jira instance

Installation

Install the package globally:
```
npm i -g mcp-gitlab-jira
```

Set up environment variables:

# GitLab
export GITLAB_URL="https://your-gitlab-instance.com"
export GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-personal-access-token"

# Jira
export ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME="your-atlassian-site-name"
export ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL="your-email@example.com"
export ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN="your-jira-api-token"

Test the server manually:

# Test that the server starts without errors
echo '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "id": 1, "method": "tools/list", "params": {}}' | mcp-gitlab-jira

The server should start and log "GitLab/Jira MCP server started" to stderr.

Using with MCP Clients

Configuration for gemini-cli or other MCP clients

Create or update your MCP configuration file (usually ~/.mcp/config.json or similar):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab-jira-mcp": {
      "command": "mcp-gitlab-jira",
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://your-gitlab-instance.com",
        "GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your-personal-access-token",
        "ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME": "your-atlassian-site-name",
        "ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL": "your-email@example.com",
        "ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN": "your-jira-api-token"
      }
    }
  }
}

Running with Docker

You can also run this MCP server in a Docker container using the pre-built image from Docker Hub.

Available Docker Images

The Docker images are automatically built and published to Docker Hub for each release:

Latest release: hainanzhao/mcp-gitlab-jira:latest
Specific versions: hainanzhao/mcp-gitlab-jira:v0.1.2, hainanzhao/mcp-gitlab-jira:v0.1.1, etc.
View all available tags: Docker Hub - mcp-gitlab-jira

The images are built for multiple architectures: linux/amd64 and linux/arm64 (Apple Silicon compatible).

Usage

Pull and run the Docker container:

docker run -d --name mcp-gitlab-jira-container \
  -e GITLAB_URL="https://your-gitlab-instance.com" \
  -e GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-personal-access-token" \
  -e ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME="your-atlassian-site-name" \
  -e ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL="your-email@example.com" \
  -e ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN="your-jira-api-token" \
  hainanzhao/mcp-gitlab-jira:latest

Alternative: Run without persistent container (one-time execution):

docker run --rm -i \
  -e GITLAB_URL="https://your-gitlab-instance.com" \
  -e GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-personal-access-token" \
  -e ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME="your-atlassian-site-name" \
  -e ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL="your-email@example.com" \
  -e ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN="your-jira-api-token" \
  hainanzhao/mcp-gitlab-jira:latest

Using with MCP Clients (Docker)

You have two options for using the Docker container with MCP clients:

Option 1: Using a persistent container (recommended)

First, start the container as shown above, then update your MCP configuration file. The env block is empty because the necessary environment variables are passed directly to the container using the -e flag in the docker run command.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab-jira-mcp": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["exec", "-i", "mcp-gitlab-jira-container", "npm", "start"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Using one-time execution

This runs a new container for each MCP session:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab-jira-mcp": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-e", "GITLAB_URL=https://your-gitlab-instance.com",
        "-e", "GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN=your-personal-access-token",
        "-e", "ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME=your-atlassian-site-name",
        "-e", "ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL=your-email@example.com",
        "-e", "ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN=your-jira-api-token",
        "hainanzhao/mcp-gitlab-jira:latest"
      ],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

GitLab Tools

Core GitLab Tools

gitlab_get_merge_request_details: Fetches detailed information about a GitLab Merge Request, including file diffs.
gitlab_get_file_content: Fetches the content of a specific file at a given SHA in a GitLab project.
gitlab_add_comment_to_merge_request: Adds a comment to a GitLab Merge Request. Can be a general comment, a reply to an existing discussion, or an inline comment on a specific line.
gitlab_list_merge_requests: Lists merge requests for a given GitLab project.
gitlab_assign_reviewers_to_merge_request: Assigns reviewers to a GitLab Merge Request.
gitlab_list_project_members: Lists all members (contributors) of a given GitLab project.
gitlab_list_project_members_by_project_name: Lists all members (contributors) of a given GitLab project by project name.
gitlab_list_projects_by_name: Filters GitLab projects by name using a fuzzy, case-insensitive match.
gitlab_list_all_projects: Lists all accessible GitLab projects.
gitlab_list_all_releases: Fetches releases for a given GitLab project.
gitlab_list_releases_since_version: Filters releases for a given GitLab project since a specific version.
gitlab_get_user_id_by_username: Retrieves the GitLab user ID for a given username.
gitlab_get_user_activities: Fetches activities for a given GitLab user by their username, optionally filtered by date.

GitLab Pipeline/CI/CD Tools

gitlab_get_project_pipelines: Gets pipelines for a GitLab project, optionally filtered by branch/ref.
gitlab_get_merge_request_pipelines: Gets pipelines for a specific GitLab Merge Request.
gitlab_get_pipeline_details: Gets detailed information about a specific pipeline.
gitlab_get_pipeline_jobs: Gets jobs for a specific pipeline.
gitlab_get_job_logs: Gets logs for a specific job.
gitlab_trigger_pipeline: Triggers a new pipeline for a specific branch/ref.
gitlab_retry_pipeline: Retries a failed pipeline.
gitlab_cancel_pipeline: Cancels a running pipeline.

GitLab Branch Management Tools

gitlab_list_branches: Lists all branches in a GitLab project.
gitlab_create_branch: Creates a new branch in a GitLab project.
gitlab_delete_branch: Deletes a branch from a GitLab project.
gitlab_get_branch_details: Gets detailed information about a specific branch.

GitLab Issue Management Tools

gitlab_list_project_issues: Lists issues in a GitLab project.
gitlab_get_issue_details: Gets detailed information about a specific GitLab issue.
gitlab_create_issue: Creates a new issue in a GitLab project.
gitlab_update_issue: Updates an existing GitLab issue.
gitlab_close_issue: Closes a GitLab issue.
gitlab_add_comment_to_issue: Adds a comment to a GitLab issue.
gitlab_get_issue_comments: Gets comments for a GitLab issue.

Jira Tools

Core Jira Tools

jira_get_ticket_details: Fetches comprehensive information about a Jira ticket with flattened fields, including all custom fields with user-friendly names. Automatically filters out empty values and less useful fields (attachments, avatars). Returns both system and custom fields in a clean, flat structure.
jira_get_ticket_comments: Fetches comments for a Jira ticket.
jira_add_comment_to_ticket: Adds a comment to a Jira ticket.
jira_search_tickets_by_jql: Searches for Jira tickets using a JQL (Jira Query Language) string.
jira_create_ticket: Creates a new Jira ticket with given fields.
jira_get_available_transitions: Fetches available transitions for a Jira ticket.
jira_update_ticket: Updates a Jira ticket summary, description, labels.
jira_update_custom_fields: Updates custom fields on a Jira ticket.
jira_update_ticket_priority: Updates the priority value for a Jira ticket. Automatically finds the priority custom field (case-insensitive search for "Priority" or "priority"), fetches the allowed values for that field, and matches the provided priority name using fuzzy string matching. Accepts values like "Critical", "High", "Medium", "Low", etc., and will find the best match from the predefined options.
jira_update_ticket_sprint: Updates the sprint value for a Jira ticket. Automatically finds the sprint custom field (case-insensitive search for "Sprint" or "sprint"), fetches available sprints from the project's boards, and matches the provided sprint name using fuzzy string matching. Accepts values like "Sprint 1", "Bug Fix Sprint", etc., and will find the best match from active and future sprints in the project.
jira_transition_ticket: Transitions a Jira ticket to a new status.
jira_get_all_fields: Fetches the list of all fields from Jira.

Jira Project Management Tools

jira_get_all_projects: Gets all accessible Jira projects.
jira_get_project_details: Gets detailed information about a specific Jira project.
jira_get_project_components: Gets components for a Jira project.
jira_get_project_versions: Gets versions for a Jira project.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Cannot find module" errors: If you are developing locally, make sure you've run npm install and npm run build.
Authentication errors: Verify your GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN, ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL, and ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN have the necessary permissions.
Connection errors: Ensure your GITLAB_URL and ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME are correct and accessible.
Server not responding: Check that the MCP server process is running and the path in your config is correct.

Debug Mode

To see detailed logs, you can run the server directly:

export GITLAB_URL="your-url"
export GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN="your-token"
export ATLASSIAN_SITE_NAME="your-atlassian-site-name"
export ATLASSIAN_USER_EMAIL="your-email@example.com"
export ATLASSIAN_API_TOKEN="your-jira-api-token"
mcp-gitlab-jira

Development

For development, clone the repository and install the dependencies.

npm install
npm run build

Local Docker Development

To test the Docker build locally before pushing:

# Build and test the Docker image locally
./scripts/build-docker-local.sh

This script will build the Docker image and run basic tests to ensure it works correctly.

For maintainers: See Docker Setup Guide for information about setting up automated Docker Hub publishing.

Project Structure

src/index.ts: Main MCP server implementation
src/gitlab.service.ts: GitLab API client
src/gitlab.ts: GitLab type definitions
src/jira.service.ts: Jira API client
src/jira.ts: Jira type definitions
dist/: Compiled JavaScript output

Adding New Features

Add new methods to the GitLabService or JiraService class.
Define new tools in the allTools array in index.ts.
Add a corresponding case in the tool handler in index.ts.
Rebuild with npm run build.

License

ISC