Local stdio Deployment

Run GitLab MCP locally via standard I/O. The MCP client spawns the server process directly, without a local HTTP listener or container. The server still needs network access to GitLab.

When to Use

Personal use with a single AI IDE client
Simplest possible setup
No Docker required
No network exposure

Setup

Via Setup Wizard

bash

npx @structured-world/gitlab-mcp init

Manual Configuration

Add to your MCP client config:

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitlab": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@structured-world/gitlab-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "glpat-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx",
        "GITLAB_API_URL": "https://gitlab.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

How It Works

┌─────────────────┐     stdio      ┌─────────────────┐
│   MCP Client    │ ◄────────────► │  gitlab-mcp     │
│  (Claude, etc.) │   stdin/stdout │  (child process) │
└─────────────────┘                └─────────────────┘
                                          │
                                          │ HTTPS
                                          ▼
                                   ┌─────────────────┐
                                   │  GitLab API     │
                                   └─────────────────┘

MCP client starts gitlab-mcp as a child process
Communication happens via stdin/stdout (JSON-RPC)
The server connects to the GitLab API using the configured token

Configuration Options

All configuration is via environment variables in the env object:

Variable	Required	Description
`GITLAB_TOKEN`	Yes	Personal Access Token
`GITLAB_API_URL`	No	GitLab instance URL (default: `https://gitlab.com`)
`GITLAB_PROJECT_ID`	No	Default project context
`GITLAB_READ_ONLY_MODE`	No	Restrict to read-only tools

See Configuration reference for all options.

Limitations

One server process per MCP client; that process can use several configured GitLab instances
No shared access between users
No OAuth support (token-based only)
Process lifecycle tied to the MCP client

Alternatives

If you need multi-user access or OAuth, consider:

Docker standalone — HTTP access without persistence
Docker Compose — Full production setup

Local stdio Deployment ​

When to Use ​

Setup ​

Via Setup Wizard ​

Manual Configuration ​

How It Works ​

Configuration Options ​

Limitations ​

Alternatives ​

See Also ​