Verify a released Codex plugin

Use the installation guide for setup. This procedure checks the installed release, both connection modes and the boundaries between clients. A passing command-line check does not establish that desktop installation, browser sign-in or native settings work.

Prerequisites and evidence

Use the ZIP and checksum from the same GitHub release. Record the release tag, ZIP SHA-256, operating system, Node version, desktop app version and Codex CLI version. The configurable plugin requires Node.js 24 or later, including when connecting to an existing HTTP server. The release ZIP includes its production dependencies; the repository marketplace downloads the pinned npm runtime instead.

Use only a designated test project. Keep tokens in credential fields and test configuration, never in prompts or screenshots. Remove private URLs, account names and project data from screenshots before sharing them. Do not execute Duo flows or consume credits as part of qualification.

For each check record verified, failed, or not run or blocked, with the observed result. Keep desktop evidence separate from automated evidence. Record the backend release as well as the plugin release when testing a remote server.

Recorded automated check

On 2026-11-01, release gitlab-mcp-v13.1.0 passed the package and native CLI lifecycle checks below on macOS 27.0.1 with Node.js 26.8.1 and Codex CLI 0.166.0-alpha.5.1. Its ZIP SHA-256 was fcbd89cdfc70bf073981c0fbbda431f8508539cc896a2e769d1d306cc1e5692d.

All 28 connection/authentication contracts passed. The separate live read-only check returned the same account through local stdio and loopback HTTP. Desktop UI acceptance and an independent production HTTP deployment were not established by these checks. Repeat qualification for the next published artifact; these results do not qualify the unreleased 13.2.0 package.

Automated package and lifecycle checks

This qualification command requires Node.js 24+, workspace dependencies, a Codex CLI executable and unzip available on PATH. The unzip requirement also applies when running qualification on Windows; it is separate from extracting the release ZIP through a desktop file manager.

Install Corepack, run corepack enable, and run yarn install --immutable at the repository root first. This activates the Yarn version declared by the repository.

From packages/gitlab-mcp:

yarn build
yarn qualify:codex-plugin --archive /path/to/gitlab-mcp-codex.zip --codex /path/to/codex

Place gitlab-mcp-codex.zip.sha256 beside the ZIP. This verifies the checksum, extracts the actual artifact, runs its connection/authentication contracts, and uses the real Codex CLI in a temporary home for install, disable, enable, upgrade, reinstall and uninstall. Unrelated Codex settings and seeded Claude configuration must remain unchanged. The simulated upgrade stays inside that temporary home; it does not publish a release or modify the input ZIP.

Optional read-only provider qualification uses the existing protected test configuration:

node --env-file=.env.test scripts/qualify-codex-plugin.mjs --archive /path/to/gitlab-mcp-codex.zip --live

It reads the GitLab profile through the installed runtime in local mode and through a temporary loopback HTTP core, checks that the account agrees, then disconnects. It does not verify an operator's production OAuth deployment or a desktop UI.

CI already checks the built archive, connection contracts, installed CLI lifecycle and generated repository marketplace. Authenticated skill evaluations are separate: see workflow qualification.

Desktop acceptance

Follow the installation guide with a released archive. Use the app's Plugins Directory to confirm installation, not a manually added MCP server alone.

1. Installation: confirm the plugin's name and release version. Check that no old standalone registration hides its server or duplicates tools. Open a fresh chat with the installed plugin enabled.
2. Unconfigured startup: open plugin settings and choose Set up, change or reconnect GitLab. The connection panel must open before a backend is configured.
3. Local mode: choose GitLab instance, run MCP locally, enter the test GitLab address and token in the panel, and connect. Verify the displayed account and instance. Ask to identify the account, find the test project and read its README.
4. Remote mode: choose Existing GitLab MCP server and enter the test endpoint. For OAuth, continue browser sign-in, authorize, then refresh status. Verify the account and repeat the project read. Record denied sign-in separately: it must not replace a previously saved connection or expose provider response bodies.
5. Backend settings: inspect account defaults, choose a project scope for this chat, and enable read-only mode. Read the chosen project. A requested mutation must be refused before it changes GitLab. Reset the chat and verify that account defaults are restored. Use only disposable test data for authorized write checks.
6. Normal work: inspect a test MR and its discussions, read a work item and inspect a failed pipeline with bounded job logs. Check that the selected project and account stay correct throughout. Do not repeat an uncertain write.
7. Recovery: cancel an unfinished replacement, reconnect the saved connection, restart the app and read the project again. Test invalid credentials and insufficient scopes with dedicated test credentials. Use the connection diagnostics and restore the working connection through the panel.
8. Two clients: keep Codex and Claude Code connected to the same backend. Select a different chat scope or linked account in one session and verify that the other keeps its own selection. Verify standalone Claude stdio separately. Account defaults deliberately apply across clients using that account unless a chat overrides them; connection-panel selection is shared by this user's local plugin processes. These shared settings are not isolation failures.
9. Lifecycle: install the next released version and reconnect. Check identity and settings again. Disable the plugin, then enable it and repeat a read. Before uninstalling, disconnect if saved credentials should be erased. Remove the plugin and confirm that its tools disappear while Claude configuration remains.

Capture the plugin/version screen, connected panel, backend settings and one successful test-project read. Do not manufacture desktop screenshots from a browser preview or treat the CLI lifecycle as desktop acceptance.

Surface and runtime boundaries

Surface	What to verify	Boundary
Codex desktop, configurable plugin	Both connection modes, panel, settings, real reads, lifecycle	Requires Node.js 24+ and local access to the selected backend
Codex CLI, installed plugin	Artifact installation, MCP discovery and lifecycle	Does not prove desktop panel rendering or browser sign-in
Codex standalone MCP	Registration and normal GitLab tools	Does not install the configurable plugin
Claude Code	Existing stdio/HTTP setup and normal workflows	Claude Channels remain specific to Claude Code
Claude Desktop MCPB	Install its separate release bundle and exercise MCP	Codex ZIP and MCPB are different artifacts
Codex cloud or ChatGPT web	Qualify independently if advertised	A local stdio plugin is desktop-only

Run deterministic protocol tests for GitLab 16.0 separately from a current real test instance. For replicated remote deployments, verify session storage and account isolation on the shared backend; a single local process is not an HA test. No platform or surface is verified merely because another row passed.