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

1. 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

1. Go to GitLab → User Settings → Access Tokens
2. 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

1. AI-Assisted Code Review: Automated quality analysis
2. Intelligent Issue Management: Smart categorization and assignment
3. Automated Documentation: Project documentation generation
4. Pipeline Optimization: CI/CD performance improvements
5. 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

• GitLab MCP Server
• Model Context Protocol
• MkDocs Material
• Docker Compose

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Explore AI-enhanced GitLab development today! 🚀