| name | gitlab |
| description | Manage GitLab repositories — create and review merge requests, check CI pipeline status, search code, manage issues, and approve or merge changes. Use this skill for any GitLab project workflow including code review, releases, and hotfixes, even if the user doesn't explicitly say GitLab or MR. |
| compatibility | Requires GitLab MCP server and/or `glab` CLI. |
| allowed-tools | mcp__gitlab__*, Bash(git:*), Bash(glab:*), Bash(cat:*), Read |
GitLab
Two surfaces. MCP = read + search. glab = write (lifecycle, comments, CI watching).
MCP docs: https://docs.gitlab.com/user/gitlab_duo/model_context_protocol/mcp_server_tools/
Pick the right tool
| Task | Tool |
|---|
| Approve/merge/close/update MR | glab (MCP can't write to MRs) |
| Create MR | glab if local branch, else MCP |
| Read MR / diff / commits / pipelines | MCP |
| Comment on MR/issue | glab mr note or MCP create_workitem_note |
| Semantic code search | MCP semantic_code_search |
| Search issues/MRs/notes/blobs/commits | MCP search |
| Live CI status | glab ci status --live |
| Link work items | MCP link_work_items |
| Bulk approve | glab mr approve <id> -R <repo> in parallel |
MCP tools
- MRs:
create_merge_request, get_merge_request, get_merge_request_commits, get_merge_request_diffs, get_merge_request_pipelines, get_merge_request_conflicts. No approve/merge/close/update — use glab.
- Issues / work items:
create_issue, get_issue, create_workitem_note, get_workitem_notes, link_work_items (relates_to/blocks/blocked_by), get_saved_view_work_items.
- Pipelines:
manage_pipeline (list/create/retry/cancel/delete), get_pipeline_jobs.
- Search:
search (scopes: issues, merge_requests, blobs, commits, notes, users, projects), search_labels, semantic_code_search.
- Misc:
get_mcp_server_version.
Auth: OAuth on first use.
glab CLI rules
- Always pass
--yes on create/update/merge — without it glab errors with "Unable to confirm: could not prompt".
- With
--yes, also pass --fill or --title (otherwise: "--Title or --fill required").
- Never auto-commit/push untracked files. Run
git status first; ask the user before adding.
- MR creator = authenticated
glab user (no flag changes this).
@me = current user. Branch names work wherever an MR number does.- Other repo:
-R group/project.
- JSON output:
--output json.
Auth: glab auth status to check. glab auth login --hostname gitlab.com to log in (pick Web). If it tries github.com, the --hostname flag is required.
glab cheatsheet
glab mr create --fill --yes --assignee @me
glab mr create --fill --yes --assignee @me --reviewer user --label foo --draft
template=$(cat .gitlab/merge_request_templates/default.md 2>/dev/null)
glab mr create --title "..." --description "$template" --assignee @me --yes
glab mr view [123|branch] --comments
glab mr view --web
glab mr note [123] -m "comment"
glab mr list --assignee=@me
glab mr list --reviewer=@me --label needs-review --draft
glab mr approve 123 [-R group/project]
glab mr revoke 123
glab mr merge 123 --squash --remove-source-branch
glab mr close 123
glab mr update 123 --ready --reviewer user
glab ci status [--compact|--live]
grep -i "name" .gitlab/CODEOWNERS
Workflows
Draft → ready: glab mr create --fill --yes --draft --assignee @me → glab ci status --live → glab mr update --ready --reviewer user.
Hotfix: glab mr create --fill --yes --assignee @me --reviewer lead --label hotfix → glab ci status --live → glab mr merge --squash --remove-source-branch.
Review: glab mr list --reviewer=@me → glab mr view 123 --comments → glab mr approve 123.
Rules
Conventional Commits: Use Conventional Commits for all commit messages and MR titles.
Simple branch names: Use feat/, fix/, docs/, ci/, or chore/ prefixes followed by a short slug (e.g. feat/oauth-retry). No ticket IDs, team names, or usernames.
Never commit to main: Always branch, commit, push, and create an MR. The only exception is glab mr merge. No direct pushes to main or master.
Concise MR descriptions: Lead with the purpose of the change, then add only what a reviewer needs — links to related MRs/issues, code snippets highlighting key points, before/after notes. Skip checklists unless they track work inside this MR.
