About gl-cli
gl-cli is a command-line route to GitLab operations through zereight-mcp-gitlab, for users who want to run commands without an MCP client. It covers merge-request inspection and documents credential setup and safe write controls.
Key features
- 01Inspect merge requests
- 02View diffs and changed files
- 03Review discussions and pipelines
- 04Check approvals and MR state
- 05Configure credentials and read-only mode
Use cases
- 01Review an MR without an MCP client
- 02Check changed paths before reading a large diff
- 03Verify MR pipelines and approvals
MCP support
The project is both an MCP server and a GitLab CLI. This skill describes the CLI route, which runs commands directly without an MCP client.
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/After installing, type/gl-cliin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMEgl-cli
zereight-mcp-gitlab (alias mcp-gitlab) is both the MCP server and a GitLab CLI. Run it with a command and it prints the result and exits. No MCP client is involved.
Full guide: docs/getting-started/cli-without-mcp.md.
1. Check credentials first
Run this before anything else and read the result:
zereight-mcp-gitlab user whoami
- Prints a user: credentials work, go to step 3.
Missing GitLab credentials(exit 2): go to step 2.401: token expired or under-scoped, redo step 2.command not found:npm install -g @zereight/mcp-gitlab.
2. Authenticate (ask the user which option)
Never invent, guess, or echo a token. Ask the user to run the command themselves, since it needs their secret.
A. Personal Access Token (fastest; scope read_api, or api to write)
read -rs GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN && export GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN
export GITLAB_API_URL=https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4 # omit for gitlab.com
GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN_FILE can point at a token file instead. The process reads it once at startup and trims surrounding whitespace. If GITLAB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN is already non-empty, the file is ignored and a warning is written to stderr.
B. OAuth device flow (needs a GitLab OAuth application ID)
export GITLAB_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=YOUR_APP_ID
zereight-mcp-gitlab auth # open the printed URL, enter the code
export GITLAB_USE_OAUTH=true # needed on every later CLI call
Do not pass the token with --token; arguments are visible in ps.
3. Read merge requests
| Goal | Command |
|---|---|
| List open MRs | mr list --project-id <path|id> --state opened |
| MR summary | mr view --project-id <p> --mr-iid <n> |
| Changed file paths only | mr files --project-id <p> --mr-iid <n> |
| Full diff | mr diff --project-id <p> --mr-iid <n> |
| Review threads | mr discussions --project-id <p> --mr-iid <n> |
| MR pipelines | mr pipelines --project-id <p> --mr-iid <n> |
| Approval state | mr approvals --project-id <p> --mr-iid <n> |
| Anything else | tool <tool_name> --project-id <p> --args-json '{...}' |
Prefix every command with zereight-mcp-gitlab. Add --output json when parsing the result. For large MRs use mr files first, then diff only the files you need.
Required input resolution
Never use placeholders like <project> or 42 from this table in a real call.
If the project or MR number is missing, get it from the user, or discover it with mr list or git remote -v.
Safety
- Default to read-only:
export GITLAB_PERMISSION_MODE=readonly. Writes (mr approve,mr merge,mr note,mr update,mr create) are refused with exit 2. - Destructive commands need
--yes. Only add it after the user confirms that exact action in the current message. - Do not run
mr mergeormr approveunless the user named that action.
Not covered here
For the MCP tool catalog and workflows, use the gitlab-mcp skill. This skill is the CLI route only.