Updated April 2026

Install CERN GitLab MCP Server

Pick your client, copy the command, done.

Run this in a terminal.

Run in terminal

claude mcp add cern-gitlab-mcp -- uvx cerngitlab-mcp

Environment Variables

Set these before running CERN GitLab MCP Server.

VariableDescriptionRequired

CERNGITLAB_GITLAB_URLGitLab instance URLNo

CERNGITLAB_TOKENPersonal access token for private project accessNo

CERNGITLAB_TIMEOUTHTTP timeout in secondsNo

CERNGITLAB_MAX_RETRIESMax retries for failed requestsNo

CERNGITLAB_RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTEAPI rate limitNo

CERNGITLAB_LOG_LEVELLogging levelNo

CERNGITLAB_DEFAULT_REFDefault Git branch or tag to search withinNo

Once configured, CERN GitLab MCP Server gives your AI agent access to:

search_codeSearch for code within CERN GitLab repositories.

queryproject_id

search_issuesSearch for issues within CERN GitLab repositories.

queryproject_id

get_wiki_pagesRetrieve wiki pages from a project.

project_id

After setup, try these prompts with your AI agent:

→Search for recent code implementations related to Higgs boson analysis in the CERN GitLab repositories.

→Find all open issues related to the Python dependency configuration in the main HEP analysis project.

→Retrieve the documentation from the project wiki for the latest C++ analysis framework.

→List the contents of the repository and identify any .root binary files.

Prerequisites & system requirements

An MCP-compatible client (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, or Codex)
Python 3.8+ with pip installed

Alternative installation methods

pip install cerngitlab-mcp

Save the docs, env vars, and workflow around CERN GitLab MCP Server in Conare so Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor remember it next time.