How to integrate Gitea MCP with Claude Code

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Introduction

Manage your Gitea directly from Claude Code with zero worries about OAuth hassles, API-breaking issues, or reliability and security concerns.

You can do this in two different ways:

  1. Via Rube - Direct and easiest approach
  2. Via Composio SDK - Programmatic approach with more control

Why Rube?

Rube is a universal MCP server with access to 850+ SaaS apps. It ensures just-in-time tool loading so Claude can access the tools it needs, a remote workbench for programmatic tool calling and handling large tool responses out of the LLM context window, ensuring the LLM context window remains clean.

Connect Gitea to Claude Code with Rube

1. Get the MCP URL

Copy and paste the below command in Claude Code to add Rube MCP.

Terminal

2. Authenticate Rube

Run /mcp to view Rube

bash
/mcp
Run /mcp to view Rube in Claude Code
Click on Rube to authenticate
Authentication flow complete

3. Ensure it's connected

Run /mcp again to verify the connection. Now, do whatever you want with Claude Code and Gitea.

Rube connected successfully

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Get ActivityPub Person ActorTool to retrieve the ActivityPub Person actor for a Gitea user.
Get General API SettingsTool to retrieve the Gitea instance's global API settings including pagination limits and response size constraints.
Get General Attachment SettingsTool to retrieve the Gitea instance's global settings for file attachments including enabled status, allowed file types, size limits, and file count limits.
Get General Repository SettingsTool to retrieve the Gitea instance's global settings for repositories including feature flags for mirroring, HTTP Git, migrations, stars, time tracking, and LFS.
Get General UI SettingsTool to retrieve the Gitea instance's global settings for UI including default theme, allowed reactions, and custom emojis.
Get Gitignore Template InfoTool to retrieve information about a specific gitignore template.
Get Label Template InfoTool to retrieve all labels from a specific label template.
Get License Template InfoTool to retrieve information about a specific license template.
Get Node InfoTool to retrieve the nodeinfo of the Gitea application.
Get Signing KeyTool to retrieve the default GPG signing key used by Gitea to sign commits.
Get VersionTool to retrieve the version of the Gitea application.
List Gitignore TemplatesTool to retrieve all available gitignore templates.
List Label TemplatesTool to retrieve all available label templates.
List License TemplatesTool to retrieve all available license templates.
Get All OrganizationsTool to retrieve a paginated list of all organizations in the Gitea instance.
List Organization Actions SecretsTool to list all action secrets for an organization.
Render MarkdownTool to render a markdown document as HTML with configurable rendering modes and context.
Render Markdown RawTool to render raw markdown text as HTML.
Render MarkupTool to render a markup document as HTML with support for multiple markup formats.

What is the Gitea MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Gitea MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Gitea account. It provides structured and secure access so your agent can perform Gitea operations on your behalf.

Connecting Gitea via Tool Router

Tool Router is the underlying tech that powers Rube. It's a universal gateway that does everything Rube does but with much more programmatic control. You can programmatically generate an MCP URL with the app you need (here Gitea) for even more tool search precision. It's secure and reliable.

How the Tool Router works

The Tool Router follows a three-phase workflow:

  1. Discovery: Searches for tools matching your task and returns relevant toolkits with their details.
  2. Authentication: Checks for active connections. If missing, creates an auth config and returns a connection URL via Auth Link.
  3. Execution: Executes the action using the authenticated connection.

Step-by-step Guide

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:
  • Claude Pro, Max, or API billing enabled Anthropic account
  • Composio API Key
  • A Gitea account
  • Basic knowledge of Python or TypeScript

Install Claude Code

bash
# macOS, Linux, WSL
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

# Windows PowerShell
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

# Windows CMD
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

To install Claude Code, use one of the following methods based on your operating system:

Set up Claude Code

bash
cd your-project-folder
claude

Open a terminal, go to your project folder, and start Claude Code:

  • Claude Code will open in your terminal
  • Follow the prompts to sign in with your Anthropic account
  • Complete the authentication flow
  • Once authenticated, you can start using Claude Code
Claude Code initial setup showing sign-in prompt
Claude Code terminal after successful login

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here
USER_ID=your_user_id_here

Create a .env file in your project root with the following variables:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio (get it from Composio dashboard)
  • USER_ID identifies the user for session management (use any unique identifier)

Install Composio library

pip install composio-core python-dotenv

Install the Composio Python library to create MCP sessions.

  • composio-core provides the core Composio functionality
  • python-dotenv loads environment variables from your .env file

Generate Composio MCP URL

import os
from composio import Composio
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
USER_ID = os.getenv("USER_ID")

composio_client = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)

composio_session = composio_client.create(
    user_id=USER_ID,
    toolkits=["gitea"],
)

COMPOSIO_MCP_URL = composio_session.mcp.url

print(f"MCP URL: {COMPOSIO_MCP_URL}")
print(f"\nUse this command to add to Claude Code:")
print(f'claude mcp add --transport http gitea-composio "{COMPOSIO_MCP_URL}" --headers "X-API-Key:{COMPOSIO_API_KEY}"')

Create a script to generate a Composio MCP URL for Gitea. This URL will be used to connect Claude Code to Gitea.

What's happening:
  • We import the Composio client and load environment variables
  • Create a Composio instance with your API key
  • Call create() to create a Tool Router session for Gitea
  • The returned mcp.url is the MCP server URL that Claude Code will use
  • The script prints this URL so you can copy it

Run the script and copy the MCP URL

python generate_mcp_url.py

Run your Python script to generate the MCP URL.

  • The script connects to Composio and creates a Tool Router session
  • It prints the MCP URL and the exact command you need to run
  • Copy the entire claude mcp add command from the output

Add Gitea MCP to Claude Code

bash
claude mcp add --transport http gitea-composio "YOUR_MCP_URL_HERE" --headers "X-API-Key:YOUR_COMPOSIO_API_KEY"

# Then restart Claude Code
exit
claude

In your terminal, add the MCP server using the command from the previous step. The command format is:

  • claude mcp add registers a new MCP server with Claude Code
  • --transport http specifies that this is an HTTP-based MCP server
  • The server name (gitea-composio) is how you'll reference it
  • The URL points to your Composio Tool Router session
  • --headers includes your Composio API key for authentication

After running the command, close the current Claude Code session and start a new one for the changes to take effect.

Verify the installation

bash
claude mcp list

Check that your Gitea MCP server is properly configured.

  • This command lists all MCP servers registered with Claude Code
  • You should see your gitea-composio entry in the list
  • This confirms that Claude Code can now access Gitea tools

If everything is wired up, you should see your gitea-composio entry listed:

Claude Code MCP list showing the toolkit MCP server

Authenticate Gitea

The first time you try to use Gitea tools, you'll be prompted to authenticate.

  • Claude Code will detect that you need to authenticate with Gitea
  • It will show you an authentication link
  • Open the link in your browser (or copy/paste it)
  • Complete the Gitea authorization flow
  • Return to the terminal and start using Gitea through Claude Code

Once authenticated, you can ask Claude Code to perform Gitea operations in natural language. For example:

  • "List all open issues in my repository"
  • "Create a new pull request for dev branch"
  • "Get commit history for a specific file"

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Gitea and Claude Code:

import os
from composio import Composio
from dotenv import load_dotenv

load_dotenv()

COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
USER_ID = os.getenv("USER_ID")

composio_client = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)

composio_session = composio_client.create(
    user_id=USER_ID,
    toolkits=["gitea"],
)

COMPOSIO_MCP_URL = composio_session.mcp.url

print(f"MCP URL: {COMPOSIO_MCP_URL}")
print(f"\nUse this command to add to Claude Code:")
print(f'claude mcp add --transport http gitea-composio "{COMPOSIO_MCP_URL}" --headers "X-API-Key:{COMPOSIO_API_KEY}"')

Conclusion

You've successfully integrated Gitea with Claude Code using Composio's MCP server. Now you can interact with Gitea directly from your terminal using natural language commands.

Key features of this setup:

  • Terminal-native experience without switching contexts
  • Natural language commands for Gitea operations
  • Secure authentication through Composio's managed MCP
  • Tool Router for dynamic tool discovery and execution

Next steps:

  • Try asking Claude Code to perform various Gitea operations
  • Add more toolkits to your Tool Router session for multi-app workflows
  • Integrate this setup into your development workflow for increased productivity

You can extend this by adding more toolkits, implementing custom workflows, or building automation scripts that leverage Claude Code's capabilities.

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FAQ

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Gitea MCP?

With a standalone Gitea MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Gitea tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Gitea and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Can I use Tool Router MCP with Claude Code?

Yes, you can. Claude Code fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Gitea tools.

Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Gitea while using Tool Router?

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Gitea scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router?

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Gitea data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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