How to integrate Gitlab MCP with DeepSeek Harness

Connect DeepSeek Harness to Gitlab MCP. Create new gitlab group for qa team, open bug issue in frontend project, and more using natural language, with authentication handled for you.

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Gitlab

Oauth2

Gitlab is a web-based DevOps platform for managing source code, issues, and CI/CD pipelines. It streamlines software development with integrated collaboration and automation tools.

58 Tools

Managed auth

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Introduction

DeepSeek Harness (dsh) is an open-source agent runtime from DeepSeek AI, and every part of it is a plugin, so you can swap out the model adapter, the tool registry, or the agent loop. It runs on the Cordis framework and comes with a local Web UI, a headless CLI runner, and a Python SDK. You can point it at DeepSeek V4-Pro and V4-Flash, or at Anthropic, OpenAI, and other OpenAI-compatible providers. It is MIT licensed and still in developer preview.

This guide shows how to connect your Gitlab account to DeepSeek Harness, and you can do it with either the Composio Connect CLI or the Composio Connect MCP. The dsh-base bundle gives shell execution as a first-class tool, so the CLI is the easiest path for personal use. It is quick to set up and needs no server config, and the MCP path works well too, since the harness comes with a built-in MCP client.

What is Composio Connect?

Composio Connect lets anyone plug 1,000+ applications directly into their agent harness, including DeepSeek Harness, through a single hosted MCP endpoint. Each task runs as a session, a scoped runtime that ties together the user, the available toolkits, authentication, and execution state. It can:

Discover and load tools on-demand. A small set of meta tools lets the agent search for the right tool at runtime, so you never load hundreds of tool definitions into context.
Chain tools in a sandboxed remote workbench. Multi-step workflows run server-side, passing outputs between tools and working with files in the session's sandbox, so long chains finish without a lot of back-and-forth with the LLM.
Manage authentication end-to-end. Managed OAuth, per-user connected accounts, and account isolation are all handled for you, so you never wire up auth yourself.

Connect Gitlab to DeepSeek Harness with Composio

Prerequisites: Install DeepSeek Harness

DeepSeek Harness needs Node.js (20 or 22) and pnpm. Build it from source. This is also what the MCP path in Option 2 requires, since the built-in MCP client resolves its dependencies from the checkout:

bash

git clone https://github.com/deepseek-ai/deepseek-harness.git
cd deepseek-harness
pnpm install
pnpm run build
pnpm dsh web

The Web UI listens on http://127.0.0.1:3080 by default. Open that address to confirm it is up.

Then configure your model route. In the Web UI, open Settings → Models: the built-in DeepSeek card accepts a DeepSeek API key, and the same page supports Anthropic, OpenAI, and custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints. Full first-run details are in the DeepSeek Harness docs.

Option 1: Composio CLI (recommended)

DeepSeek Harness runs shell commands as a first-class tool through its dsh-base bundle, so the Composio Universal CLI fits well. There is no MCP server to configure, and multi-step tool chaining is reliable. Install and authenticate:

bash

# Install the Composio CLI
curl -fsSL https://composio.dev/install | bash

# Log in to Composio
composio login

Connect to Gitlab

Ask DeepSeek Harness to connect to Gitlab, or just request any Gitlab-related task. Under the hood the agent calls Composio commands like any other shell tool:

bash

composio search "what can I do with Gitlab?"
composio link gitlab

On the first Gitlab call, composio link gitlab opens an OAuth prompt so you can authorize access. After that, every Gitlab command works with your stored credentials automatically, so you just talk to the agent and it will search, execute, and chain Gitlab tools as needed.

Option 2: Composio MCP

DeepSeek Harness bridges MCP through its built-in @deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client plugin. You register one server as a plugin row, and its tools appear under server-qualified names (mcp__<serverName>__<rawName>), the same shape Claude Code and Codex use.

MCP requires the source build. The built-in client depends on the harness's own internal packages (cordis, dsh-llm, dsh-tools, dsh-invariants, dsh-subprocess), which resolve from the git checkout you built in the prerequisites. Run everything below from that checkout with pnpm dsh. For a route that avoids editing config files, see the community plugin at the end of this section.

Auth note: The built-in client passes static headers only and has no OAuth flow, so authenticate to Composio Connect with the x-consumer-api-key header. For Composio's OAuth flow, use the community plugin below.

1. Register the Composio server

The web profile's user patch layer is $DSH_HOME/profiles/web/cordis.patch.yml ($DSH_HOME defaults to ~/.dsh). This is a patch file, so a new plugin goes under an insert: entry. A bare - id: row instead targets an existing entry and fails to boot with patch: entry "…" not found. Add:

bash

- insert:
    - id: mcp-composio
      name: '@deepseek-ai/dsh-mcp-client'
      config:
        serverName: composio
        transport: streamable-http
        url: https://connect.composio.dev/mcp
        headers:
          x-consumer-api-key: !!js process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY

2. Set the API key and launch

The header value must resolve to a string at load time. Export your Composio consumer API key (ck_...), which is on the Connect → Settings → Sessions page of the Composio dashboard, in the shell you launch from. If it is unset, process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY is undefined and the config fails validation:

bash

export COMPOSIO_API_KEY=ck_your_key
pnpm dsh web

3. Done!

Open http://127.0.0.1:3080 and start a session on Standard or Code mode. (Minimal mode exposes only bash and str_replace_editor, so it hides MCP tools.) Composio's tools register as mcp__composio__*. Ask DeepSeek Harness to connect to Gitlab or request any Gitlab-related task, and Composio authorizes Gitlab on demand on the first call.

The dsh-mcp-client config schema (transport, serverName, url, headers, plus reconnect.* and toolCallTimeoutMs) is the current developer-preview interface and may change between releases.

Alternative: OAuth via the community plugin

To use Composio Connect's OAuth flow instead of a static key, or to skip editing cordis.patch.yml by hand, use the community dsh-mcp-manager plugin. It installs as a self-contained external plugin, ships a bundle patch so it auto-mounts, and adds a Settings → MCP page plus OAuth (authorization code + PKCE, RFC 7591 dynamic client registration, and refresh-token rotation). It needs the web profile and Node.js ^22.19 or >=24, with pnpm on your PATH.

Install it from your source checkout, then restart pnpm dsh web and refresh:

bash

pnpm dsh plugin --profile web add github:hyqhyq3/dsh-mcp-manager

Open Settings → MCP → ＋ Add MCP server, choose HTTP, set the name to composio, the URL to https://connect.composio.dev/mcp, and the auth mode to OAuth. Click Authenticate, and Composio's login and consent screen opens in the browser, then redirects back and registers the tools as mcp__composio__*. The row should read connected (N tools).

The plugin catches the OAuth code on a loopback redirect (http://127.0.0.1:<port>/mcp-manager/callback/<id>), so Composio's OAuth provider must allow that loopback URL. Server configs and tokens persist at ~/.dsh/mcp-manager.json, so treat that file as a secret. Being a community plugin on a preview harness, its commands may change, so check the plugin repo if a step drifts.

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

The Gitlab MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Gitlab account. It provides structured and secure access to your repositories, projects, and issues, so your agent can perform actions like creating projects, managing issues, handling branches, and automating DevOps workflows on your behalf.

Project and group automation: Instantly create new Gitlab projects or organize your workspaces by setting up project groups—all without manual clicks.
Issue creation and tracking: Have your agent report bugs, request features, or open new issues in specific projects to keep your team on top of tasks.
Branch management: Let your agent create repository branches from any commit or base branch, making it easy to streamline your development process.
Project lifecycle management: Archive completed projects or delete unneeded ones, keeping your workspace clean and up to date with minimal effort.
Commit and job insights: Retrieve commit references, determine commit sequence in project history, or erase job artifacts and logs for deeper CI/CD control.

Way Forward

With Gitlab connected, DeepSeek Harness can now act on your behalf whenever you ask it to.

From here, you can extend the harness further:

Connect more apps: Calendar, Slack, Notion, Linear, and hundreds of others are available through the same Composio Connect setup, and each new integration adds to what your agent can do for you.
Build workflows across tools: Once multiple apps are connected, DeepSeek Harness can chain actions together, so it can turn an email into a calendar invite, a Slack message into a Linear ticket, or a meeting note into a follow-up draft.
Use the plugin system: Wrap common Gitlab flows as dsh plugins or prompt templates so recurring tasks become one-line commands, and bundle your most-used Gitlab tools into a named profile you can boot on demand.

If you run into trouble or want to share what you've built, join the community or check out the Docs for more configuration options.

TOOLS

Supported Tools

Every Gitlab action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Archive Project

Tool to archive a project.

Create GitLab Group

Tool to create a new group in GitLab.

Create Project

Tool to create a new project in GitLab.

Create Project Issue

Tool to create a new issue in a GitLab project.

Create Repository Branch

Tool to create a new branch in a project.

Delete Project

Tool to delete a GitLab project by its ID.

Download Project Avatar

Tool to download a project's avatar image.

Erase Job

Tool to erase the content of a specified job within a project.

Get Commit References

Tool to get all references (branches or tags) a commit is pushed to.

Get Commit Sequence

Tool to get the sequence number of a commit in a project by following parent links from the given commit.

Get Group Details

Tool to retrieve information about a specific group by its ID.

Get Group Member

Tool to retrieve details for a specific group member.

Get Groups

Get Job Details

Tool to retrieve details of a single job by its ID within a specified project.

Get Merge Request Notes

Tool to fetch comments on a merge request.

Get Project

Tool to get a single project by ID or URL-encoded path.

Get Project Languages

Tool to list programming languages used in a project with percentages.

Get Project Member

Tool to retrieve details for a specific project member.

Get Project Member All

Tool to retrieve details for a specific project member (including inherited and invited members).

Get Project Merge Request

Tool to fetch full details for a single merge request when the MR IID is known.

Get Merge Request Commits

Tool to get commits of a merge request.

Get Project Merge Requests

Tool to retrieve a list of merge requests for a specific project.

Get Projects

Tool to list all projects accessible to the authenticated user.

List Merge Request Diffs

Tool to list all diff versions of a merge request.

Get Repository Branch

Tool to retrieve information about a specific branch in a project.

Get Repository Branches

Retrieves a list of repository branches for a project.

Get Single Commit

Tool to get a specific commit identified by the commit hash or name of a branch or tag.

Get Single Pipeline

Tool to retrieve details of a single pipeline by its ID within a specified project.

Get User

Tool to retrieve information about a specific user by their ID.

Get User Preferences

Tool to get the current user's preferences.

Get Users

Tool to retrieve a list of users from GitLab.

Get User Status

Tool to get a user's status by ID.

Get User Status

Tool to get the current user's status.

Get User Support PIN

Tool to get details of the current user's Support PIN.

Import project members

Tool to import members from one project to another.

List All Group Members

Tool to list all members of a group including direct, inherited, and invited members.

List All Project Members

Tool to list all members of a project (direct, inherited, invited).

List Billable Group Members

Tool to list billable members of a top-level group (including its subgroups and projects).

List Group Members

Tool to list direct members of a group.

List Group Projects

Tool to list projects within a GitLab group by group ID or full path.

List Pending Group Members

Tool to list pending members of a group and its subgroups and projects.

List Pipeline Jobs

Tool to retrieve a list of jobs for a specified pipeline within a project.

List Project Groups

Tool to list ancestor groups of a project.

List Project Invited Groups

Tool to list groups invited to a project.

List Project Issues

Tool to list issues for a project with filtering options (state, labels, search, assignee, author, etc.

List Project Pipelines

Tool to retrieve a list of pipelines for a specified project.

List Project Shareable Groups

Tool to list groups that can be shared with a project.

List Project Repository Tags

Tool to retrieve a list of repository tags for a specified project.

List Project Transfer Locations

Tool to list namespaces available for project transfer.

List project users

Tool to list users of a project.

List Repository Commits

Tool to get a list of repository commits in a project.

List User Projects

Tool to list projects owned by a specific user.

Create Support PIN

Tool to create a support PIN for your authenticated user.

Update User Preferences

Tool to update the current user's preferences.

Set User Status

Tool to set the current user's status.

Share Project With Group

Tool to share a project with a group.

Start Housekeeping Task

Tool to start the housekeeping task for a project.

Update Project Issue

Tool to update an existing issue in a GitLab project (title, description, labels, assignees, state, etc.

FRAMEWORKS

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ChatGPT Work

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Antigravity

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OpenAI Agents SDK

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Claude Agent SDK

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Claude Code

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Claude Cowork

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Codex

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Kimi Code

Use Gitlab MCP with Kimi Code

Grok Build

Use Gitlab MCP with Grok Build

Cursor

Use Gitlab MCP with Cursor

VS Code

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OpenCode

Use Gitlab MCP with OpenCode

OpenClaw

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Hermes

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Pi

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CLI

Use Gitlab MCP with CLI

Google ADK

Use Gitlab MCP with Google ADK

LangChain

Use Gitlab MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK

Use Gitlab MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI

Use Gitlab MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex

Use Gitlab MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI

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Pydantic AI

Use Gitlab MCP with Pydantic AI

AutoGen

Use Gitlab MCP with AutoGen

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

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

Yes, you can. DeepSeek Harness 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 Gitlab tools.

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Gitlab 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.

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 Gitlab data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

Start with Gitlab.It takes 30 seconds.

Managed auth, hosted MCP servers, and every Gitlab tool your agent needs.Free to start.

Start building

How to integrate Gitlab MCP with DeepSeek Harness

Connect Gitlab without auth hassles

Introduction

Also integrate Gitlab with

What is Composio Connect?

Connect Gitlab to DeepSeek Harness with Composio

Prerequisites: Install DeepSeek Harness

Option 1: Composio CLI (recommended)

Connect to Gitlab

Option 2: Composio MCP

1. Register the Composio server

2. Set the API key and launch

3. Done!

Alternative: OAuth via the community plugin

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

Way Forward

Supported Tools

How to build Gitlab MCP Agent with another framework

ChatGPT Work

Antigravity

OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Claude Code

Claude Cowork

Codex

Kimi Code

Grok Build

Cursor

VS Code

OpenCode

OpenClaw

Hermes

Pi

CLI

Google ADK

LangChain

Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI

LlamaIndex

CrewAI

Pydantic AI

AutoGen

Explore Other Toolkits

Supabase

Codeinterpreter

GitHub

1password

Frequently asked questions

What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Gitlab MCP?+

Can I use Tool Router MCP with DeepSeek Harness?+

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

How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router?+

Start with Gitlab.It takes 30 seconds.