How to integrate Gitlab MCP with Google ADK

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Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Gitlab to Google ADK using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Gitlab agent that can create new gitlab group for qa team, open bug issue in frontend project, create branch from latest main commit, archive completed api migration project through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your Google ADK agent real control over a Gitlab account through Composio's Gitlab MCP server.

Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get a Gitlab account set up and connected to Composio
  • Install the Google ADK and Composio packages
  • Create a Composio Tool Router session for Gitlab
  • Build an agent that connects to Gitlab through MCP
  • Interact with Gitlab using natural language

What is Google ADK?

Google ADK (Agents Development Kit) is Google's framework for building AI agents powered by Gemini models. It provides tools for creating agents that can use external services through the Model Context Protocol.

Key features include:

  • Gemini Integration: Native support for Google's Gemini models
  • MCP Toolset: Built-in support for Model Context Protocol tools
  • Streamable HTTP: Connect to external services through streamable HTTP
  • CLI and Web UI: Run agents via command line or web interface

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.

Supported Tools & Triggers

Tools
Archive ProjectTool to archive a project.
Create GitLab GroupTool to create a new group in gitlab.
Create ProjectTool to create a new project in gitlab.
Create Project IssueTool to create a new issue in a gitlab project.
Create Repository BranchTool to create a new branch in a project.
Delete ProjectTool to delete a gitlab project by its id.
Download Project AvatarTool to download a project’s avatar image.
Erase JobTool to erase the content of a specified job within a project.
Get Commit ReferencesTool to get all references (branches or tags) a commit is pushed to.
Get Commit SequenceTool to get the sequence number of a commit in a project by following parent links from the given commit.
Get Group DetailsTool to retrieve information about a specific group by its id.
Get Group MemberTool to retrieve details for a specific group member.
Get GroupsGet groups
Get Job DetailsTool to retrieve details of a single job by its id within a specified project.
Get Merge Request NotesTool to fetch comments on a merge request.
Get ProjectTool to get a single project by id or url-encoded path.
Get Project LanguagesTool to list programming languages used in a project with percentages.
Get Project MemberTool to retrieve details for a specific project member.
Get Project Member AllTool to retrieve details for a specific project member (including inherited and invited members).
Get Merge Request CommitsTool to get commits of a merge request.
Get Project Merge RequestsTool to retrieve a list of merge requests for a specific project.
Get ProjectsTool to list all projects accessible to the authenticated user.
List Merge Request DiffsTool to list all diff versions of a merge request.
Get Repository BranchTool to retrieve information about a specific branch in a project.
Get Repository BranchesRetrieves a list of repository branches for a project.
Get Single CommitTool to get a specific commit identified by the commit hash or name of a branch or tag.
Get Single PipelineTool to retrieve details of a single pipeline by its id within a specified project.
Get UserTool to retrieve information about a specific user by their id.
Get User PreferencesTool to get the current user's preferences.
Get UsersTool to retrieve a list of users from gitlab.
Get User StatusTool to get a user's status by id.
Get User StatusTool to get the current user's status.
Get User Support PINTool to get details of the current user's support pin.
Import project membersTool to import members from one project to another.
List All Group MembersTool to list all members of a group including direct, inherited, and invited members.
List All Project MembersTool to list all members of a project (direct, inherited, invited).
List Billable Group MembersTool to list billable members of a top-level group (including its subgroups and projects).
List Group MembersTool to list direct members of a group.
List Pending Group MembersTool to list pending members of a group and its subgroups and projects.
List Pipeline JobsTool to retrieve a list of jobs for a specified pipeline within a project.
List Project GroupsTool to list ancestor groups of a project.
List Project Invited GroupsTool to list groups invited to a project.
List Project PipelinesTool to retrieve a list of pipelines for a specified project.
List Project Shareable GroupsTool to list groups that can be shared with a project.
List Project Repository TagsTool to retrieve a list of repository tags for a specified project.
List Project Transfer LocationsTool to list namespaces available for project transfer.
List project usersTool to list users of a project.
List Repository CommitsTool to get a list of repository commits in a project.
List User ProjectsTool to list projects owned by a specific user.
Create Support PINTool to create a support pin for your authenticated user.
Update User PreferencesTool to update the current user's preferences.
Set User StatusTool to set the current user's status.
Share Project With GroupTool to share a project with a group.
Start Housekeeping TaskTool to start the housekeeping task for a project.

What is the Composio tool router, and how does it fit here?

What is Tool Router?

Composio's Tool Router helps agents find the right tools for a task at runtime. You can plug in multiple toolkits (like Gmail, HubSpot, and GitHub), and the agent will identify the relevant app and action to complete multi-step workflows. This can reduce token usage and improve the reliability of tool calls. Read more here: Getting started with Tool Router

The tool router generates a secure MCP URL that your agents can access to perform actions.

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:
  • A Google API key for Gemini models
  • A Composio account and API key
  • Python 3.9 or later installed
  • Basic familiarity with Python

Getting API Keys for Google and Composio

Google API Key
  • Go to Google AI Studio and create an API key.
  • Copy the key and keep it safe. You will put this in GOOGLE_API_KEY.
Composio API Key and User ID
  • Log in to the Composio dashboard.
  • Go to Settings → API Keys and copy your Composio API key. Use this for COMPOSIO_API_KEY.
  • Decide on a stable user identifier to scope sessions, often your email or a user ID. Use this for COMPOSIO_USER_ID.

Install dependencies

bash
pip install google-adk composio python-dotenv

Inside your virtual environment, install the required packages.

What's happening:

  • google-adk is Google's Agents Development Kit
  • composio connects your agent to Gitlab via MCP
  • python-dotenv loads environment variables

Set up ADK project

bash
adk create my_agent

Set up a new Google ADK project.

What's happening:

  • This creates an agent folder with a root agent file and .env file

Set environment variables

bash
GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-google-api-key
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your-composio-api-key
COMPOSIO_USER_ID=your-user-id-or-email

Save all your credentials in the .env file.

What's happening:

  • GOOGLE_API_KEY authenticates with Google's Gemini models
  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates with Composio
  • COMPOSIO_USER_ID identifies the user for session management

Import modules and validate environment

python
import os
import warnings

from composio import Composio
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from google.adk.agents.llm_agent import Agent
from google.adk.tools.mcp_tool.mcp_session_manager import StreamableHTTPConnectionParams
from google.adk.tools.mcp_tool.mcp_toolset import McpToolset

load_dotenv()

warnings.filterwarnings("ignore", message=".*BaseAuthenticatedTool.*")

GOOGLE_API_KEY = os.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_USER_ID = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_USER_ID")

if not GOOGLE_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("GOOGLE_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_USER_ID:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set in the environment.")
What's happening:
  • os reads environment variables
  • Composio is the main Composio SDK client
  • GoogleProvider declares that you are using Google ADK as the agent runtime
  • Agent is the Google ADK LLM agent class
  • McpToolset lets the ADK agent call MCP tools over HTTP

Create Composio client and Tool Router session

python
composio_client = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY)

composio_session = composio_client.create(
    user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID,
    toolkits=["gitlab"],
)

COMPOSIO_MCP_URL = composio_session.mcp.url,
print(f"Composio MCP URL: {COMPOSIO_MCP_URL}")
What's happening:
  • Authenticates to Composio with your API key
  • Declares Google ADK as the provider
  • Spins up a short-lived MCP endpoint for your user and selected toolkit
  • Stores the MCP HTTP URL for the ADK MCP integration

Set up the McpToolset and create the Agent

python
composio_toolset = McpToolset(
    connection_params=StreamableHTTPConnectionParams(
        url=COMPOSIO_MCP_URL,
        headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY}
    )
)

root_agent = Agent(
    model="gemini-2.5-flash",
    name="composio_agent",
    description="An agent that uses Composio tools to perform actions.",
    instruction=(
        "You are a helpful assistant connected to Composio. "
        "You have the following tools available: "
        "COMPOSIO_SEARCH_TOOLS, COMPOSIO_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL, "
        "COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS, COMPOSIO_REMOTE_BASH_TOOL, COMPOSIO_REMOTE_WORKBENCH. "
        "Use these tools to help users with Gitlab operations."
    ),
    tools=[composio_toolset],
)

print("\nAgent setup complete. You can now run this agent directly ;)")
What's happening:
  • Connects the ADK agent to the Composio MCP endpoint through McpToolset
  • Uses Gemini as the model powering the agent
  • Lists exact tool names in instruction to reduce misnamed tool calls

Run the agent

bash
# Run in CLI mode
adk run my_agent

# Or run in web UI mode
adk web

Execute the agent from the project root. The web command opens a web portal where you can chat with the agent.

What's happening:

  • adk run runs the agent in CLI mode
  • adk web . opens a web UI for interactive testing

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Gitlab and Google ADK:

import os
import warnings

from composio import Composio
from composio_google import GoogleProvider
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from google.adk.agents.llm_agent import Agent
from google.adk.tools.mcp_tool.mcp_session_manager import StreamableHTTPConnectionParams
from google.adk.tools.mcp_tool.mcp_toolset import McpToolset

load_dotenv()
warnings.filterwarnings("ignore", message=".*BaseAuthenticatedTool.*")

GOOGLE_API_KEY = os.getenv("GOOGLE_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_API_KEY = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")
COMPOSIO_USER_ID = os.getenv("COMPOSIO_USER_ID")

if not GOOGLE_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("GOOGLE_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_API_KEY:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set in the environment.")
if not COMPOSIO_USER_ID:
    raise ValueError("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set in the environment.")

composio_client = Composio(api_key=COMPOSIO_API_KEY, provider=GoogleProvider())

composio_session = composio_client.create(
    user_id=COMPOSIO_USER_ID,
    toolkits=["gitlab"],
)

COMPOSIO_MCP_URL = composio_session.mcp.url


composio_toolset = McpToolset(
    connection_params=StreamableHTTPConnectionParams(
        url=COMPOSIO_MCP_URL,
        headers={"x-api-key": COMPOSIO_API_KEY}
    )
)

root_agent = Agent(
    model="gemini-2.5-flash",
    name="composio_agent",
    description="An agent that uses Composio tools to perform actions.",
    instruction=(
        "You are a helpful assistant connected to Composio. "
        "You have the following tools available: "
        "COMPOSIO_SEARCH_TOOLS, COMPOSIO_MULTI_EXECUTE_TOOL, "
        "COMPOSIO_MANAGE_CONNECTIONS, COMPOSIO_REMOTE_BASH_TOOL, COMPOSIO_REMOTE_WORKBENCH. "
        "Use these tools to help users with Gitlab operations."
    ),  
    tools=[composio_toolset],
)

print("\nAgent setup complete. You can now run this agent directly ;)")

Conclusion

You've successfully integrated Gitlab with the Google ADK through Composio's MCP Tool Router. Your agent can now interact with Gitlab using natural language commands.

Key takeaways:

  • The Tool Router approach dynamically routes requests to the appropriate Gitlab tools
  • Environment variables keep your credentials secure and separate from code
  • Clear agent instructions reduce tool calling errors
  • The ADK web UI provides an interactive interface for testing and development

You can extend this setup by adding more toolkits to the toolkits array in your session configuration.

How to build Gitlab MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Gitlab MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Claude Agent SDK

Use Gitlab MCP with Claude Agent SDK

LangChain

LangChain

Use Gitlab MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK

Vercel AI SDK

Use Gitlab MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI

Mastra AI

Use Gitlab MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex

LlamaIndex

Use Gitlab MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI

CrewAI

Use Gitlab MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

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

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.

Can I use Tool Router MCP with Google ADK?

Yes, you can. Google ADK 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.

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

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.

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 Gitlab data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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