Server diagnostics

Two read-only actions about this server rather than about GitLab’s data. server.status reports whether the server reaches GitLab, the GitLab version and edition, and the user the token belongs to, and is the first thing to call when another action is refused with 401 or 403. server.health_check probes the connection to GitLab, and is served on the dynamic and meta surfaces only.

Sample questions

• “Is the GitLab connection working?”
• “Which GitLab version is the server talking to?”
• “Which user does this token belong to?”

How to call it

• Dynamic, the default surface: call gitlab_execute_action with action set to the action’s ID, such as server.status, and its parameters in params. gitlab_find_action finds an ID from a description of the task.
• Meta (GITLAB_MCP_TOOL_SURFACE=meta): call gitlab_server with action set to the action’s name, such as status, and its parameters in params.
• Individual (GITLAB_MCP_TOOL_SURFACE=individual): call the action’s own tool, such as gitlab_server_status, with its parameters as the arguments.

Availability

Every tier serves the whole group, on self-managed instances and on GitLab.com alike.

Read-only actions: 2 of 2, the ones a deployment in read-only mode keeps. A token with read_api and not api is served 2 of the 2.

Actions

The description of each action, and of each of its parameters, is the text the server serves for it on the default surface, quoted as served. The token lines say what GitLab 19.4.1 requires of a token for the requests each action sends; on an instance with Admin Mode turned on, an action only an administrator may run also needs admin_mode.

Action	Individual
server.health_check
server.status	gitlab_server_status

server.health_check

Verify MCP server connectivity to GitLab, authenticated identity, and response health before troubleshooting other tool failures.

• Meta-tool: gitlab_server, action health_check
• Individual tool: none, the individual surface does not serve this action
• Tier: Free
• Classic or OAuth token: read_api (or api)
• Fine-grained token: Metadata: Read at instance. Some calls also need: User: Read at user (permissions page)
• Behavior: read-only, idempotent

No parameters.

server.status

Check MCP server connectivity, GitLab reachability, and authenticated identity details. Returns: the server and GitLab health diagnostics, with the GitLab version, revision, edition and agent server, and the authenticated user. See also: admin.metadata_get, user.me.

• Meta-tool: gitlab_server, action status
• Individual tool: gitlab_server_status
• Tier: Free
• Classic or OAuth token: read_api (or api)
• Fine-grained token: Metadata: Read at instance. Some calls also need: User: Read at user (permissions page)
• Behavior: read-only, idempotent

No parameters.