# Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-07-07

**gitlab-mcp-server** is a local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. It runs
entirely on your machine and acts as a bridge between your MCP client (Claude
Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, …) and the GitLab instance you
configure. This policy describes what data the server handles and where it
goes.

## What we collect

**Nothing.** The server has no telemetry, no analytics, no crash reporting,
and no backend of its own. The maintainer never receives, stores, or has
access to any of your data, credentials, or usage information.

## Data flows

- **Your GitLab instance.** Every tool call results in requests to the GitLab
  URL you configure (`GITLAB_URL`), authenticated with your Personal Access
  Token (`GITLAB_TOKEN`). Data returned by GitLab (projects, issues, merge
  requests, pipeline logs, …) is passed directly to your MCP client and is
  never sent anywhere else. GitLab's handling of that data is governed by the
  [GitLab Privacy Statement](https://about.gitlab.com/privacy/) (for
  GitLab.com) or by your organization's own policies (for self-managed
  instances).
- **GitHub (auto-update only).** When the auto-update feature is enabled
  (`AUTO_UPDATE=true`, the default for standalone binaries), the server
  periodically checks GitHub Releases on this repository for new versions and
  downloads signed binaries from there. No personal data is sent — it is a
  standard HTTPS request to `api.github.com`, subject to the
  [GitHub Privacy Statement](https://docs.github.com/en/site-policy/privacy-policies/github-general-privacy-statement).
  The Claude Desktop extension (`.mcpb`) ships with auto-update **disabled**;
  updates arrive through new extension versions instead.

There are no other network destinations.

## Credentials

Your GitLab Personal Access Token is provided by you through environment
variables or your MCP client's configuration UI. Claude Desktop stores
extension secrets in the operating system keychain. The server keeps the
token in process memory only, uses it solely to authenticate requests to your
configured GitLab instance, and never logs it.

## Local storage and logs

The server writes logs to standard error only (collected, if at all, by your
MCP client). It does not create databases, caches, or files with your GitLab
data. In HTTP mode, token identities are cached in memory for the configured
TTL and are never persisted to disk.

## Data retention and sharing

The server retains nothing after it exits and shares data with no third
parties beyond the GitLab instance you explicitly configure.

## Changes

Changes to this policy are published in this file and noted in release
changelogs.

## Contact

Questions or concerns: [open an issue](https://github.com/jmrplens/gitlab-mcp-server/issues)
or email <jmrplens@gmail.com>.