repo-ctx 0.1.3

Git repository documentation indexer with MCP server, CLI, and library interfaces

Repository Context (repo-ctx)

A flexible Git repository documentation indexer and search tool with multiple interfaces:

• MCP Server for LLM integration (primary use case)
• CLI for standalone searching
• Python library for custom integrations

Primarily designed for GitLab but extensible to other Git platforms.

Features

• Search repositories by name with fuzzy matching
• Retrieve documentation with topic filtering
• Support for multiple versions (tags/branches)
• Configurable via git_context.json in repositories
• SQLite storage for fast local access
• MCP protocol for seamless LLM integration
• Works with Claude Code, Kiro CLI, GitHub Copilot, and other AI tools
• Use as a Python library in your own tools

Installation

From PyPI (Recommended)

uvx repo-ctx

From Source

cd repo-ctx
uv pip install -e .

Configuration

Git Context supports multiple configuration methods with the following priority (highest to lowest):

1. Command-line arguments (--gitlab-url, --gitlab-token)
2. Specified config file (--config /path/to/config.yaml)
3. Environment variables (GITLAB_URL, GITLAB_TOKEN)
4. Standard config locations:
   • ~/.config/repo-ctx/config.yaml
   • ~/.repo-ctx/config.yaml
   • ./config.yaml (current directory)

Option 1: Environment Variables (Easiest for uvx)

export GITLAB_URL="https://gitlab.company.internal"
export GITLAB_TOKEN="glpat-your-token-here"
export STORAGE_PATH="~/.repo-ctx/context.db"  # Optional

uvx repo-ctx

Option 2: Config File

Create ~/.config/repo-ctx/config.yaml:

gitlab:
  url: "https://gitlab.company.internal"
  token: "${GITLAB_TOKEN}"  # or hardcode token

storage:
  path: "~/.repo-ctx/context.db"

Option 3: Command-Line Arguments

uvx repo-ctx \
  --gitlab-url https://gitlab.company.internal \
  --gitlab-token glpat-your-token

Usage

Index a Repository

With environment variables:

export GITLAB_URL="https://gitlab.company.internal"
export GITLAB_TOKEN="your_token"
uvx repo-ctx --index group/project

With command-line arguments:

uvx repo-ctx \
  --gitlab-url https://gitlab.company.internal \
  --gitlab-token glpat-your-token \
  --index group/subgroup/repository

From source:

uv run repo-ctx --index group/subgroup/repository

Run as MCP Server

With Claude Code / MCP Clients

Option 1: Using uvx with environment variables (Simplest)

Add to MCP settings (e.g., ~/.config/claude/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "repo-ctx": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["repo-ctx"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://gitlab.company.internal",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "${GITLAB_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Using uvx with config file

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "repo-ctx": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "repo-ctx",
        "--config",
        "/home/user/.config/repo-ctx/config.yaml"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Option 3: From source (for development)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "repo-ctx": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "--directory",
        "/absolute/path/to/repo-ctx",
        "run",
        "repo-ctx"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://gitlab.company.internal",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "${GITLAB_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

With Kiro CLI

Add to ~/.config/kiro/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "repo-ctx": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["repo-ctx"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://gitlab.company.internal",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "${GITLAB_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then use:

kiro-cli chat

Ask questions like:

• "Search for python in GitLab"
• "Fuzzy search for fastmcp"
• "Get GitLab docs for /group1/subgroup1/repo1"
• "Show me documentation about vector search from GitLab repo group/subgroup/repository"

With GitHub Copilot (VS Code)

Add to .vscode/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "repo-ctx": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["repo-ctx"],
      "env": {
        "GITLAB_URL": "https://gitlab.company.internal",
        "GITLAB_TOKEN": "${GITLAB_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Repository Configuration

Add a git_context.json file to your repository root to customize indexing:

{
  "projectTitle": "API Documentation",
  "description": "Internal API documentation and guides",
  "folders": ["docs", "guides"],
  "excludeFolders": ["node_modules", "dist"],
  "excludeFiles": ["CHANGELOG.md"]
}

MCP Tools

gitlab-search-libraries

Search for GitLab libraries/projects by name (exact match).

Input: libraryName (string)
Output: List of matching libraries with IDs and versions

gitlab-fuzzy-search

Fuzzy search for GitLab repositories. Returns top matches even with typos or partial names.

Input:

• query (string): Search term (can be partial or fuzzy)
• limit (integer, optional): Max results (default: 10)

Output: Ranked list of repositories with match scores

Example: Search "blueprint" finds "blueprint-for-skivi", "api-blueprint", etc.

gitlab-index-repository

Index a GitLab repository to make its documentation searchable.

Input: repository (string): Format group/project or group/subgroup/project
Output: Success/error message

Example: Index "mygroup/blueprint"

gitlab-index-group

Index all repositories in a GitLab group (including subgroups).

Input:

• group (string): Group path (e.g., "groupname")
• includeSubgroups (boolean, optional): Include subgroups (default: true)

Output: Summary of indexed repositories

Example: Index entire "mygroup" group with all subgroups and repos

gitlab-get-docs

Retrieve documentation for a specific library.

Input:

• libraryId (string): Format /group/project or /group/project/version
• topic (string, optional): Filter by topic
• page (integer, optional): Page number (default: 1)

Output: Formatted documentation content

Architecture

┌──────────────┐         ┌─────────────────┐         ┌──────────────┐
│   LLM/AI     │◄───────►│  Git Context    │◄───────►│   GitLab     │
│   Client     │   MCP   │     Server      │   API   │   Server     │
└──────────────┘         └─────────────────┘         └──────────────┘
                                  │
                                  ▼
                         ┌─────────────────┐
                         │  SQLite DB      │
                         └─────────────────┘

Troubleshooting

Configuration not found?

• Set environment variables: export GITLAB_URL=... GITLAB_TOKEN=...
• Or create config file at: ~/.config/repo-ctx/config.yaml
• Or use CLI args: --gitlab-url --gitlab-token
• Run repo-ctx --help to see all options

Server not starting?

• Check configuration is valid (try repo-ctx --help)
• Verify GITLAB_TOKEN is set or provided via config
• Ensure GITLAB_URL is accessible
• For uvx: Make sure environment variables are set in MCP config

No results when searching?

• Index the repository first: uvx repo-ctx --index group/project
• Check database exists: ls ~/.repo-ctx/context.db
• Verify you have access to the GitLab project

GitLab connection errors?

• Verify token has read_api scope
• Check GitLab URL is accessible
• Ensure token hasn't expired
• Test connection: curl -H "PRIVATE-TOKEN: $GITLAB_TOKEN" $GITLAB_URL/api/v4/user

Development

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for details on:

• Development setup
• Running tests
• Code style guidelines
• Pull request process

Automated Releases

This project uses GitHub Actions for automated releases:

• Tests run on every PR and push to main
• Publishing is automated when version tags are pushed
• GitHub Releases are created automatically with changelogs
• Issue labeling happens automatically for referenced issues

See docs/GITHUB_ACTIONS.md for complete CI/CD documentation.

Quick Release

# Update version in pyproject.toml, then:
git add pyproject.toml
git commit -m "Bump version to 0.1.2"
git tag v0.1.2
git push origin main && git push origin v0.1.2

GitHub Actions will automatically build, test, and publish to PyPI.

See docs/RELEASE_GUIDE.md for detailed release instructions.

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• uv package manager
• GitLab server with API access
• Personal access token with read_api scope