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  "path": "/blog/extend-gitlab-duo-agent-platform-connect-any-tool-with-mcp/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-05T00:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://about.gitlab.com",
  "tags": [
    "MCP",
    "developer.atlassian.com/console/myapps",
    "GitLab MCP clients documentation",
    "GitLab Duo Agent Platform adds support for Model Context Protocol",
    "What is Model Context Protocol?",
    "Agentic AI guides and resources",
    "Get started with GitLab Duo Agent Platform: The complete guide"
  ],
  "textContent": "Managing software development often means juggling multiple tools: tracking issues in Jira, writing code in your IDE, and collaborating through GitLab. Context switching between these platforms disrupts focus and slows down delivery.\n\nWith GitLab Duo Agent Platform's MCP support, you can now connect Jira or any tool that supports MCP directly to your AI-powered development environment. Query issues, update tickets, and sync your workflow — all through natural language, without ever leaving your IDE.\n\n## What you'll learn\n\nIn this tutorial, we'll walk you through:\n\n  * **Setting up the Jira/Atlassian OAuth application** for secure authentication\n  * **Configuring GitLab Duo Agent Platform** as an MCP client\n  * **Three practical use cases** demonstrating real-world workflows\n\n\n\n## Prerequisites\n\nBefore getting started, ensure you have the following:\n\nRequirement| Details\n---|---\n**GitLab instance**|  GitLab 18.8+ with Duo Agent Platform enabled\n**Jira account**|  Jira Cloud instance with admin access to create OAuth applications\n**IDE**|  Visual Studio Code with GitLab Workflow extension installed\n**MCP support**|  MCP support enabled in GitLab\n\n## Understanding the architecture\n\nGitLab Duo Agent Platform acts as an **MCP client** , connecting to the Atlassian MCP server to access your Jira project management data. Atlassian MCP server handles authentication, translates natural language requests into API calls, and returns structured data back to GitLab Duo Agent Platform — all while maintaining security and audit controls.\n\n## Part 1: Configure Jira OAuth application\n\nTo securely connect GitLab Duo Agent Platform to your Jira instance, you'll need to create an OAuth 2.0 application in the Atlassian Developer Console. This grants to GitLab the MCP server authorized access to your Jira data.\n\n### Setup steps\n\nIf you prefer to configure manually, follow these steps:\n\n  1. **Navigate to the Atlassian Developer Console**\n     * Go to developer.atlassian.com/console/myapps\n     * Sign in with your Atlassian account\n  2. **Create a new OAuth 2.0 app**\n     * Click **Create** → **OAuth 2.0 integration**\n     * Enter a name (e.g., \"gitlab-dap-mcp\")\n     * Accept the terms and click **Create**\n  3. **Configure permissions**\n     * Navigate to **Permissions** in the left sidebar.\n     * Add **Jira API** and configure the following scopes:\n       * `read:jira-work` — Read issues, projects, and boards\n       * `write:jira-work` — Create and update issues\n       * `read:jira-user` — Read user information\n  4. **Set up authorization**\n     * Go to **Authorization** in the left sidebar\n     * Add a callback URL for your environment (`https://gitlab.com/oauth/callback`)\n     * Save your changes\n  5. **Retrieve credentials**\n     * Navigate to **Settings**\n     * Copy your **Client ID** and **Client Secret**\n     * Store these securely — you'll need them for the MCP configuration\n\n\n\n### Interactive walkthrough: Jira OAuth setup\n\nClick on the image below to get started.\n\n\n\n## Part 2: Configure GitLab Duo Agent Platform MCP client\n\nWith your OAuth credentials ready, you can now configure GitLab Duo Agent Platform to connect to the Atlassian MCP server.\n\n### Create your MCP configuration file\n\nCreate the MCP configuration file in your GitLab project at `.gitlab/duo/mcp.json`:\n\n\n    {  \"mcpServers\": {  \"atlassian\": {  \"type\": \"http\",  \"url\": \"https://mcp.atlassian.com/v1/mcp\",  \"auth\": {  \"type\": \"oauth2\",  \"clientId\": \"YOUR_CLIENT_ID\",  \"clientSecret\": \"YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET\",  \"authorizationUrl\": \"https://auth.atlassian.com/oauth/authorize\",  \"tokenUrl\": \"https://auth.atlassian.com/oauth/token\"  },  \"approvedTools\": true  }  } }\n\nReplace `YOUR_CLIENT_ID` and `YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET` with the credentials you generated in Part 1.\n\n### Enable MCP in GitLab\n\n  1. Navigate to your **Group Settings** → **GitLab Duo** → **Configuration**\n  2. Make sure “Allow external MCP tools” is checked\n\n\n\n### Verify the connection\n\nOpen your project in VS Code and ask in GitLab Duo Agent Platform chat:\n\n\n    What MCP tools do you have access to?\n\nThen\n\n\n    Test the MCP JIRA configuration in this project\n\nAt this point you'll be redirected from the IDE to the MCP Atlassian website to approve access:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n### Verify with the MCP Dashboard\n\nGitLab also provides a built-in **MCP Dashboard** directly in your IDE for this.\n\nIn VS Code or VSCodium, open the Command Palette (`Cmd+Shift+P` on macOS, `Ctrl+Shift+P` on Windows/Linux) and search for **\" GitLab: Show MCP Dashboard\"**. The dashboard opens in a new editor tab and gives you:\n\n  * **Connection status** for each configured MCP server\n  * **Available tools** exposed by the server (e.g., `jira_get_issue`, `jira_create_issue`)\n  * **Server logs** so you can see exactly which tools are being called in real time\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n### Interactive walkthrough: Testing MCP\n\n## Part 3: Use cases in action\n\nNow that your integration is configured, let's explore three practical workflows that demonstrate the power of connecting Jira to GitLab Duo Agent Platform.\n\n### Planning assistant\n\n**Scenario:** You're preparing for sprint planning and need to quickly assess the backlog, understand priorities, and identify blockers.\n\nThis demo shows you how to:\n\n  * Query the backlog\n  * Identify unassigned high-priority issues\n  * Get AI-powered sprint recommendations\n\n\n\n#### Example prompts\n\nTry these prompts in GitLab Duo Agent Platform Chat:\n\n\n    List all the unassigned issues in JIRA for project GITLAB\n\n\n    Suggest the two top issues to prioritize and summarize them. Assign them to me.\n\n### Interactive walkthrough: Project planning\n\n### Issue triage and creation from code\n\n**Scenario:** While reviewing code, you discover a bug and want to create a Jira issue with relevant context — without leaving your IDE.\n\nThis demo walks you through:\n\n  * Identifying a bug while coding\n  * Creating a detailed Jira issue via natural language\n  * Auto-populating issue fields with code context\n  * Linking the issue to your current branch\n\n\n\n#### Example prompts\n\n\n    Search in JIRA for a bug related to: Null pointer exception in PaymentService.processRefund(). If it does not exist create it with all the context needed from the code. Find possible blockers that this bug may cause.\n\n\n    Create a new branch called issue-gitlab-18, checkout, and link it to the issue we just created. Assign the JIRA issue to me and mark it as in-progress.\n\n### Interactive walkthrough: Bug review and task automation\n\n### Cross-system incident investigation\n\n**Scenario:** A production incident occurs, and you need to correlate information from Jira (incident ticket), GitLab Project Management, your codebase, and merge requests to identify the root cause.\n\nThis demo demonstrates:\n\n  * Fetching incident details from Jira\n  * Correlating with recent merge requests in GitLab\n  * Identifying potentially related code changes\n  * Generating an incident timeline\n  * Design a remediation plan and create it as a work item in GitLab\n\n\n\n#### Example prompts\n\n\n    \"We have a production incident INC-1 about checkout failures. Can you help me investigate with all available context?\"\n\n\n    Create a timeline of events for incident INC-1 including related Jira issues and recent deployments\n\n\n    Propose a remediation plan\n\n### Interactive walkthrough: Cross-system troubleshooting and remediation\n\n## Troubleshooting\n\nThese are some common setup issues and quick fixes:\n\nIssue| Solution\n---|---\n\"MCP server not found\"| Verify the `mcp.json` file is in the correct location and properly formatted\n\"Authentication failed\"| Re-check your OAuth credentials and ensure scopes are correctly configured in Atlassian\n\"No Jira tools available\"| Restart VS Code after updating `mcp.json` and ensure MCP is enabled in GitLab\n\"Connection timeout\"| Check your network connectivity to `mcp.atlassian.com`\n\n\nFor detailed troubleshooting, see the GitLab MCP clients documentation.\n\n## Security considerations\n\nWhen integrating Jira with GitLab Duo Agent Platform:\n\n  * **OAuth tokens** — Make sure credentials remain secure\n  * **Principle of least privilege** — Only grant the minimum required Jira scopes\n  * **Token rotation** — Regularly rotate your OAuth credentials as part of security hygiene\n\n\n\n## Summary\n\nConnecting GitLab Duo Agent Platform to different tools through MCP transforms how you interact with your development lifecycle. In this article, you have learned how to:\n\n  * **Query issues naturally** — Ask questions about your backlog, sprints, and incidents in natural language.\n  * **Create and update issues on all your DevSecOps environment** — File bugs and update tickets without leaving your IDE.\n  * **Correlate across systems** — Combine Jira data with GitLab project management, merge requests, and pipelines for complete visibility.\n  * **Reduce context switching** — Keep your focus on code while staying connected to project management.\n\n\n\nThis integration exemplifies the power of MCP: standardized, secure access to your tools through AI, enabling developers to work more efficiently without sacrificing governance or security.\n\n## Read more\n\n  * GitLab Duo Agent Platform adds support for Model Context Protocol\n  * What is Model Context Protocol?\n  * Agentic AI guides and resources\n  * GitLab MCP clients documentation\n  * Get started with GitLab Duo Agent Platform: The complete guide\n\n",
  "title": "Extend GitLab Duo Agent Platform: Connect any tool with MCP",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-05T00:00:00.000Z"
}