Does it work with Forgejo and Codeberg?

Yes — Forgejo is an API-compatible Gitea fork; the MCP works against both. Point GITEA_URL at codeberg.org and a Codeberg token to use the public hosted Forgejo instance.

Read-only or read-write?

Read-only by default for write-heavy tools. Per-tool toggles let you opt into PR creation, comment posting, and label changes without exposing destructive operations like force-push.

Use a personal access token created in the Gitea UI with the minimum scopes you need (repo:read for most workflows, repo:write only if the agent must open PRs).

Gitea

Name: Top MCPs — curated MCP directory
Creator: Top MCPs
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Self-hosted Git server — manage repos, issues, and PRs from an AI agent.

Score 56(?)CommunityMITVerified Jun 2, 2026Top MCPs for Git & Repo Workflows →

Install View on GitHub

Quick answer

What it does

Wraps the Gitea REST API for repository, issue, PR, label, and release operations — read by default, write behind explicit per-tool gates.

Best for

Self-hosted Git workflows
Issue triage and PR review
Release management on Gitea
Migrating a GitHub-centric agent stack to self-hosted

Not for

Pure GitHub.com teams (use the GitHub MCP)
Workflows that need GitHub Actions (Gitea Actions has a different API)

Setup recipe

Pick your client, then follow the three steps.

Install

claude_desktop_config.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitea": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_URL",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_TOKEN",
        "ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITEA_URL": "${GITEA_URL}",
        "GITEA_TOKEN": "${GITEA_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Paste under mcpServers. Fully quit and reopen Claude after editing.

CLI or .mcp.jsonshell

# export GITEA_URL=https://gitea.example.com
# export GITEA_TOKEN=changeme
claude mcp add gitea -- docker run --rm -i -e GITEA_URL -e GITEA_TOKEN ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest

Run from your repo. Commit .mcp.json to share with your team.

.cursor/mcp.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitea": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_URL",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_TOKEN",
        "ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITEA_URL": "${GITEA_URL}",
        "GITEA_TOKEN": "${GITEA_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Global path: ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Reload window after editing.

.vscode/mcp.jsonjsonc

{
  "servers": {
    "gitea": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_URL",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_TOKEN",
        "ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITEA_URL": "${GITEA_URL}",
        "GITEA_TOKEN": "${GITEA_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code uses the "servers" key (not "mcpServers").

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitea": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_URL",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_TOKEN",
        "ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITEA_URL": "${GITEA_URL}",
        "GITEA_TOKEN": "${GITEA_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open via Cascade → hammer icon → Configure.

cline_mcp_settings.jsonjson

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitea": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--rm",
        "-i",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_URL",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_TOKEN",
        "ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITEA_URL": "${GITEA_URL}",
        "GITEA_TOKEN": "${GITEA_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Open via the Cline sidebar → MCP Servers → Edit.

~/.continue/config.jsonjson

{
  "experimental": {
    "modelContextProtocolServers": [
      {
        "transport": {
          "type": "stdio",
          "command": "docker",
          "args": [
            "run",
            "--rm",
            "-i",
            "-e",
            "GITEA_URL",
            "-e",
            "GITEA_TOKEN",
            "ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest"
          ],
          "env": {
            "GITEA_URL": "${GITEA_URL}",
            "GITEA_TOKEN": "${GITEA_TOKEN}"
          }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Continue uses modelContextProtocolServers with a transport block.

~/.codex/config.tomlshell

# ~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.gitea]
command = "docker"
args = [
  "run",
  "--rm",
  "-i",
  "-e",
  "GITEA_URL",
  "-e",
  "GITEA_TOKEN",
  "ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest",
]
env = { GITEA_URL = "${GITEA_URL}", GITEA_TOKEN = "${GITEA_TOKEN}" }

Codex uses TOML. Each server is a [mcp_servers.<name>] subtable.

~/.config/zed/settings.jsonjsonc

{
  "context_servers": {
    "gitea": {
      "command": {
        "path": "docker",
        "args": [
          "run",
          "--rm",
          "-i",
          "-e",
          "GITEA_URL",
          "-e",
          "GITEA_TOKEN",
          "ghcr.io/kazuph/mcp-gitea:latest"
        ]
      },
      "env": {
        "GITEA_URL": "${GITEA_URL}",
        "GITEA_TOKEN": "${GITEA_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Zed calls them "context_servers". Settings live-reload on save.

ChatGPT → Apps directorynone

Gitea doesn't ship a hosted HTTPS endpoint today. ChatGPT supports remote MCP servers only — to use this server in ChatGPT you'll need to deploy it to a public HTTPS URL first (e.g. via Cloudflare Workers or Vercel) or wait for an official remote build.

2
Set required secrets
Set GITEA_URL, GITEA_TOKEN in your shell environment before launching your MCP client.
3
Try a minimum working prompt
Minimum working prompt pending verification. Try any prompt from the MCP’s README once installed.

Tools & permissions

Tool	Description	Args	Side effects
`list_repos`	List repositories visible to the token.	—	Read
`get_repo`	Return metadata for a repo.	owner: string, repo: string	Read
`list_issues`	List issues in a repo.	owner: string, repo: string	Read
`create_issue`	Open an issue. Requires write scope.	owner: string, repo: string, title: string, body?: string	Write
`list_pull_requests`	List PRs in a repo.	owner: string, repo: string	Read

Security & scope

Access scope: Read-only
Sandbox: Authenticates with a Gitea personal access token scoped to the smallest set of permissions the workflow needs. The MCP defaults to read-only tools; writes require an explicit toggle.
Gotchas: Tokens carry whatever permissions they were created with — always scope to a specific repo or org.
Self-hosted Gitea uses self-signed TLS by default; export GITEA_INSECURE=true only on internal-only hosts.
Gitea Actions have a different API surface from GitHub Actions; do not assume the same tool names.

Agent prompt pack

— copy into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT.

Paste into Claude, Cursor, or ChatGPT. Edit the [brackets] before sending.

Recommend the best MCP servers for [task: e.g. git & repo workflows work] in [client: Claude].

Constraints:
- Prefer tools that are [official | open-source | read-only] — pick what matters for my use case.
- Exclude MCPs that require [e.g. a paid plan, OAuth-only flows, remote-only transport].
- Return at most 3 picks, ranked.

For each pick include:
1. One-sentence rationale.
2. The ready-to-paste install snippet for my client.
3. Any required secrets I need to create before installing.

Cross-check the top-mcps.com listing: https://top-mcps.com/top-mcps-for-git-repo-workflows

Compare Gitea against a real alternative. Swap the second MCP in [brackets] if you want a different match.

Compare Gitea MCP vs [GitHub MCP] for the following job: [describe the job, e.g. "let an agent create GitHub issues on bug triage"].

Judge them on:
- Setup time and complexity (what a new user hits first).
- Auth model (none / API key / OAuth 2.1) and credential risk.
- Transport (stdio / Streamable HTTP / SSE) and where the server runs.
- Required secrets and the blast radius if they leak.
- Operational risk in an unattended agent loop.
- Which one is "good enough" for a weekend prototype vs. production.

End with one sentence: which should I pick for my scenario, which is: [my scenario].

References:
- https://top-mcps.com/mcp/gitea
- top-mcps.com listing for GitHub

Asks the agent to install and verify. Works inside Claude Code, Cursor Agent, Codex CLI.

Install the Gitea MCP server for my [client: Claude] at the default config path for that client.

Use the exact install snippet published at https://top-mcps.com/mcp/gitea (fetch https://top-mcps.com/mcp/gitea.json for the canonical server.json if you can read URLs).

Before finishing:
1. Create the required secrets (GITEA_URL, GITEA_TOKEN) and put them in the appropriate env block — do not hard-code them.
2. Restart or reload the client so it picks up the new server.
3. Verify the server is connected (green / running state) and at least one tool is listed.
4. If anything fails, read the client's MCP logs and report the exact error — do not silently retry.

Confirm when done and list the tools the server now exposes.

Frequently asked questions

What changed

— 2 updates tracked.

Jun 2, 2026
Refreshed install snippets and fact sheet; verified for 2026.
Mar 18, 2025
Initial directory listing.

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