Connect to Orbit Local via MCP

Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate
Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated
Status: Experiment

Orbit Local can run as an MCP server, exposing the same two tools as Orbit Remote (query_graph, get_graph_schema) but pointed at the local DuckDB graph instead of a GitLab instance.

The MCP server is experimental. Capabilities and config shape may change before GA.

Prerequisites

The Orbit CLI (orbit) is installed. See Use the Orbit CLI directly.
A local repository has been indexed (orbit index <path> or glab orbit local index <path>).

MCP tools

Tool	Description
`run_sql`	Execute a read-only SQL query against the local DuckDB graph.
`get_graph_schema`	Fetch the schema: table names, columns, and data types present in the local DuckDB.

Unlike Orbit Remote (which exposes a JSON query DSL), Orbit Local speaks raw DuckDB SQL — agents compose SQL directly against the property graph tables.

A planned glab orbit setup subcommand will install the Orbit skill and write the MCP config for you. Until it ships, configure your MCP client manually as shown below.

You can also install the Orbit skill manually today to give the agent query recipes, DSL guidance, and troubleshooting.

Manual config: Claude Code

Add the following to ~/.claude/mcp_servers.json or your project’s .claude/mcp_servers.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "orbit-local": {
      "command": "orbit",
      "args": ["mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

Or, if you prefer to drive it through glab:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "orbit-local": {
      "command": "glab",
      "args": ["orbit", "local", "mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

Manual config: other MCP clients

Any MCP client can connect by running orbit mcp serve (or glab orbit local mcp serve). The server speaks MCP over stdio and exposes query_graph and get_graph_schema.

Using the tools

Once connected, instruct your AI agent to use Orbit directly.

Discover the schema:

“Use get_graph_schema to show me what node types are in my local graph.”

Find callers of a function:

“Use Orbit to find every file that imports parseConfig and the functions that call it.”

Map a module:

“Use Orbit to list every definition declared in src/auth/ and show their kind.”

The agent composes SQL and calls run_sql on your behalf.

What’s in the local graph

Orbit Local indexes code only: files, directories, definitions, and imported symbols across all 11 supported languages. SDLC data (merge requests, pipelines, users, vulnerabilities) is not available locally - that requires Orbit Remote.

Billing

Orbit Local does not consume GitLab Credits. All MCP traffic is local.