Add the Gitea MCP server to Claude Code

Config last verified Jun 1, 2026

The exact config to run Gitea in Claude Code — paste it in, restart, and the tools load.

Prerequisites

Claude Code installed.
GITEA_HOST — Base URL of your Gitea instance, e.g. https://gitea.com or your self-hosted host. Equivalent to the --host flag.
GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN — A Gitea personal access token. Equivalent to the --token flag.

Setup

1. Open `~/.claude.json`

2. Add this configuration

Add to ~/.claude.json

~/.claude.json

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gitea": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN",
        "-e",
        "GITEA_HOST",
        "docker.gitea.com/gitea-mcp-server",
        "-t",
        "stdio"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITEA_HOST": "<GITEA_HOST>",
        "GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or via CLI

bash

claude mcp add gitea -- docker run -i --rm -e GITEA_ACCESS_TOKEN -e GITEA_HOST docker.gitea.com/gitea-mcp-server -t stdio

3. Restart Claude Code and confirm the Gitea tools load.

Gotchas

Claude Code stores MCP servers under an "mcpServers" object in ~/.claude.json. It also reads a project-scoped .mcp.json and supports adding servers from the command line with "claude mcp add". Each entry must declare either a "type" or a "command"; Claude Code refuses an entry that has neither. Remote servers connect natively over Streamable HTTP with OAuth.

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