Gitea
gitea.comGitea is a code hosting service.
Can an AI agent use Gitea? No, its robots.txt says no. Gitea's robots.txt disallows AI agents on sign-up, so our agent didn't sign up on its own.
From finding it to leaving
What an agent managed without a person, at each step.
- On its own
Find
Docs it can act on: an OpenAPI and an MCP server. 600 doc pages read.
- Stopped
Get in
Stopped hereCan't sign up. Robots.txt tells AI agents acting for a user to stay out.
- Not reached
Use
Tasks need an account.
- Not reached
Pay
Buying needs an account.
- Not reached
Leave
Nothing to cancel or delete.
Getting in
None of the 7 ways in got our agent in on its own; one got partway.
Where it stopped
No key needed
Robots.txt tells AI agents acting for a user to stay out.
- Both kinds of agentOn a server, or in its own browserNoSigning up needs a person: its robots.txt disallows AI agents there.
- Signed agentKnown to CloudflareYesThe sign-up page opens.
Every way in
| Way in | What happened | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Runs locally, no account | Partway | |
| No key needed | Stopped by robots.txt | |
| Email and password | Stopped by robots.txt | |
| Email and password | Stopped by a CAPTCHA | |
| Added by an admin | Stopped by robots.txt | |
| Continue with GitHub | Not tried | Not part of this drive |
| Continue with Google | Not tried | Not part of this drive |
- Crawlersrobots.txt disallows AI agents on sign-up. To let agents sign up, remove the rule that names them.
What an agent can do with Gitea
No task was tried: our agent couldn't get into Gitea.
Core tasks Gitea offers an agent
- offered, not tried
- Create a code repositoryAPI
- Push commits to a repositoryAPICLI
- Open and merge a pull requestAPI
- Review a pull requestAPIMCP
- Create a task or issueAPIMCP
- Run a CI/CD workflowAPIMCP
- Publish a packageAPI
- Configure SAML SSOWeb app
- Read the audit logWeb app
- Scan code for vulnerabilitiesWeb app
- Call the gitea.com APIRobots.txt disallows the API for all automated visitors.
- Start the Enterprise trial or buy a licenceThe customer portal signs in only through gitea.com, which is closed to agents.
15 more tasks it offers
- Publish a releaseAPI
- Read logsAPIMCP
- Register a webhookAPI
- Create a project or boardAPIMCP
- Add a label to a taskAPIMCP
- Create a doc or wiki pageAPI
- Create a workspaceAPIMCP
- Invite a memberAPI
- Import data from a file or another toolAPI
- Search the account's contentAPIMCP
- Restrict access by IP addressWeb app
- Enable two-factor authenticationAPI
- Set a member's role or permissionsAPI
- Connect a third-party integrationWeb app
- Register an OAuth appAPI
Self-hosted edition
L4Runs on its ownGitea also ships an edition you run yourself. Our agent installed it on its own server in about 3 minutes and drove it the same way, doing 100% of the core work.
How an agent connects
MCP, API, OpenAPI and CLI found.
MCP server
All testedOfficial server. Gitea-mcp 1.11.0, 61 tools, run with your own token.
61 tools across its docs
API
526 testedREST, 537 operations in Gitea 28.2.0.
537 operations across its docs
OpenAPI
YesSwagger 2.0, served by each instance at /swagger.v1.json.
CLI
213 testedofficial gt 0.2.0, about 200 commands.
216 commands across its docs
SDK
Unknownllms.txt
None foundAgent payments
None foundThe checkout wasn't reached: Enterprise, $19 a month.
Docs
Some gaps
Tips for agent builders
- On gitea.com you cannot sign up or call the API as an AI agent; drive a self-hosted Gitea or one whose owner gives you a token.
- Self-host in minutes: download the binary from dl.gitea.com, set INSTALL_LOCK=true and sqlite3 in app.ini, run 'gitea migrate', then 'gitea admin user create --admin'.
- Get a token without a browser with POST /api/v1/users/{name}/tokens using basic auth; pick scopes, a read token gets a 403 naming the missing scope.
- Run gitea-mcp (docker.gitea.com/gitea-mcp-server) with -t http and your token; server/discover answers 2026-07-28.
- In gt, 'gt pr merge' and other destructive commands need --yes when not on a terminal.
- Approving your own pull request is refused (422); use a second account or the admin Sudo header.
- An admin cannot delete itself; make another admin first, then 'gitea admin user delete --purge'.
How Gitea compares
In Source control
1 of the 5 products we drove in Source control is higher; 3 others share L1.
| Product | Level | Find to leave |
|---|---|---|
 Graphite | L2 | Find: On its own, Get in: On its own, Use: Partly, Pay: Not reached, Leave: On its own. |
 Bitbucket | L1 | Find: Stopped, Get in: Stopped, Use: Not reached, Pay: Not reached, Leave: Not reached. |
 Codeberg | L1 | Find: On its own, Get in: Stopped, Use: Not reached, Pay: Nothing to do, Leave: Not reached. |
| Gitea (this page) | L1 | Find: On its own, Get in: Stopped, Use: Not reached, Pay: Not reached, Leave: Not reached. |
 GitHub | L1 | Find: On its own, Get in: Stopped, Use: Not reached, Pay: Not reached, Leave: Not reached. |
Sorted by level, then work done, then time to the first call. How we rank
For the team behind Gitea
Agents get stuck at Get in. Prove Gitea is yours, then see where each issue is, read your safety findings and ask for a free drive after a fix. How to fix each one comes with the Audit.
10 things to fix for agents
Agent blockers: 3 foundSafety review: 2 issues found
- FindClear
- Get inBlocks agents
- UseNot reached
- PayNot reached
- LeaveNot reached
On our standard
12 criteria: against other source control products where we measured 5 or more, otherwise against every product we measured.
- Errors say what to do nextAhead of most 81 of 103 others (every product) lower, 22 the same.
- The best way in is built for agentsIn the middle 2 of 4 others (source control products) lower, 2 the same.
- Export before leavingIn the middle 56 of 144 others (every product) lower, 60 the same, 28 higher.
- WebMCP tools on the web appThe same as all 4 others (source control products).
- Limits known before they hitLevel with most 26 of 47 others (every product) the same, 21 higher.
- Errors a program can readBehind most 65 of 104 others (every product) higher, 39 the same.
- A request id on every answerBehind most 70 of 103 others (every product) higher, 33 the same.
- A path written for agentsBehind most 103 of 141 others (every product) higher, 38 the same.
All 12 criteria
- Docs an agent can navigateLevel with most 87 of 141 others (every product) the same, 10 lower, 44 higher.
- Every way in works for an agentLevel with most 3 of 4 others (source control products) the same, 1 higher.
- All validation problems at onceLevel with most 23 of 35 others (every product) the same, 12 higher.
- Pages fit one fetchLevel with most 87 of 141 others (every product) the same, 54 higher.
Where Gitea fits
- Category
- Wall
- Bot checkskept our agent out
- Cloudflare bot checkthe check, and every product we met it at
- Let signed AI agents past your bot checkfix guide
Found an error? Tell us on this page or read how corrections work.
Questions people ask about Gitea
- Can an AI agent sign up for Gitea on its own?
- No. Sign-up: blocked. Gitea Cloud's sign-up (cloud.gitea.com) has a visible Cloudflare Turnstile.
- Does Gitea have an MCP server, and can an agent connect to it?
- Yes. Gitea has an official MCP server. The server lists 61 tools. A new agent can't get in on its own: in the drive of 29 Oct 2026, our agent stopped at sign up (it was blocked).
Cite this page
The page as a reference, in plain text, APA and BibTeX.
Cite this
AgentDrives, “Gitea: AI agent test drive”, 29 October 2026, https://agentdrives.com/tools/gitea. CC BY 4.0.
AgentDrives. (2026, October 29). Gitea: AI agent test drive. https://agentdrives.com/tools/gitea
@misc{agentdrives_gitea_2026,
author = {{AgentDrives}},
title = {Gitea: AI agent test drive},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
url = {https://agentdrives.com/tools/gitea},
note = {Agent test drive, CC BY 4.0},
}Something wrong on this page?
Tell us what's wrong. We check it against the drive and correct the page, with the date.