Mode: Cognitive/Prompt-Driven — No standalone utility script; use via agent context.

GitHub Skill

Overview

This skill provides access to the official GitHub MCP server with progressive disclosure for optimal context usage.

Context Savings: ~95% reduction

MCP Mode: ~50,000 tokens always loaded (80+ tools)
Skill Mode: ~500 tokens metadata + on-demand loading

Requirements

Docker installed and running
GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable set

Toolsets

The server provides 80+ tools across 19 toolsets:

Toolset	Description
`actions`	Workflow management, runs, jobs, artifacts
`code_security`	Scanning alerts, code analysis
`discussions`	Forum interactions
`gists`	Code snippets management
`issues`	Issue creation, updates, commenting
`labels`	Label management and filtering
`projects`	GitHub Projects board management
`pull_requests`	PR creation, review, merging
`repos`	Code search, commits, releases, branches
`users`	User search and management
`orgs`	Organization and team management
`notifications`	Notification management
`secret_scanning`	Secret scanning alerts
`context`	Context about the user

Quick Reference

Use the gh CLI for GitHub operations:

# Get repository info
gh repo view anthropics/claude-code

# List issues
gh issue list --repo anthropics/claude-code

# Search code
gh search code "language:python MCP"

# Create issue
gh issue create --repo me/myrepo --title "Bug" --body "Description"

# List pull requests
gh pr list --repo anthropics/claude-code

Common Tools (Default Toolsets: 40 tools)

Repository Operations

search_repositories - Search for repositories
create_repository - Create a new repository
fork_repository - Fork a repository
list_commits - List repository commits
get_commit - Get commit details
get_file_contents - Get file contents from a repository
create_or_update_file - Create or update a file
delete_file - Delete a file
push_files - Push multiple files
search_code - Search for code across GitHub
list_branches - List repository branches
create_branch - Create a new branch
list_tags - List repository tags
get_tag - Get tag details
list_releases - List releases
get_latest_release - Get latest release
get_release_by_tag - Get release by tag

Issue Operations

list_issues - List repository issues
issue_read - Read issue details
issue_write - Create/update issues
add_issue_comment - Add a comment to an issue
search_issues - Search for issues
list_issue_types - List issue types (for organizations)
get_label - Get label details
sub_issue_write - Manage sub-issues
assign_copilot_to_issue - Assign Copilot to an issue

Pull Request Operations

list_pull_requests - List repository pull requests
pull_request_read - Read PR details
create_pull_request - Create a new PR
update_pull_request - Update a PR
update_pull_request_branch - Update PR branch
merge_pull_request - Merge a PR
search_pull_requests - Search for pull requests
pull_request_review_write - Create/submit PR reviews
add_comment_to_pending_review - Add comments to pending review
request_copilot_review - Request Copilot review

User & Team Operations

get_me - Get current authenticated user
search_users - Search for users
get_teams - Get organization teams
get_team_members - Get team members

Configuration

The skill uses Docker to run the official GitHub MCP server:

Image: ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server
Auth: GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
`GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN`	Yes	GitHub PAT for authentication
`GITHUB_HOST`	No	For GitHub Enterprise (default: github.com)
`GITHUB_TOOLSETS`	No	Comma-separated toolsets to enable
`GITHUB_READ_ONLY`	No	Set to 1 for read-only mode

Limiting Toolsets

When using MCP, configure toolsets via environment variables:

# Only repos and issues
GITHUB_TOOLSETS=repos,issues

# Only pull requests and code security
GITHUB_TOOLSETS=pull_requests,code_security

Error Handling

If operations fail:

Verify Docker is running: docker ps
Check GitHub token is set: echo $GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN
Ensure token has required permissions for the operation
Use gh auth status to verify authentication

Official GitHub MCP Server: https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server
GitHub API Documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/rest

Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before starting: Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md

After completing:

New pattern -> .claude/context/memory/learnings.md
Issue found -> .claude/context/memory/issues.md
Decision made -> .claude/context/memory/decisions.md

ASSUME INTERRUPTION: If it's not in memory, it didn't happen.

github-mcp