github-mcp-server

Skill by ara.so — MCP Skills collection.

The GitHub MCP Server is GitHub's official Model Context Protocol server that connects AI tools directly to GitHub's platform. It enables AI agents to read repositories, manage issues and PRs, analyze code, monitor CI/CD pipelines, and automate workflows through natural language interactions.

What It Does

Repository Management: Browse code, search files, analyze commits, understand project structure
Issue & PR Automation: Create, update, and manage issues and pull requests
CI/CD Intelligence: Monitor GitHub Actions, analyze build failures, manage releases
Code Analysis: Review security findings, Dependabot alerts, code patterns
Team Collaboration: Access discussions, manage notifications, analyze team activity

Installation

Remote Server (Recommended)

The remote GitHub MCP Server is hosted by GitHub and requires no local installation.

VS Code (1.101+)

Using OAuth (Recommended):

{
  "servers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
    }
  }
}

Using GitHub PAT:

{
  "servers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:github_mcp_pat}"
      }
    }
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "github_mcp_pat",
      "description": "GitHub Personal Access Token",
      "password": true
    }
  ]
}

Claude Desktop

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"
      }
    }
  }
}

Note: Replace YOUR_GITHUB_PAT with ${GITHUB_PAT} if your host supports environment variables.

Cursor

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${GITHUB_PAT}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Local Server (Docker)

For hosts without remote MCP support or GitHub Enterprise Server:

{
  "servers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
        "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${GITHUB_PAT}"
      }
    }
  }
}

Authentication

Creating a GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT)

Go to https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new
Select permissions based on your needs:
- repo - Full repository access (read/write code, issues, PRs)
- read:org - Read organization data
- workflow - Update GitHub Actions workflows
- admin:org - Manage organization (if needed)
Generate token and store securely
Set as environment variable:
```
export GITHUB_PAT=ghp_yourTokenHere
```

Token Security

Store tokens in environment variables, never hardcode:

# .env file
GITHUB_PAT=ghp_yourTokenHere

# Add to .gitignore
echo ".env" >> .gitignore

Configuration

Toolsets

Configure which GitHub APIs are available:

{
  "servers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "X-GitHub-MCP-Toolsets": "repos,issues,pulls"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Toolsets:

repos - Repository operations
issues - Issue management
pulls - Pull request operations
actions - GitHub Actions workflows
search - Code and repository search
gists - Gist management
notifications - Notification access

Default Toolset (when not specified): repos,issues,pulls,actions,search

GitHub Enterprise Cloud (ghe.com)

{
  "servers": {
    "github-enterprise": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://copilot-api.octocorp.ghe.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${GITHUB_ENTERPRISE_PAT}"
      }
    }
  }
}

GitHub Enterprise Server

{
  "servers": {
    "github-ghes": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "-e",
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
        "-e",
        "GITHUB_HOST",
        "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "${GITHUB_PAT}",
        "GITHUB_HOST": "https://github.yourcompany.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Insiders Mode

Access experimental features:

Via URL:

{
  "servers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/insiders"
    }
  }
}

Via Header:

{
  "servers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "X-MCP-Insiders": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage Patterns

Repository Operations

List repository files:

Show me all Python files in github/github-mcp-server

Read file contents:

Show me the contents of main.go in github/github-mcp-server

Search code:

Find all functions that use the GitHub API in github/github-mcp-server

Analyze commits:

Show recent commits in github/github-mcp-server main branch

Issue Management

List issues:

Show open issues in github/github-mcp-server labeled as bug

Create issue:

Create an issue in github/github-mcp-server titled "Add support for X" with description "We need X because..."

Update issue:

Add comment to issue #123 in github/github-mcp-server saying "Working on this"

Close issue:

Close issue #456 in github/github-mcp-server

Pull Request Operations

List PRs:

Show all open pull requests in github/github-mcp-server

Create PR:

Create a pull request in github/github-mcp-server from feature-branch to main with title "Add new feature"

Review PR:

Show me the diff for PR #789 in github/github-mcp-server

Merge PR:

Merge pull request #101 in github/github-mcp-server

GitHub Actions

List workflows:

Show all GitHub Actions workflows in github/github-mcp-server

View workflow runs:

Show recent workflow runs for CI in github/github-mcp-server

Analyze failures:

Why did the latest build fail in github/github-mcp-server?

Trigger workflow:

Trigger the deploy workflow in github/github-mcp-server

Code Analysis

Security alerts:

Show Dependabot alerts for github/github-mcp-server

Code search across organization:

Find all repositories in github org using deprecated API

Analyze repository structure:

What's the directory structure of github/github-mcp-server?

Common Patterns

Multi-Repository Analysis

Compare the CI/CD setup between github/repo1 and github/repo2

Automated Triage

Label all open issues in github/github-mcp-server that mention "authentication" with "auth"

Release Management

Create a release for github/github-mcp-server version 2.0.0 with notes from recent PRs

Team Coordination

Show me all PRs assigned to me across github organization

Code Review Assistance

Review PR #234 in github/github-mcp-server and suggest improvements

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Problem: Server not connecting

Error: Unable to connect to GitHub MCP server

Solution: Verify server configuration

Check URL is correct: https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/
For local Docker: Ensure Docker is running
Restart your IDE/MCP host

Authentication Failures

Problem: 401 Unauthorized

Error: Authentication failed

Solution: Verify token

Check PAT is valid: https://github.com/settings/tokens
Ensure token has required scopes
Verify environment variable is set correctly:
```
echo $GITHUB_PAT
```
Restart MCP host after updating token

Permission Errors

Problem: 403 Forbidden or 404 Not Found

Error: Resource not accessible

Solution: Check token permissions

Verify PAT has required scope (e.g., repo for private repos)
Confirm you have access to the repository
For organizations, check if SSO is required:
- Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens
- Click "Configure SSO" next to your token
- Authorize the organization

Docker Issues

Problem: Image pull failed

Error: failed to pull ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Solution:

Check Docker is running: docker ps
Logout if you have expired credentials:
```
docker logout ghcr.io
```

Pull manually to test:

docker pull ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Rate Limiting

Problem: API rate limit exceeded

Error: API rate limit exceeded

Solution: Authenticated requests have higher limits

Ensure PAT is properly configured
Wait for rate limit reset (check response headers)
For heavy usage, consider GitHub Apps instead of PATs

Enterprise Server Connection

Problem: Cannot connect to GitHub Enterprise Server

Error: Connection timeout

Solution: Check GITHUB_HOST configuration

Ensure URL includes https:// scheme:

"GITHUB_HOST": "https://github.company.com"

Verify server is accessible from your network
Check firewall/VPN settings

Toolset Not Available

Problem: Tool not found

Error: Tool 'create_gist' not available

Solution: Enable required toolset

{
  "headers": {
    "X-GitHub-MCP-Toolsets": "repos,issues,pulls,gists"
  }
}

VS Code Integration Issues

Problem: Server not appearing in VS Code

Server 'github' not found

Solution:

Ensure VS Code version is 1.101+
Reload VS Code: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P → "Developer: Reload Window"
Check settings location: .vscode/settings.json or user settings
Enable Agent mode in Copilot Chat

Environment Variable Not Resolved

Problem: Token showing as literal string

Authorization: Bearer ${GITHUB_PAT}

Solution: Host-specific syntax

Some hosts use ${GITHUB_PAT}
Others use ${input:github_token}
Some require hardcoded values
Check host documentation for variable syntax

Testing Connection

Verify server is working:

List repositories in github organization

If successful, you should see a list of repositories. If not, check logs in your MCP host.