GitHub MCP Server

Overview

GitHub MCP Server is the official way to connect AI coding agents to GitHub. Built and maintained by GitHub, it exposes the full GitHub API through the Model Context Protocol — letting agents create issues, review PRs, search code, manage branches, and handle notifications.

How It Works

1. Install — One-line npm install
2. Authenticate — Use a GitHub Personal Access Token
3. Connect — Add to Claude Desktop, Cursor, or any MCP client
4. Work naturally — “Create an issue” or “review that PR”

Use Cases

• Issue management — Create, search, label, and triage issues via natural language
• PR reviews — AI-assisted code review with inline comments
• Code search — Find implementations across your entire org
• Branch management — Create branches, compare diffs, manage releases

Getting Started

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
      "env": { "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token" }
    }
  }
}

Example

User: "Find all PRs from this week that touch the auth module"

Agent → GitHub MCP:
  - search_code(query: "path:src/auth")
  - list_pull_requests(state: "all", since: "2026-03-28")

Agent: "Found 3 PRs touching auth:
1. #245 — Add OAuth2 PKCE flow (merged)
2. #248 — Fix token refresh race condition (open)
3. #251 — Add rate limiting to login endpoint (draft)"

Alternatives

• Git MCP — Remote MCP for reading any public GitHub repo
• Composio — Multi-platform GitHub integration with OAuth
• GitHub CLI (gh) — Direct CLI (not MCP-based)