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GitHub MCP

Connect Claude to GitHub repos, issues and PRs

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Maintenance status

Archived
Checked September 28, 2026

Archived: the MCP project moved this reference server to modelcontextprotocol/servers-archived and no longer maintains it.

How to Install GitHub MCP

$npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

Requires Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, or another MCP-compatible client.

Setup by client

Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json)

{
  "servers": {
    "github-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (terminal)

claude mcp add github-mcp -- npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-github

Add any API keys or environment variables the server's README lists.

About GitHub MCP

The official GitHub MCP server lets AI models read and write issues, pull requests, files and repository metadata. Ideal for AI-powered code review, triage and project management workflows. If your repositories live in Azure Repos, you can connect Azure DevOps to Claude instead.

GitHub MCP is a Developer Tools MCP server designed for professional engineers and engineering teams. It enables wiring AI assistants into the inner loop of writing and shipping code by exposing Git, package, build, and CLI operations as MCP tools. Key capabilities include git and github operations (status, blame, prs), package and dependency inspection, build and test runner integration, and structured tool calls that work cleanly inside an LLM context. It integrates with Git, GitHub, GitLab, npm, pnpm, Docker, and common build systems, and is best suited for professional engineers and engineering teams who need reviewing diffs and opening prs from chat.

Key Features

  • git
  • code
  • issues
  • pr
  • Git and GitHub operations (status, blame, PRs)
  • Package and dependency inspection

Pricing

Open Source: from Free

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Acts more like a pair programmer with real tools
  • Tight scoping (one repo, dry-run) limits blast radius
  • Keeps flow inside the editor

Cons

  • Write operations require explicit guardrails
  • Quality of output depends on repo hygiene
  • Larger monorepos may need extra filtering

Best For

  • Reviewing diffs and opening PRs from chat
  • Triaging CI failures
  • Scaffolding new packages or modules
  • Repo-wide refactors with verification

Our Take on GitHub MCP

The single most useful MCP server if you live in GitHub. Setup is trivial and coverage of the API is broad.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Tags

#Developer Tools#git#code#issues#pr