Git & VCS ✓ Official ★ Featured Updated Jan 2026

GitHub MCP

Manage GitHub repositories, issues, PRs, and workflows from your AI assistant.

75.7k stars 2 IDEs
95 /100
Excellent Based on GitHub stars

Quick Overview

Everything you need to know about GitHub MCP

Best For

  • Git operations
  • Code reviews
  • Branch management

Requirements

  • Node.js 18+ or Bun

Quick Start

  1. 1Install via npx or bun
  2. 2Add to your MCP config
  3. 3Restart your AI assistant
  4. 4Start using 0 tool

How good is this MCP?

Our scoring algorithm analyzes multiple dimensions to help you make informed decisions.

82 /100
Very Good

Score Breakdown by Dimension

This is a simplified score based on publicly available data. Full scoring with all 5 dimensions coming soon!

Adoption How popular and trusted is this MCP?
98

Based on 75.7k GitHub stars

Activity Is this project actively maintained?
60

Last updated 49 days ago

Deterministic Scoring Based on real data from GitHub, npm, and MCP manifests. Same input = same score.
Coming Soon

More insights on the way

Trend Analysis Track how the score evolves over time
Percentile Ranking See where this MCP ranks among all servers
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What can this MCP do?

Explore the 0 tools available in GitHub MCP

Tool Discovery Pending

We haven't indexed the tools for this MCP yet. This usually means:

  • The MCP manifest isn't published or is in a custom format
  • Tools are dynamically generated at runtime
  • The repository was recently added to our catalog
Check the GitHub Repository

Get Started in Seconds

Add GitHub MCP to your AI coding assistant

4 Compatible IDEs
npx One-command install
1 Required secret
Choose your IDE:
Config file location ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
JSON 
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "your_github_personal_access_token"
      }
    }
  }
}
Environment Variables Required These secrets are needed for the MCP to work
  • GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN Replace your_github_personal_access_token with your actual value
1 Save the configuration file
2 Restart Claude Desktop
Ready to use!

Try It Out

Copy these prompts to get started with GitHub MCP

How to use these prompts

Open your AI assistant with GitHub MCP enabled, paste any prompt below, and watch the magic happen.

4 official examples
Workflows

Use Cases

Common workflows and scenarios for Version Control MCPs

01

PR Reviews

Get AI-assisted code reviews with context from your entire codebase.

Review PR #123 and summarize the changes
02

Issue Management

Create, update, and triage issues without leaving your editor.

Create an issue for the bug we just discussed
03

Code Search

Search across repositories to find implementations and examples.

Find all usages of the UserService class
04

Release Notes

Generate changelogs from commits and merged PRs.

Generate release notes for version 2.0
05

Branch Management

Create branches, compare changes, and manage merges.

Create a feature branch for the new auth system
06

CI/CD Insights

Check workflow status and debug failed builds.

Why did the tests fail on the last commit?

Why use Version Control MCPs?

Key advantages of integrating GitHub MCP with your AI assistant

1

Stay in Flow

No more context-switching between editor and browser.

2

Faster Reviews

AI summarizes PRs and highlights important changes.

3

Better Issues

Create well-formatted issues with all context included.

4

Code Discovery

Find relevant code across all your repositories.

Example Prompts — GitHub MCP
5 prompts

Important Considerations

  • Never commit tokens or secrets to your repository
  • Use read-only tokens when write access is not needed
  • Be cautious when enabling auto-merge or auto-approve features
Guidelines

Best Practices

Tips for getting the most out of GitHub MCP

Do This

Store tokens in environment variables or secure vaults

Use fine-grained PATs with minimal permissions

VS
Avoid This

Hardcode tokens in config files tracked by git

Use tokens with full admin access for simple read operations

Tools

Common Tool Patterns

Typical tools found in Version Control MCPs

search_code read

Search for code across repositories

get_pull_request read

Fetch PR details, diff, and comments

create_issue write

Create a new issue with labels and assignees

list_commits read

List recent commits on a branch

create_branch write

Create a new branch from a reference

get_file read

Read file contents from a repository

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Works great with

Technologies commonly used with GitHub MCP

github GitHub token in environment

Frequently Asked Questions