GitHub MCP

Set it up

1
Turn on GitHub in your AI

In Claude: open Settings → Connectors and add GitHub. In ChatGPT: Settings → Apps & Connectors.
2
Add it to your app once

Copy the short config below into your app. It just tells your AI where to find GitHub.
3
Just ask

Tell it what you want in plain words — no special commands.

For example, say

“List my 5 most recent GitHub issues across all repos”

Need the exact config? Show it +

Add to your client

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "-e", "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN", "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<your-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "serverUrl": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <your-token>"
      }
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add --transport http github https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-token>"

Paste into your client's MCP configuration file.

Quick skills

Copy one, paste it to your AI, watch it work.

PR Review Assistant

“Review PR #142 in my-org/api-service and highlight any security issues”

Issue Triage

“Find all open issues labeled 'bug' created this week and summarize them by severity”

Code Search

“Find all places where we use the old authenticate() function across all repos”

Good to know

· Requires a GitHub Personal Access Token (classic or fine-grained) — the server cannot authenticate without one
· Claude Desktop uses the local Docker image (ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server) — Docker must be installed and running; the hosted remote server is not yet supported in Claude Desktop
· Cursor, Windsurf, and Claude Code use the GitHub-hosted remote server at https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/ with a PAT bearer token
· GitHub API rate limits apply: 5,000 requests/hour for authenticated users, which heavy usage can hit
· Private repo access requires explicit token scopes — a default token only sees public repos

When to use

✓ You want to create or review GitHub issues without opening the browser
✓ You need to search code across multiple repositories
✓ You want to automate repetitive GitHub tasks through conversation
✓ You're doing code reviews and want AI assistance inline

When not to use

× You're working with GitLab or Bitbucket (not supported)
× You need real-time webhook event processing
× You want to self-host without a GitHub account

About

Imagine being able to say to your AI assistant: 'Show me all the bugs my team reported this week' or 'Create a task for fixing the login page' — and it just does it, pulling data directly from GitHub. That's what this server enables. It connects your AI to GitHub so it can see, create, and manage everything on your projects.

The official GitHub MCP server (maintained by GitHub) gives AI assistants full access to the GitHub API. Create issues, review pull requests, search code across repositories, manage branches, and interact with GitHub Actions — all through natural language.

This is one of the most production-ready MCP servers available, with comprehensive API coverage and active maintenance from the GitHub team.

Workflows That Use GitHub MCP

Automated PR review queue with Claude + GitHub MCP 20 minutes (10 to set up the first time, 10 per backlog sweep after)

Clear a backlog of open pull requests in one pass — Claude reviews each one to your standards and tells you which ones are safe to merge.

PR review with Claude + GitHub MCP 10 minutes

Stop context-switching between your editor and GitHub. Claude reads diffs, spots bugs, and suggests fixes in the same chat.

Turn a Sentry error into a triaged GitHub issue with Claude 20 minutes (10 to set up the first time, 5 per alert after)

An alert fires. In one prompt Claude reads the stack trace, pulls the code, judges severity, and writes the GitHub issue you'd have written by hand.

Ship a feature: Linear ticket to Vercel deploy with Claude 30 minutes (10 to set up the first time, 20 per feature after)

Take a Linear ticket from 'todo' to a live preview URL in one conversation — read the spec, write the code, open the PR, deploy.

Wire up your dev stack: code, CI, containers, errors 20 minutes

GitHub, Git, Docker, Kubernetes and Sentry in one chat — review, ship, and debug without tab-switching.

Works With

Claude Cursor Windsurf Cline

#official#github#git#code-review

Also Consider

Git MCP Trusted

For local git operations without GitHub API

FAQ

What does GitHub MCP do? +

Do I need to know how to code? +

No. Turn it on in your AI's settings and ask in plain English — no terminal, no coding.

When should I use GitHub MCP? +

Reach for it when you need to: You want to create or review GitHub issues without opening the browser; You need to search code across multiple repositories; You want to automate repetitive GitHub tasks through conversation; You're doing code reviews and want AI assistance inline.

When should I avoid GitHub MCP? +

Skip it when: You're working with GitLab or Bitbucket (not supported); You need real-time webhook event processing; You want to self-host without a GitHub account.

Is GitHub MCP free? +

GitHub MCP is free and open source (MIT license).

How do I install GitHub MCP? +

In Claude Code, run: claude mcp add --transport http github https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-token>". Copy-paste configs for Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf are at the top of this page.

Set it up

Turn on GitHub in your AI

Add it to your app once

Just ask