GitHub MCP Server

What it does

Connects AI coding agents directly to GitHub's platform APIs. Enables assistants to search code across repositories, manage issues and pull requests, analyze commits, and monitor CI/CD workflows.

Maintained officially by GitHub.

Setup

For remote connection using GitHub OAuth:

claude mcp add --transport http github https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/

For local containerized execution with Docker and a PAT:

{
  "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_GITHUB_PAT"
      }
    }
  }
}

What to watch out for

Ensure your Personal Access Token (PAT) is limited to the narrowest permissions required. Disable unused toolsets if context window size is a priority.