GitHub official MCP server
What it does
The GitHub MCP server exposes the GitHub API to Claude Code as first-class tools, so you can browse repositories, triage issues, manage pull requests, monitor CI workflows, and run security analysis without jumping between the web UI, gh CLI, and the API.
Features
- Repository management — code browsing, file search, commit analysis, project structure
- Issue / PR automation — create, update, comment; manage labels and assignees
- CI/CD intelligence — monitor GitHub Actions workflows, analyze build failures, manage releases
- Code security — vulnerability analysis, Dependabot alerts, code pattern checks
- Team collaboration — Discussions, notifications, team activity
Toolsets
The server exposes 19 toolsets in total. The default set enabled on startup is 5:
- context — repo and user context for the current session
- repos — repo browsing, file access, commit analysis
- issues — create, update, search, comment
- pull_requests — create, review, merge
- users — user lookups
Opt into additional toolsets as needed: actions, code_security, copilot, dependabot, discussions, gists, git, labels, notifications, orgs, projects, secret_protection, security_advisories, stargazers. Use the meta-toolsets all or default as shortcuts.
Authentication
- OAuth — recommended for remote server connections (VS Code 1.101+)
- Personal Access Token (PAT) — set the
GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKENenvironment variable
Use cases
- Analyze open issues on a repo, sort by priority, and assign owners.
- Pull PR diffs, review the changes, and leave review comments — all from Claude Code.
- On a failed Actions workflow, inspect logs, pinpoint the cause, and propose a fix.
When to use it
- Investigate a failing CI run without leaving the PR context
- Triage issue backlog in natural language
- Pull release notes directly from merged PRs