LibreAI / AI Agents / github-mcp-server
// agents · github/github-mcp-server

github-mcp-server

GitHub's official MCP server — let AI tools work with repos, issues and pull requests

★ 33.4k stars⑂ 5.1k forksMITupdated 2026-10
▦ visual — this project's README ships no embeddable screenshot,
so here's a placeholder. The guide below is complete regardless.
// project facts

Project facts

github-mcp-server is an open-source ai agents project by github (github/github-mcp-server on GitHub). It has 33,448 GitHub stars and 5,108 forks, is released under the MIT license, and was last updated on GitHub on 8 October 2026.

GitHub stars
33,448
Forks
5,108
License
MIT
Last updated on GitHub
8 October 2026
Category
AI Agents
Listing
Full install guide
// how it works

How it works

  1. Clarify your goal

    Decide what you want to achieve with github-mcp-server and check the README on GitHub for requirements before installing.

  2. Get the code

    Clone the repository from GitHub (or take the packaged install route in step 3 if the README offers one).

  3. Install and configure

    Follow the project's documented install commands — the Run section below lists the exact ones — and add any required API keys or models.

  4. Run your first task

    Work through the README's quickstart example end to end, then adapt it to your own project or data.

// features

Why people love it

Official GitHub integration

Maintained by GitHub itself, covering repos, issues, pull requests, code search and more.

Remote or local

Use GitHub's hosted remote MCP server, or run the local server in Docker / from source for full control.

Toolsets you can scope

Enable only the toolsets you need (for example issues or pull requests) to limit what the agent can touch.

Works in many hosts

Documented setup for VS Code Copilot, Claude and other MCP hosts, plus a Go module for embedding.

Enterprise support

Supports GitHub Enterprise Server and Enterprise Cloud with data residency (ghe.com).

Token security guidance

The README documents environment-variable tokens and best practices for keeping your PAT safe.

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// run it

Run it yourself

  1. Clone the repository

    Get the server source if you plan to build it yourself; most users run the Docker image or the remote server.

    git clone https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server.git
    cd github-mcp-server
  2. Add it to your MCP client

    For Claude Code, register the server with your personal access token as an environment variable.

    claude mcp add github -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=<your-token>
  3. Restart and verify

    Restart your MCP host and ask the assistant to list your repositories to confirm the connection.

    # restart your MCP client, then try: 'list my recent pull requests'
// use cases

What you can build

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// faq

Questions, answered

Who maintains github-mcp-server?

github-mcp-server is maintained by the github organization/account on GitHub, together with open-source contributors, in the public repository github/github-mcp-server.

Is github-mcp-server free to use?

Yes — the code is open source under the MIT license. You can use, modify and redistribute it under that license's terms.

Does github-mcp-server need a paid API key?

No paid API key is needed, but you must supply a GitHub personal access token (free to create) scoped to the permissions you want the agent to have.

How does github-mcp-server compare to manual GitHub API scripting?

Writing your own API glue works for one-off scripts; the MCP server gives any compatible AI host a maintained, tool-scoped GitHub integration out of the box.

How do I get started with github-mcp-server?

Clone the repository from GitHub, follow the install commands in the Run section (taken from the project's README), and complete the documented quickstart example before adapting it to your own use case.

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// alternatives

Alternatives in AI Agents

The most-starred other AI Agents projects in the LibreAI catalogue — the realistic shortlist if github-mcp-server is not the right fit.

Get github-mcp-server

Free and open — grab the source, star the repo, and start creating.