GitHub MCP Server¶

Overview¶

The GitHub MCP Server connects AI tools directly to GitHub's platform, giving AI agents the ability to read repositories and code files, manage issues and PRs, analyze code, and automate workflows through natural language interactions.

Remote Server Endpoint: https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/

Authentication: OAuth or Personal Access Token

Use Cases¶

Repository Management: Browse and query code, search files, analyze commits, and understand project structure
Issue & PR Automation: Create, update, and manage issues and pull requests, triage bugs, review code changes
CI/CD & Workflow Intelligence: Monitor GitHub Actions workflow runs, analyze build failures, manage releases
Code Analysis: Examine security findings, review Dependabot alerts, understand code patterns
Team Collaboration: Access discussions, manage notifications, analyze team activity

Integration with MCP Gateway¶

There are two ways to use the GitHub MCP Server with MCP Gateway:

Option 1: Remote GitHub MCP Server (Recommended)¶

The remote server is hosted by GitHub at https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/ and provides the easiest setup method.

Using OAuth Authentication¶

# Register the GitHub MCP server with MCP Gateway
curl -X POST http://localhost:4444/gateways \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" \
  -d '{
    "name": "github-remote",
    "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
    "transport": "http",
    "description": "Remote GitHub MCP Server (OAuth)"
  }'

Using Personal Access Token¶

Create a GitHub Personal Access Token at GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
Select the appropriate scopes for your needs

# Register with PAT authentication
curl -X POST http://localhost:4444/gateways \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" \
  -d '{
    "name": "github-remote",
    "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
    "transport": "http",
    "auth_config": {
      "type": "bearer",
      "token": "'${GITHUB_PAT}'"
    },
    "description": "Remote GitHub MCP Server (PAT)"
  }'

Option 2: Local GitHub MCP Server (Docker)¶

Run the GitHub MCP server locally using Docker and expose it through MCP Gateway.

Prerequisites¶

Docker installed and running
GitHub Personal Access Token

Setup¶

Start the local server with translate:

# Using mcpgateway.translate to expose the Docker container
python3 -m mcpgateway.translate --stdio \
  "docker run -i --rm -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=${GITHUB_PAT} ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server" \
  --port 9001

Register with MCP Gateway:

curl -X POST http://localhost:4444/gateways \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" \
  -d '{
    "name": "github-local",
    "url": "http://localhost:9001",
    "transport": "sse",
    "description": "Local GitHub MCP Server"
  }'

Tool Configuration¶

The GitHub MCP Server supports enabling or disabling specific groups of tools via environment variables or command-line flags.

Available Toolsets¶

Toolset	Description
`context`	Strongly recommended: Tools that provide context about current user and GitHub environment
`actions`	GitHub Actions workflows and CI/CD operations
`code_security`	Code security related tools (Code Scanning)
`dependabot`	Dependabot tools
`discussions`	GitHub Discussions
`experiments`	Experimental features (not stable)
`gists`	GitHub Gist operations
`issues`	GitHub Issues
`notifications`	GitHub Notifications
`orgs`	GitHub Organization tools
`pull_requests`	GitHub Pull Request operations
`repos`	GitHub Repository tools
`secret_protection`	Secret scanning and protection
`security_advisories`	Security advisories
`users`	GitHub User tools

Configuring Toolsets¶

For Local Docker Server¶

# Enable specific toolsets
docker run -i --rm \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=${GITHUB_PAT} \
  -e GITHUB_TOOLSETS="repos,issues,pull_requests,actions,code_security" \
  ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

# Or use all toolsets
docker run -i --rm \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=${GITHUB_PAT} \
  -e GITHUB_TOOLSETS="all" \
  ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

# Run in read-only mode
docker run -i --rm \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=${GITHUB_PAT} \
  -e GITHUB_READ_ONLY=1 \
  ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Dynamic Tool Discovery (Beta)¶

Enable dynamic toolset discovery to have tools enabled on-demand based on user prompts:

docker run -i --rm \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=${GITHUB_PAT} \
  -e GITHUB_DYNAMIC_TOOLSETS=1 \
  ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Creating a Virtual Server¶

After registering the gateway peer, create a virtual server to expose the GitHub tools:

# Create virtual server
curl -X POST http://localhost:4444/servers \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" \
  -d '{
    "name": "github-server",
    "description": "GitHub MCP Server with repository and issue management",
    "gateway_ids": ["github-remote"],
    "tool_choice": "auto"
  }'

Using GitHub Tools¶

Once configured, you can access GitHub tools through the MCP Gateway:

List Available Tools¶

curl -X GET "http://localhost:4444/servers/{server_id}/tools" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}"

Example Tool Invocations¶

Search Repositories¶

curl -X POST "http://localhost:4444/tools/invoke" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" \
  -d '{
    "server_id": "github-server",
    "tool_name": "search_repositories",
    "arguments": {
      "query": "language:python stars:>1000"
    }
  }'

Create Issue¶

curl -X POST "http://localhost:4444/tools/invoke" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" \
  -d '{
    "server_id": "github-server",
    "tool_name": "create_issue",
    "arguments": {
      "owner": "your-org",
      "repo": "your-repo",
      "title": "Bug: Application crashes on startup",
      "body": "## Description\nThe application fails to start..."
    }
  }'

List Workflow Runs¶

curl -X POST "http://localhost:4444/tools/invoke" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${MCPGATEWAY_BEARER_TOKEN}" \
  -d '{
    "server_id": "github-server",
    "tool_name": "list_workflow_runs",
    "arguments": {
      "owner": "your-org",
      "repo": "your-repo"
    }
  }'

GitHub Enterprise Support¶

For GitHub Enterprise Server or Enterprise Cloud with data residency:

Enterprise Server¶

docker run -i --rm \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=${GITHUB_PAT} \
  -e GITHUB_HOST="https://your-github-enterprise.com" \
  ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Enterprise Cloud with Data Residency¶

docker run -i --rm \
  -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=${GITHUB_PAT} \
  -e GITHUB_HOST="https://yoursubdomain.ghe.com" \
  ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Security Considerations¶

Token Management: Store GitHub PATs securely using environment variables or secret management systems
Scope Limitation: Only grant the minimum required permissions for your use case
Rate Limiting: The GitHub API has rate limits - monitor usage and implement appropriate caching
Audit Logging: Enable MCP Gateway audit logging to track all GitHub operations

Troubleshooting¶

Connection Issues¶

# Test direct connection to GitHub MCP server
curl -X POST https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/ \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer ${GITHUB_PAT}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "initialize", "params": {}, "id": 1}'

Docker Container Issues¶

# Check if container is running
docker ps | grep github-mcp-server

# View container logs
docker logs $(docker ps -q -f ancestor=ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server)

Authentication Errors¶

Verify PAT has correct scopes
Check token expiration
Ensure proper header format: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKEN