Enables programmatic interaction with the GitHub API for file operations, repository management, search, and more.
Connect Github to Claude, Cursor or any other MCP client and it stops being a tab you switch to. Enables programmatic interaction with the GitHub API for file operations, repository management, search, and more. The github mcp server is what makes that connection.
Setup follows the usual MCP pattern — install or clone the server, register it in your client's configuration file, restart the client. The configuration blocks on this page cover the common clients.
The toolset is worth reading before you wire it up, because it tells you what the integration is really for:
Inputs — - owner (string): Repository owner (username or organization)Returns — File content and commit detailslist_repository_webhooks — get_repository_webhookcreate_repository_webhook — update_repository_webhookdelete_repository_webhook — get_repository_webhook_configupdate_repository_webhook_config — ping_repository_webhooklist_repository_webhook_deliveries — get_repository_webhook_deliveryredeliver_repository_webhook_delivery — list_organization_webhooksget_organization_webhook — create_organization_webhookupdate_organization_webhook — delete_organization_webhookget_organization_webhook_config — update_organization_webhook_configping_organization_webhook — list_organization_webhook_deliveriesConfiguration is passed through the environment: GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN, YOUR_TOKEN. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.
Among the developer tooling options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Github's toolset — Inputs, Returns, list_repository_webhooks and 11 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by MissionSquad; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.
SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Inputs | - owner (string): Repository owner (username or organization) |
| Returns | File content and commit details |
| list_repository_webhooks | get_repository_webhook |
| create_repository_webhook | update_repository_webhook |
| delete_repository_webhook | get_repository_webhook_config |
| update_repository_webhook_config | ping_repository_webhook |
| list_repository_webhook_deliveries | get_repository_webhook_delivery |
| redeliver_repository_webhook_delivery | list_organization_webhooks |
| get_organization_webhook | create_organization_webhook |
| update_organization_webhook | delete_organization_webhook |
| get_organization_webhook_config | update_organization_webhook_config |
| ping_organization_webhook | list_organization_webhook_deliveries |
| get_organization_webhook_delivery | redeliver_organization_webhook_delivery |
| insecure_ssl | "1" disables certificate verification and is discouraged. |
{
"mcpServers": {
"github": {
"command": "docker",
"args": [
"run",
"-i",
"--rm",
"-e",
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
"mcp/github"
],
"env": {
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<YOUR_TOKEN>"
}
}
}
}Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.
| Variable | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
| YOUR_TOKEN | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
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