GitHub MCP Server

Features

Model Context Protocol server for GitHub operations using GitHub CLI (gh).

• PR Information: Fetch pull request details, diffs, and metadata
• Repository Context: Extract and parse GitHub PR identifiers
• CLI Integration: Uses GitHub CLI for seamless authentication

This is a local stdio MCP server that runs on your machine and consumes fewer tokens and less context. For comparison with GitHub's official solution:

| Feature | This Server | Official MCP | |------------|-------------------------|------------------------| | Auth | GitHub CLI (gh) | GitHub token | | API | CLI wrapper | REST/GraphQL | | Tools | PR info, diff, auth | Comprehensive API | | Setup | Requires gh install | Token-based | | Tokens | 318 | 5100 |

Prerequisites

• Node.js >=18.0.0
• GitHub CLI (gh) installed and authenticated

# macOS
brew install gh

# Linux
curl -fsSL https://cli.github.com/packages/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg | sudo dd of=/usr/share/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/githubcli-archive-keyring.gpg] https://cli.github.com/packages stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/github-cli.list > /dev/null
sudo apt update
sudo apt install gh

# Authenticate with GitHub CLI
gh auth login

Setup

| Method | Pros | Cons | When | | -------------- | ----------------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------- | | npx | No install, latest version | Slower, needs internet | Quick demos | | Global npm | Instant, offline | Takes disk space, manual updates | Default choice | | Local npm | Version controlled, team sync | Extra disk per project | Shared teams |

# Option 1: npx (fastest)
claude mcp add github --scope user -- npx --yes @teolin/mcp-github
gemini mcp add github npx --yes @teolin/mcp-github

# Option 2: Global install (recommended)
npm install --global @teolin/mcp-github
claude mcp add github --scope user -- mcp-github
gemini mcp add github mcp-github

# Option 3: Local project
npm install @teolin/mcp-github
claude mcp add github --scope project -- node ./node_modules/@teolin/mcp-github/src/index.js

# Verify
claude mcp list
gemini mcp list

# Remove
claude mcp remove github --scope user
gemini mcp remove github

Available Tools

The GitHub MCP provides tools for interacting with GitHub pull requests and repositories through the GitHub CLI.

PR Identifier Formats

The server supports multiple PR identifier formats:

• PR number: 123
• PR with hash: #123
• PR URL: https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/123
• Branch name: feat/PAB-123-feature-name

Usage Examples

Example 1: Get PR details

// In Claude Code (from a git repository):
"Get details for PR 123"
// Fetches PR metadata and diff

Example 2: Get PR from URL

// In Claude Code:
"Analyze PR https://github.com/owner/repo/pull/456"
// Extracts PR number and fetches details

Example 3: Get PR diff

// In Claude Code:
"Show me the diff for PR #789"
// Gets full diff of all changes

Example 4: Get PR from branch

// In Claude Code:
"Get PR for branch feat/PAB-123-new-feature"
// Finds PR associated with the branch