GitHub MCP server for AI agents

The GitHub MCP Server allows LLM agents to interact with GitHub repositories, issues, pull requests, branches, files, and releases through a standardized Model Context Protocol (MCP) interface. It acts as a bridge between AI models and the GitHub API, providing a set of well-defined tools for GitHub operations.

Installation

Prerequisites

Node.js (v16 or newer)
A GitHub personal access token with appropriate permissions

Setup

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/github-mcp-server.git
cd github-mcp-server

Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```

Create a .env file in the project root with your GitHub token:

GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_personal_access_token
LOG_LEVEL=info
SERVER_NAME=github-mcp-server

Build the project:
```
npm run build
```
Start the server:
```
node build/index.js
```

Configuration

The server can be configured through environment variables:

Environment Variable	Description	Default
`GITHUB_TOKEN`	GitHub personal access token (required)	-
`LOG_LEVEL`	Logging level (debug, info, warn, error, fatal)	info
`SERVER_NAME`	MCP server name	github-mcp-server
`SERVER_VERSION`	MCP server version	0.1.0
`API_TIMEOUT_MS`	Timeout for API calls in milliseconds	10000
`RATE_LIMITING_ENABLED`	Whether rate limiting is enabled	true
`RATE_LIMITING_MIN_REMAINING`	Minimum remaining requests before throttling	100
`RATE_LIMITING_RESET_BUFFER_MS`	Time buffer to add to rate limit reset time	5000

MCP Client Settings

Add to your MCP client settings:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/github-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "your_github_personal_access_token",
        "LOG_LEVEL": "info",
        "SERVER_NAME": "github-mcp-server"
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

GitHub MCP Server provides tools organized by functionality:

Repository Management Tools

Tool	Description
`get_repository`	Get detailed information about a specific repository Parameters: `owner`, `repo`
`list_repositories`	List repositories for the authenticated user Parameters: `type` (optional), `sort` (optional)
`create_repository`	Create a new GitHub repository Parameters: `name`, `description` (optional), `private` (optional)

Branch Management Tools

Tool	Description
`list_branches`	List branches in a repository Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `protected` (optional), `per_page` (optional)
`create_branch`	Create a new branch Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `branch`, `sha`
`delete_branch`	Delete a branch Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `branch`

Issue Management Tools

Tool	Description
`create_issue`	Create a new issue in a repository Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `title`, `body` (optional), `labels` (optional)
`list_issues`	List issues in a repository Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `state` (optional), `labels` (optional)

Pull Request Management Tools

Tool	Description
`create_pull_request`	Create a new pull request Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `title`, `head`, `base`, `body` (optional)
`merge_pull_request`	Merge a pull request Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `pull_number`, `commit_title` (optional), `commit_message` (optional), `merge_method` (optional)
`update_pull_request`	Update an existing pull request Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `pull_number`, `title` (optional), `body` (optional), `state` (optional), `base` (optional), `maintainer_can_modify` (optional)
`list_pull_requests`	List pull requests in a repository Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `state` (optional), `head` (optional), `base` (optional), `sort` (optional), `direction` (optional)

File Management Tools

Tool	Description
`update_file`	Create or update a file in a repository Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `path`, `message`, `content`, `sha` (optional), `branch` (optional)

Release Management Tools

Tool	Description
`create_release`	Create a new release Parameters: `owner`, `repo`, `tag_name`, `name` (optional), `body` (optional), `draft` (optional), `prerelease` (optional)

Error Handling

The server implements comprehensive error handling with:

Standardized error objects with consistent formatting
Input validation using Zod schemas
Automatic handling of GitHub API rate limits
Categorized errors (network, authentication, validation, GitHub API, system)
Detailed structured logging

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.