https://github.com/cyanheads/github-mcp-server
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server built in TypeScript that integrates with GitHub's API, enabling AI assistants to manage repositories, issues, pull requests, and code while providing a structured interface for LLM agents to perform GitHub operations.
https://github.com/cyanheads/github-mcp-server
ai-assistant github llm llm-agent mcp model-context-protocol modelcontextprotocol typescript version-control
Last synced: about 15 hours ago
JSON representation
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server built in TypeScript that integrates with GitHub's API, enabling AI assistants to manage repositories, issues, pull requests, and code while providing a structured interface for LLM agents to perform GitHub operations.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/cyanheads/github-mcp-server
- Owner: cyanheads
- License: apache-2.0
- Created: 2025-03-15T01:39:50.000Z (about 1 year ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2025-07-22T16:53:04.000Z (9 months ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-07-22T18:26:24.300Z (9 months ago)
- Topics: ai-assistant, github, llm, llm-agent, mcp, model-context-protocol, modelcontextprotocol, typescript, version-control
- Language: TypeScript
- Homepage:
- Size: 102 KB
- Stars: 8
- Watchers: 1
- Forks: 3
- Open Issues: 1
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
- awesome-mcp-servers - **github-mcp-server** - A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server built in TypeScript that integrates with GitHub's API, enabling AI assistants to manage repositories, issues, pull requests, and code while providing a structured interface for LLM agents to perform GitHub operations. `typescript` `ai-assistant` `github` `llm` `llm-agent` `npm install cyanheads/github-mcp-server` (🤖 AI/ML)
README
# 🚨 This repository is deprecated. 🚨
**Please use the official GitHub MCP server instead: [https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server](https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server?tab=readme-ov-file#remote-github-mcp-server)**
# 🚨 This repository is deprecated. 🚨
---
# GitHub MCP Server
[](https://www.typescriptlang.org/)
[](https://github.com/anthropics/modelcontextprotocol)
[]()
[](https://opensource.org/licenses/Apache-2.0)
[]()
[](https://github.com/cyanheads/github-mcp-server)
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides tools for interacting with the GitHub API. This server allows LLM agents manage GitHub repositories, issues, pull requests, branches, files, and releases through a standardized interface.
## Table of Contents
- [Overview](#overview)
- [Architecture & Components](#architecture--components)
- [Features](#features)
- [Repository Management](#repository-management)
- [Branch Management](#branch-management)
- [Issue Management](#issue-management)
- [Pull Request Management](#pull-request-management)
- [File Management](#file-management)
- [Release Management](#release-management)
- [Installation](#installation)
- [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
- [Setup](#setup)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [Project Structure](#project-structure)
- [Tools](#tools)
- [Repository Management Tools](#repository-management-tools)
- [Branch Management Tools](#branch-management-tools)
- [Issue Management Tools](#issue-management-tools)
- [Pull Request Management Tools](#pull-request-management-tools)
- [File Management Tools](#file-management-tools)
- [Release Management Tools](#release-management-tools)
- [Development](#development)
- [Project Structure](#project-structure-1)
- [Scripts](#scripts)
- [Error Handling](#error-handling)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
- [License](#license)
## Overview
github-mcp-server implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling standardized communication between LLMs and external systems through:
- **Clients**: Claude Desktop, IDEs, and other MCP-compatible clients
- **Servers**: Tools and resources for project management and collaboration
- **LLM Agents**: AI models that leverage the ability to perform GitHub operations programmatically.
It acts as a bridge between AI models and the GitHub API, offering a set of well-defined tools that follow consistent patterns and handle authentication, validation, error handling, and rate limiting.
Key capabilities:
- **GitHub API Integration**: Secure and seamless integration with GitHub's REST API
- **Comprehensive GitHub Features**: Complete management of repos, branches, issues, PRs, and more
- **Atomic Feature Architecture**: Well-organized modular code structure for maintainability
- **Input Validation**: Robust validation with Zod schemas for all operations
- **Error Handling**: Consistent error categorization and reporting
- **Rate Limiting**: Built-in GitHub API rate limit handling
- **Performance Focus**: Optimized operations and response formatting
### Architecture & Components
Core system architecture:
Click to expand Mermaid diagram
```mermaid
flowchart TB
subgraph API["API Layer"]
direction LR
MCP["MCP Protocol"]
Val["Validation"]
Rate["Rate Limiting"]
MCP --> Val --> Rate
end
subgraph Features["Feature Modules"]
direction LR
Repo["Repository Management"]
Branch["Branch Management"]
Issue["Issue Management"]
PR["Pull Request Management"]
File["File Management"]
Release["Release Management"]
Repo <--> Branch
Repo <--> Issue
Repo <--> PR
Repo <--> File
Branch <--> PR
end
subgraph Services["Services Layer"]
direction LR
GitHub["GitHub Service"]
Mapper["Response Mapper"]
RateLimiter["Rate Limiter"]
GitHub <--> RateLimiter
GitHub <--> Mapper
end
Rate --> Repo
Rate --> Branch
Rate --> Issue
Rate --> PR
Rate --> File
Rate --> Release
Repo --> GitHub
Branch --> GitHub
Issue --> GitHub
PR --> GitHub
File --> GitHub
Release --> GitHub
classDef layer fill:#2d3748,stroke:#4299e1,stroke-width:3px,rx:5,color:#fff
classDef component fill:#1a202c,stroke:#a0aec0,stroke-width:2px,rx:3,color:#fff
classDef api fill:#3182ce,stroke:#90cdf4,stroke-width:2px,rx:3,color:#fff
classDef features fill:#319795,stroke:#81e6d9,stroke-width:2px,rx:3,color:#fff
classDef services fill:#2f855a,stroke:#9ae6b4,stroke-width:2px,rx:3,color:#fff
class API,Features,Services layer
class MCP,Val,Rate api
class Repo,Branch,Issue,PR,File,Release features
class GitHub,Mapper,RateLimiter services
```
Core Components:
- **MCP Protocol Layer**: Handles communication with AI assistants
- **Validation Layer**: Ensures data integrity through schema validation
- **GitHub Service**: Core integration with GitHub REST API
- **Rate Limiter**: Prevents API rate limit exhaustion
- **Feature Modules**: Domain-specific GitHub operations
- **Error Handling**: Comprehensive error handling and logging system
## Features
### Repository Management
- **Create, List, Get**: Create new repositories, list user repositories, and get detailed repository information
- **Validation & Configuration**: Validate repository settings and manage configuration options
### Branch Management
- **Create, Delete, List**: Complete branch lifecycle management with secure validation
- **Protected Branch Support**: Filtering and operations for protected branches
### Issue Management
- **Create & List**: Create detailed issues with labels and list issues with filtering options
- **Status Tracking**: Filter by issue state (open, closed, all)
### Pull Request Management
- **Create, Update, Merge, List**: Full pull request lifecycle management
- **Review & Comment Integration**: Add reviews and comments to pull requests
- **Merge Options**: Support for different merge strategies (merge, squash, rebase)
### File Management
- **Create & Update Files**: Add and modify repository content with commit messages
- **Base64 Encoding Support**: Handle both text and binary file content
### Release Management
- **Create Releases**: Create tagged releases with customizable options
- **Draft & Prerelease Support**: Support for draft and prerelease workflows
## Installation
### Prerequisites
- Node.js (v16 or newer)
- A GitHub personal access token with appropriate permissions
### Setup
1. Clone the repository:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/cyanheads/github-mcp-server.git
cd github-mcp-server
```
2. Install dependencies:
```bash
npm install
```
3. 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
```
4. Build the project:
```bash
npm run build
```
5. Start the server:
```bash
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:
```json
{
"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"
}
}
}
}
```
## Project Structure
This project follows an atomic feature-oriented architecture pattern:
```
/src
/configuration // Application configuration
/dependencyInjection // Tool registry and DI container
/features // Feature modules organized by domain
/repositoryManagement
/resources // Read operations
/modifications // Write operations
/branchManagement
/issueManagement
/pullRequestManagement
/fileManagement
/releaseManagement
/services // External service integrations
/githubAccess // GitHub API client and utilities
/types // Core type definitions
/utilities // Helper functions and utilities
```
Each feature domain is split into:
- **Resources**: Read operations that don't modify data
- **Modifications**: Write operations that create, update, or delete data
Each operation is contained in its own directory with:
- Operation implementation file
- Type definitions file
- Export index file
## Tools
GitHub MCP Server provides a comprehensive suite of tools for interacting with GitHub:
### 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) |
## Development
### Project Structure
The project follows strict naming conventions and directory structure:
- File naming: `action.entity.type.ts` (e.g., `create.repository.operation.ts`)
- Each module has a clearly defined purpose
- Types are co-located with their implementation
- All exports are centralized through index files
### Scripts
- `npm run build` - Build the project
- `npm run watch` - Watch for changes and rebuild
- `npm run inspector` - Run the MCP inspector tool
- `npm run clean` - Clean build artifacts
- `npm run rebuild` - Clean and rebuild the project
- `npm run tree` - Generate a directory tree representation
## Error Handling
The server implements a comprehensive error handling strategy:
- **Standardized Error Objects**: Consistent error format with categorization
- **Input Validation**: Pre-validation using Zod schemas
- **Rate Limiting Protection**: Automatic handling of GitHub API rate limits
- **Error Categories**:
- Network errors (connectivity issues)
- Authentication errors (token problems)
- Validation errors (invalid input)
- GitHub API errors (API-specific issues)
- System errors (unexpected failures)
- **Detailed Logging**: Structured logging for all operations and errors
## Contributing
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (`git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature`)
3. Commit your changes (`git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature'`)
4. Push to the branch (`git push origin feature/amazing-feature`)
5. Open a Pull Request
## License
[Apache License 2.0](LICENSE)
---
Built with the Model Context Protocol