How to Set Up the GitHub MCP Server (2026)

Updated July 18, 2026• Web MCP Guide

The GitHub MCP server gives Claude, Cursor, or VS Code direct access to your repositories: reading issues and pull requests, browsing code and file history, triggering and inspecting Actions runs, and pulling security alerts. GitHub ships an official server — a Go binary distributed as a Docker image, plus a remote hosted endpoint — authenticated with a personal access token or OAuth.

Prerequisites

• A GitHub account with access to the repositories you want to expose
• A personal access token (classic or fine-grained), or a client that supports remote MCP with OAuth
• Docker installed if you run the local server; nothing extra if you use the remote endpoint
• An MCP-compatible client: Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code

Step 1 — Create a Personal Access Token

Generate a token at github.com/settings/tokens. A classic token with the repo scope is enough for reading and writing repository content, issues, and pull requests. Add workflow if you want to trigger Actions, and read:org for organization data.

Fine-grained tokens are the better choice for scoped access: pick the exact repositories and grant only the permissions you need (Contents, Issues, Pull requests), so a leaked token can't touch everything you own.

Step 2 — Choose Local (Docker) or Remote

The official server runs two ways. The remote endpoint is hosted by GitHub and needs no install — just a URL and a token (or OAuth). The local build runs the ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server Docker image on your machine, which is the option for GitHub Enterprise Server or when you want the process fully under your control.

If you have Docker and want to confirm the image pulls, run it once:

docker pull ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Step 3 — Configure Your MCP Client

Add the server to your client config. The Docker examples pass the token through as an environment variable; note the -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN flag forwards it into the container.

Claude Desktop (local Docker)

Config: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
        "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cursor IDE (remote endpoint)

Config: ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

To narrow the tool surface and disable writes, add the toolset and read-only settings via environment variables (Docker) or query parameters (remote):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "-i", "--rm",
        "-e", "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN",
        "-e", "GITHUB_TOOLSETS",
        "-e", "GITHUB_READ_ONLY",
        "ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here",
        "GITHUB_TOOLSETS": "repos,issues,pull_requests",
        "GITHUB_READ_ONLY": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart your MCP client after saving. GitHub should appear in the available tools list.

Step 4 — Test the Connection

Ask your client something that requires a live API call:

"List the 5 most recently updated open issues in my-org/my-repo"

A real list of issues confirms the token and connection are working. A 401 means the token is wrong or expired; a 403 usually means the token is valid but missing the scope for that action.

What You Can Do With the GitHub MCP Server

• Read, create, comment on, and close issues and pull requests
• Browse repository files, commits, and branch history without cloning
• Open a PR, request reviews, and merge once checks pass
• Trigger and inspect GitHub Actions workflow runs and read failing logs
• Pull Dependabot and code-scanning alerts to triage security findings
• Search code and issues across repositories you have access to

Pairing GitHub with an error-tracking source is a common setup — the Sentry MCP server guide covers pulling stack traces in so the assistant can move from a crash straight to the commit that caused it.

When Not to Use It

If all you need is to search public repositories or read documentation, the MCP server is overkill — a plain web fetch is simpler and needs no token. Skip it too on shared or untrusted machines where the token would sit in a config file; the remote endpoint with short-lived OAuth is safer there. And for pure local development where you already have the repo cloned, the filesystem MCP server gives faster access to the working tree than round-tripping through the GitHub API.

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions