GitHub MCP server for Claude, Codex and Cursor

What your AI apps can do with GitHub

• Find repositories and code
• Read and manage issues and pull requests

GitHub MCP tools

31 tools, taken from the publisher's documentation on 29 October 2026. The server decides what it offers and can add or rename tools at any time; after you connect, Toolstile shows the current list.

Suggested starting access

Toolstile read each GitHub tool's description and wrote these starting selections by hand. They are a suggestion reviewed by Toolstile, not a guarantee: GitHub decides what each tool does and can change it, so check that a selection fits each app before you save it.

Read code, issues and pull requests

Read files, commits and branches, and open or list issues and pull requests in a repository. Searching code, repositories, issues or pull requests, and reading the signed-in user's profile, wait for approval. Nothing that writes.

• Allow: get_file_contents, list_commits, get_commit, list_branches, issue_read, list_issues, pull_request_read, list_pull_requests
• Require approval: get_me, search_code, search_repositories, search_issues, search_pull_requests

Open issues and pull requests with approval

The same reads, plus creating branches, issues, comments and pull requests. Searches, reading the signed-in user's profile and every write wait for approval. No commits, merges or deletions.

• Allow: get_file_contents, list_commits, get_commit, list_branches, issue_read, list_issues, pull_request_read, list_pull_requests
• Require approval: issue_write, add_issue_comment, create_branch, create_pull_request, get_me, search_code, search_repositories, search_issues, search_pull_requests

In the access editor, choosing a suggestion adds the listed tools this server offers to your draft. Existing access stays as it is, blocks and approval requirements stay in force, and the suggestion doesn't grant tool names the server adds later. Nothing is saved until you choose Save changes.

Suggested access for each AI app

The documentation this list comes from doesn't mark GitHub's tools as read-only or destructive. Read each tool's description and decide per app before allowing it.

Coding agent in Claude Code or Cursor. Allow the read tools so the agent can look things up without stopping, and require approval for tools that change shared data.

Chat or research app in Claude Desktop. Allow reading and searching. Allow writes only where you want the app to act for you.

Unattended agent, such as a scheduled Codex job. No one is watching the session, so keep it narrow: allow what the job needs, require approval for changes and block the rest.

Blocked tools are removed from the tool list an app sees, so it won't try them. Because rules apply per app, the same GitHub connection can be broad in one app and read-only in another, and the credential stays in Toolstile instead of each app's config file.

How it works with Toolstile

1. Connect once. Add GitHub to a workspace (access token or browser sign-in). Toolstile keeps the credential, so no agent config holds it.
2. Choose access per app. Give Claude Code every GitHub tool, give Cursor only the read tools, or keep GitHub away from an app entirely.
3. Share approved accounts. Teammates use the connection without copying tokens, and you can remove access in one place.
4. Review activity. See which app called which tool and when, so you can tighten access with evidence.

Add the GitHub MCP server to an AI app

Through Toolstile, every AI app uses one gateway entry, whichever servers you connect. In Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http toolstile 'https://mcp.toolstile.com/mcp'

Then connect GitHub in your workspace and choose which of its tools that app may use. Client setup covers Codex, Cursor and Claude Desktop.

To connect directly instead, add the GitHub endpoint to each app separately. In Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http github 'https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/'

In Cursor's mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
    }
  }
}

Some servers accept only clients they have approved, or need a token header. Check the GitHub MCP documentation for what your client needs.

Before you connect

A GitHub account and an access token with the permissions you need. Organization policies still apply.

Browser sign-in may require a registered OAuth client. An access token works with the remote server.

Server details

GitHub MCP documentation