How to Connect Claude Code to GitHub with MCP

Connecting Claude Code to GitHub lets you review pull requests, file issues and search code from your terminal session. GitHub's official MCP server handles repositories, issues, pull requests and Actions runs. You can use GitHub's hosted server or run it yourself in Docker.

Checked against: GitHub's install guide for Claude applications and Claude Code's MCP documentation on 28 October 2026. eSEOspace did not run these steps; menus can change, so follow the vendor's page if it differs.

Before you start

GitHub's guide lists these prerequisites:

• Claude Code installed.
• A GitHub personal access token.
• Docker installed and running, but only for the local server.

GitHub also recommends opening Claude Code inside your project folder, so the configuration is scoped to that project. Claude Code's docs suggest a fine-grained token with access only to the repositories you want Claude to work with.

Don't hard-code the token. GitHub suggests keeping it in a .env file as GITHUB_PAT and adding .env and .mcp.json to .gitignore. Our guide to Claude Code secrets management covers this in more depth.

Steps

Option A: GitHub's remote server

1. Run this in your terminal, not inside a Claude Code session. GitHub gives this format for Claude Code 2.1.1 and newer:

claude mcp add-json github '{"type":"http","url":"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp","headers":{"Authorization":"Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"}}'

1. Replace YOUR_GITHUB_PAT with your token. To read it from .env on Linux or macOS, GitHub gives:

export GITHUB_PAT="$(grep '^GITHUB_PAT=' .env | cut -d '=' -f2-)"
claude mcp add-json github '{"type":"http","url":"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp","headers":{"Authorization":"Bearer '"$GITHUB_PAT"'"}}'

1. Restart Claude Code.
2. Run claude mcp list to see that the GitHub server is configured.

Claude Code's own docs show the same connection as a single claude mcp add command:

claude mcp add --transport http github https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/ \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT"

GitHub notes that add-json may return Invalid input on Windows. If that happens, use the claude mcp add --transport http form instead.

Option B: Local server in Docker

GitHub's guide says the official image includes app credentials for github.com, so it can open a browser login on first use. It keeps that token in memory only:

claude mcp add github -e GITHUB_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PORT=8085 -- docker run -i --rm -p 127.0.0.1:8085:8085 -e GITHUB_OAUTH_CALLBACK_PORT ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

To use a token instead, which takes precedence over OAuth:

claude mcp add github -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=YOUR_GITHUB_PAT -- docker run -i --rm -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

Restart Claude Code and run claude mcp list again.

Choosing a scope

GitHub's guide explains the optional --scope flag. local is the default and keeps the server to you in this project. project shares it through .mcp.json. user makes it available in all your projects. Don't commit a .mcp.json file that contains a raw token.

Check that it works

GitHub lists two checks:

claude mcp list
claude mcp get github

Inside a session, run /mcp. Claude Code's docs say a working server shows a checkmark. A server with bad credentials shows an ✘, and its detail includes the HTTP status, such as a 401.

Example prompts (from Claude Code's GitHub example):

• "Show me all open PRs assigned to me."
• "Review PR #456 and suggest improvements."
• "Create a new issue for the bug we just found."

The first two only read. The third creates an issue, so Claude Code will ask before it runs unless you have pre-approved that tool.

Permissions and safety

The AI can do anything your token allows. GitHub's server README lists destructive tools such as delete_file, so scope the token tightly.

• Read-only mode. GitHub's server configuration guide gives the remote URL https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/x/all/readonly, or an X-MCP-Readonly: true header. For Docker, set GITHUB_READ_ONLY=1. GitHub says read-only mode "takes precedence over any other configuration."
• Toolsets. Load only what you need with the X-MCP-Toolsets header on the remote server, for example issues,pull_requests.
• Lockdown mode. It filters content from people without push access. GitHub calls it a best-effort filter, not an authorization boundary.
• Claude Code rules. Claude Code's permissions accept rules such as mcp__github__get_*, so you can auto-approve reads and still be asked about writes. See Claude Code permission modes.

Public issues and pull requests are untrusted text. Read prompt injection in Claude Code and the MCP Security Center.

If it doesn't work

GitHub's troubleshooting list covers these cases:

• Authentication failed. Check that the PAT has repo scope and hasn't expired.
• Wrong URL. The remote URL is https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp.
• Docker problems. Make sure Docker Desktop is running. Try docker pull ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server. If the pull fails, run docker logout ghcr.io and retry.
• Tools not showing. Validate your JSON, check that the .env variable is loaded, restart Claude Code and check /mcp. You can also run claude mcp remove github and set it up again another way.
• Windows name error. If you see missing required argument 'name', put the server name right after claude mcp add.

Claude Code adds one more: if you configured an Authorization header and GitHub rejects it, Claude Code reports a failed connection rather than falling back to OAuth.

Next step

Read the GitHub MCP server profile for the full toolset list and remote-only tools. Browse more setups in the connection guides hub, including VS Code with GitHub. If you want a team rollout with scoped tokens, see our Claude Code development service.

Frequently asked questions