GitHub MCP Server

A Python MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives Claude the ability to browse GitHub repositories and search code — in real time, directly from chat.

Built with FastMCP · Deployed on Railway · No setup needed to connect

In progress — Issues & PR tools coming soon.

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Connect instantly

Add this URL as a Custom Connector in Claude (Pro/Team plan):

git-hub-mcp.up.railway.app

Note: This server uses a shared GitHub token scoped to public repositories only. For private repo access or heavy usage, deploy your own instance (see Self-hosting).

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What Claude can do with this MCP

Browse repos & files

• Get full details about any public repository — stars, forks, language, open issues
• List all public repositories for any GitHub user
• Browse the file and folder tree of any repo at any path
• Read the actual contents of any file (README, source code, configs)

Search code & commits

• Search for code across all of GitHub by keyword
• Scope searches to a specific user or repository
• Find repositories by keyword, filtered by language

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Example prompts

Once connected, just talk to Claude naturally:

Show me all repos for user khushi09-oss, sorted by most recently updated

Search for MCP server Python repos on GitHub, sorted by stars

Read the README.md from microsoft/vscode

Browse the files inside khushi09-oss/MCP-Servers

Search for "FastMCP" in the khushi09-oss/MCP-Servers repo

Find Python repos about machine learning on GitHub

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Tools reference

Tool	Description	Key inputs
get_repo	Repository details — stars, forks, language, last push	owner, repo
list_user_repos	All public repos for a GitHub user	username, sort
list_repo_contents	Browse files and folders at any path	owner, repo, path
read_file	Read a file's full contents	owner, repo, path
search_code	Search code across GitHub, optionally scoped to a repo	query, owner?, repo?

Coming soon

Tool	Description
list_commits	Recent commits on any branch
search_repos	Find repos by keyword and language
list_issues	Open or closed issues in a repo
get_issue	Full details of a specific issue
list_pull_requests	Open or closed PRs in a repo
get_pull_request	Full PR details with diff stats

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Self-hosting

Deploy your own instance with your own GitHub token for private repo access and no rate-limit sharing.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• A GitHub personal access token (create one here)
  • For public repos only: no scopes needed
  • For private repos: enable the repo scope

Run locally (Claude Desktop — free)

1. Clone and install

git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/github-mcp.git
cd github-mcp
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Switch to STDIO transport

In server.py, change the last line to:

if __name__ == "__main__":
    mcp.run(transport="stdio")

3. Add to Claude Desktop config

Find your config file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Add this entry (use absolute paths):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/github-mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Claude Desktop — your tools will appear automatically.

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Deploy to Railway (Claude Pro/Team — HTTP)

1. Push to GitHub

git init
git add .
git commit -m "initial commit"
git remote add origin https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/github-mcp.git
git push -u origin main

2. Deploy on Railway

1. Go to railway.app and sign in with GitHub
2. Click New Project → Deploy from GitHub repo
3. Select your github-mcp repo — Railway auto-detects Python via the Procfile

3. Add your GitHub token

In Railway, click your service card → Variables tab → New Variable:

GITHUB_TOKEN = ghp_your_token_here

Railway will automatically redeploy with the token set.

4. Get your live URL

Click your service card → Settings tab → Networking → Generate Domain

You'll get a URL like:

https://github-mcp-production.up.railway.app

5. Connect to Claude

In Claude.ai → tools icon → Add more tools → Custom connector → paste:

https://github-mcp-production.up.railway.app/mcp

Click Save → Always Allow.

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Test with MCP Inspector (no Claude needed)

pip install "mcp[cli]"
mcp inspect server.py

This opens a browser UI where you can call every tool directly and see the raw responses — great for debugging before connecting to Claude.

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Project structure

github-mcp/
├── server.py          # MCP tools (5 tools currently)
├── requirements.txt   # mcp[cli], requests
├── Procfile           # Railway start command
└── README.md

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Built with

• MCP Python SDK — FastMCP server framework
• GitHub REST API — v2022-11-28
• Railway — deployment platform