Set up GitHub MCP in Claude Code
Access the GitHub API to manage repositories, issues, pull requests, branches, and workflows directly from your AI editor.
1
Locate the config file
Claude Code reads MCP server configuration from the following file:
~/.claude.jsonCreate this file if it does not already exist.
2
Add the configuration
You can configure GitHub MCP using the CLI command or by editing the config file directly.
Option A: CLI command
bash
claude mcp add github-mcp -e GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=YOUR_GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN -- npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-githubOption B: Config file
json
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"
],
"env": {
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "YOUR_GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN"
}
}
}
}3
Set up environment variables
GitHub MCP requires the following environment variables:
GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKENRequiredGitHub personal access token
4
Verify it works
Restart Claude Code. GitHub MCP should appear in your MCP server list with 20 tools available.
This server adds approximately 10,300 tokens to your context window for tool definitions.