GitHub Repos Manager MCP Server

Token-based GitHub automation management. No Docker for optimal performance, Flexible configuration for fine-grained control, 89 tools with direct API integration.

A comprehensive Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Roo Code, Cline, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) to interact with GitHub repositories using your GitHub personal access token.

This tool simplifies managing GitHub repositories using only a GitHub token for setup. By skipping Docker, it avoids unnecessary complexity, delivering fast and effective results through direct API integration.

This server is built using Node.js and provides a complete toolkit for repository management, issue tracking, collaboration management, and more, all while leveraging the GitHub API for optimal performance.

Skip to Quick Setup and MCP Client Configuration

🚀 Key Advantages over other GitHub Automation MCP Servers

🎯 Simplicity: Token-based access eliminates complexity. 🌿 Efficiency: No Docker ensures lightweight, optimal performance. 💪 Power: 89 tools with direct API integration offer unmatched flexibility. 🔒 Flexibility: Fine-grained control with configurable tools.

🎯 Simple Setup & Operation

✅ No Docker required - Simple Node.js server that runs anywhere
✅ One token setup - Only needs a GitHub Personal Access Token to work
✅ Direct API integration - No dependency on gh CLI, faster and more reliable
✅ Zero configuration - Works out of the box with just the token

🔒 Advanced Security & Control

✅ Allowed repositories - Restrict operations to specific repos or owners
✅ Tool management - Enable/disable specific tools for fine-grained control
✅ Default repository - Set a default repo for streamlined workflows
✅ Flexible permissions - Configure exactly what the server can access

💪 Powerful Features

✅ Comprehensive toolkit - 89 powerful tools for complete GitHub workflow
✅ Branch & commit management - Create branches, explore history, compare changes
✅ Image upload support - Upload and embed images directly in issues
✅ Advanced filtering - Sort, filter, and search with multiple criteria
✅ Rate limit handling - Built-in GitHub API rate limit management

🎯 Complete Feature Set

📁 Repository Management

• Smart repository listing with filtering by visibility (public/private/all) and sorting options
• Detailed repository information including stats, URLs, and metadata
• File and directory browsing with support for specific branches/commits
• Repository search across all of GitHub with advanced sorting
• Default repository setting for streamlined workflows

🎫 Advanced Issue Management

• Complete issue lifecycle - create, edit, list, and manage states
• Rich content support - upload and embed images directly in issues
• Label management - add, remove, and organize with custom labels
• Assignee management - assign/unassign team members
• Issue locking/unlocking with customizable reasons
• Comment system - create, edit, delete, and list issue comments
• State management - open, close, and track issue progress

🔄 Pull Request Management

• Pull request listing with state filtering and sorting
• Comprehensive PR information including branch details and status

🌿 Branch & Commit Management

• Branch operations - list all branches with protection status and latest commits
• Branch creation - create new branches from existing branches or commits
• Commit history - explore commit history with advanced filtering (date, author, branch)
• Commit details - get comprehensive commit information including file changes
• Commit comparison - compare any two commits, branches, or tags to see differences

👥 Collaboration & User Management

• User profile information for any GitHub user or your own account
• Repository collaborator management with permission filtering
• Team collaboration tools for managing access and permissions

🎨 Advanced Capabilities

• Image upload and embedding - upload local images directly to GitHub
• Batch operations - manage multiple assignees, labels, and comments
• Flexible authentication - secure token-based GitHub API access
• Smart error handling - comprehensive error reporting and recovery

Prerequisites

Minimal Requirements - It's That Simple!

1. Node.js (version 18 or higher) - That's it!
2. GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) - The only configuration needed
   • Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic) or Fine-grained tokens.
   • Generate a new token with at least these scopes:
     • repo (Full control of private repositories) - Recommended for full functionality.
     • user:read or user:email (to read user profile data).
     • read:org (if you need to access organization information).
   • Important: Store this token securely. You will need to provide it directly in your MCP client's configuration for this server (see Step 3 below).

Quick Setup

Using npx (Simplest - No Installation Required!)

Make sure you have Node.js installed, then use npx to run the server directly Check that you have exported your GitHub token as an environment variable named GH_TOKEN or include it in your MCP client configuration.

You can run this server directly without cloning or installing:

# Run directly with npx
npx -y github-repos-manager-mcp

For macOS/Linux:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-repos-manager": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "github-repos-manager-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GH_TOKEN": "ghp_YOUR_ACTUAL_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Windows, in some cases you may need to use npx.cmd instead of npx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-repos-manager": {
      "command": "npx.cmd",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "github-repos-manager-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GH_TOKEN": "ghp_YOUR_ACTUAL_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

This command will automatically download and run the latest version of the server without needing to install anything locally.

Clone, Install and Run Locally

If you prefer to run the server locally, clone the repository and install dependencies:

git clone https://github.com/kurdin/github-repos-manager.git
cd github-repos-manager
npm install

Then, configure your MCP client to point to the local server using the full path to server.cjs:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-repos-manager": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/full/path/to/your/project/github-repos-manager-mcp/server.cjs"],
      "env": {
        "GH_TOKEN": "ghp_YOUR_ACTUAL_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important: Replace "ghp_YOUR_ACTUAL_TOKEN_HERE" with your actual GitHub Personal Access Token.

3. Test the Server

Once the MCP client is configured with the correct path to server.cjs and your GH_TOKEN, the server should start automatically when the client attempts to use one of its tools.

You can also test the server script directly for basic authentication, but this requires temporarily setting the GH_TOKEN environment variable in your shell for this specific test:

# For direct script testing ONLY (normal operation uses MCP client config)
export GH_TOKEN="ghp_YOUR_TEMPORARY_TEST_TOKEN"
node server.cjs
unset GH_TOKEN # Important: unset after testing

If successful, you should see "GitHub API authentication successful" and "GitHub Repos Manager MCP Server running on stdio".

Note: The server will only set a default repository if you explicitly configure it through environment variables, command line arguments, or use the set_default_repo tool. It never automatically sets a default repository.

Example File Locations for Claude Desktop claude_desktop_config.json:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (path may vary)

⚙️ Configuration Options

Default Repository Setting

You can set a default repository to streamline your workflow and avoid specifying owner and repo in every command. There are three ways to configure this:

1. Environment Variables (Recommended for MCP clients)

Add environment variables to your MCP client configuration:

Using npx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-repos-manager": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github-repos-manager-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "GH_TOKEN": "ghp_YOUR_ACTUAL_TOKEN_HERE",
        "GH_DEFAULT_OWNER": "octocat",
        "GH_DEFAULT_REPO": "Hello-World"
      }
    }
  }
}

Using local installation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-repos-manager": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/full/path/to/your/project/github-repos-manager-mcp/server.cjs"],
      "env": {
        "GH_TOKEN": "ghp_YOUR_ACTUAL_TOKEN_HERE",
        "GH_DEFAULT_OWNER": "octocat",
        "GH_DEFAULT_REPO": "Hello-World"
      }
    }
  }
}

2. Command Line Arguments

When running the server directly, you can pass default repository settings:

node server.cjs --default-owner octocat --default-repo Hello-World

3. Runtime Tool Call

Use the set_default_repo tool during your conversation to set or change the default repository:

• "Set default repository to microsoft/vscode"
• "Change the default to my own repo username/my-project"

Configuration Priority (highest to lowest):

1. Command line arguments (--default-owner, --default-repo)
2. Environment variables (GH_DEFAULT_OWNER, GH_DEFAULT_REPO)

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