UGT: Use the GitHub Thing

Name: UGT: Use the GitHub Thing
Author: auscaster

by auscasterversion 0.3.0i★ –iComputer or cloud

Registry namecom.usegithubthing/ugt

Install

Overview

Description from the maker (original English)

Get open-source GitHub projects running on your computer, with your AI app

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

These three are never merged into one score: opinions, measurements and popularity are different things.

User voiceiNo reviews yetReviews open together with accounts in a later step
Our basic checksi2 of 3 passedChecked from public information; code not scanned yet
UsageiNot measured yet★ –

What you can do with it

We have not written a plain-language summary for this one yet. Below are the facts we read from the registry.

Connection: Computer or cloud
Transport: stdio, Streamable HTTP
Category: Developer tools

Install

Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.

Before you install

Basic checks: 2 of 3 passed
Runs on the maker’s server: what you ask it goes through their server.
Can do 5 things (tools) search_recipes, get_project, get_recipe, read_recipe_file …
The registry lists no key to fill in.

You need

Runs in the cloudNothing to install; it connects over the internet

Which app do you use?

ClaudeClaude CodeCursorVS CodeChatGPT

Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.

Works in Claude on the web, desktop and mobile:

Open Settings → Connectors
Press Add custom connector
Paste the address below and press Add
If it asks you to sign in, sign in with the maker

https://mcp.usegithubthing.com/mcp

Download the maker’s .mcpb file

The link goes to the maker’s own file; we do not host or repackage it. Open the file and Claude Desktop installs it.

Run this in your terminal

claude mcp add --transport http ugt https://mcp.usegithubthing.com/mcp

Open in Cursor

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ugt": {
      "url": "https://mcp.usegithubthing.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

Open in VS Code

Or copy the settings yourself

Paste into .vscode/mcp.json in your project

{
  "servers": {
    "ugt": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.usegithubthing.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Your browser asks to open the app, then the app shows the settings and asks you to confirm. Key values are left empty for you to fill in.

ChatGPT connects only to servers on the internet:

Open ChatGPT on the web → Settings → Connectors (Apps)
Press Create or Add (some plans need Developer mode under Advanced first)
Paste the address below, give it a name and save
If it asks you to sign in, sign in with the maker

https://mcp.usegithubthing.com/mcp

Menu names can differ slightly by plan and over time.

Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.

These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.

What it can do

Tool names and descriptions exactly as the server reported them on Nov 6, 2026. The maker wrote them, not us; we show them as plain text.

search_recipes
Find how UGT gets a job done on the user's own computer with open-source software from GitHub, such as subtitles, CAD, video or web pages to Markdown. Search by what the user wants done or by a project's name, or omit the query to list the newest recipes. A recipe is a verified w
get_project
Get how UGT runs one GitHub project, by owner/repo or its link: the recipes people have shared for it, each verified for one job. Every GitHub project works with UGT, so the result always says what to do next.
get_recipe
Get one recipe in full: what it takes and makes, what stays usable after a run, the settings it asks for, everything it can reach and why, where it was tested, and every file it runs.
read_recipe_file
Read one of a recipe's files, such as compose.yaml, its Dockerfile or recipe.json, to see exactly what it runs.
get_install
Get the one line that installs UGT on the user's Windows PC, Mac or Linux computer and connects it to their AI apps, UGT for Claude Desktop, and what each computer runs recipes in. Omit the computer to get every one.

Basic checksi

We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 6, 2026

! Caution
Maker matches the repo
The publisher (usegithubthing.com) is not the repo owner (auscaster); someone else may have listed it
… Not checked yet
Still maintained
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
… Not checked yet
Has a licence
We have not read this repo from GitHub yet
✓ Pass
Endpoint responds
Responded in 533 ms (HTTP 200)
– Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
No sign-in needed
✓ Pass
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Read 5 tool descriptions and found no hidden instructions to the AI

Compared with others in Developer toolsi

More stars than 0% of the other 1390 servers in this category
Published to the registry more recently than 96% of the other 1390 servers in this category
Basic checks equal to or better than 25% of the other 1390 servers in this category

Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.

Common questions

Is UGT: Use the GitHub Thing safe?

It passed 2 of 3 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.

What keys or codes does it need?

The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.

Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?

Either way works: install it on your computer or connect to the cloud version.

Is it still maintained?

The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.3.0) reached the registry yesterday.

Which apps can use it?

Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. It connects by URL, so apps that accept remote MCP servers work too, such as ChatGPT in developer mode.

What can I use instead?

In the same category: GitHub, Desktop Commander, Cloudflare MCP

Alternatives

Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.

Reading a card:★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi

GitHub

by github

GitHub’s official server lets AI read and manage code, issues and pull requests in your account. Use GitHub’s hosted version or run it locally with Docker.

Computer or cloud★ 34,245MITUpdated 3 days ago

Install

Desktop Commander

by wonderwhy-er

MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management

Runs on your computer★ 10,225MITUpdated 15 days ago

Install

Cloudflare MCP

by cloudflare

Cloudflare MCP servers

Runs in the cloud★ 4,446Apache-2.0Updated 14 months ago

Install

README from the maker

Open the README

Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.

You found it on GitHub. Now use it.

Paste the GitHub link to the project you want to use.

UGT helps get it working on your computer and shows you how to use it again.

Free and open source. Windows, Mac and Linux.

How it works · Get started · What you can do · Why not just ask your agent? · The catalogue · Share your recipe · House rules

How it works

Start with the GitHub link. You can also add an error you ran into or something you want to do with the project.
Follow the setup for your computer. UGT looks for a ready setup or the project's own installer. If it needs a closer look, your AI app continues with the same link and details. A recipe is a setup someone has already checked; your agent can make one when the project has none.
Use what it made. Open the resulting file or app. File jobs check their output, and apps keep their saved data when you stop and reopen them. If a run fails, ask for help with that run without starting the conversation over.
Share it, if you like. Once it works, UGT can submit your recipe to the catalogue, so the next person gets it fast.

Get started

Paste your GitHub project into UGT. The link is enough. If you already tried to install it, you can include the error you saw.

UGT checks for a way to use that project on your computer. If it offers Open in UGT, open it, choose your file if it needs one, and run it. When a file is ready, UGT shows you its folder. An app opens at its own address.

If the project needs a closer look, continue in your desktop AI app. The website carries your link and notes into the project message. If UGT needs installing, it shows how to set it up. UGT has no subscription; your AI app's own usage limits and pricing still apply.

Set up UGT yourself

Claude Desktop: install the UGT desktop extension for your computer. The project page helps you pick the download.
On a Mac or Linux: open Terminal and run curl -fsSL https://usegithubthing.com/install | sh.
On Windows: open PowerShell and run irm https://usegithubthing.com/install.ps1 | iex. Windows may ask for permission and a restart.

Return to your project when setup finishes. On an Intel Mac, start Docker Desktop, OrbStack or Docker Engine first.

For developers

Where	How
Windows	`scoop bucket add auscaster https://github.com/auscaster/scoop-bucket`, then `scoop install ugt`	Today
Windows	`winget install auscaster.ugt`	Next
macOS or Linux	`brew install auscaster/tap/ugt`	Today
Linux	`curl -fsSL https://usegithubthing.com/install \	sh`	Today
Any MCP client	`com.usegithubthing/ugt` in the MCP Registry, or `ugt mcp` over stdio	Today
Any AI app, with nothing installed	The hosted MCP server `https://mcp.usegithubthing.com/mcp`: it finds how UGT runs a project, shows what a recipe runs and reaches, and gives the line that installs UGT	Today
Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI	UGT's plugin: `claude plugin install ugt@auscaster` after `claude plugin marketplace add auscaster/agent-plugins`, the same for Codex, or `gemini extensions install https://github.com/auscaster/ugt`	Today
Your browser	A "Use it" button on every GitHub repository	Next
From source, any OS	`go install github.com/auscaster/ugt/cmd/ugt@latest`, then `ugt setup` and `ugt connect`	Today

What you can do with it

GitHub is the world's biggest shelf of free software, and most of it never reaches the people it could help, because it ships as code, not as an app. UGT turns any of it into something you can just ask for.

Ask your agent	What runs
"Put subtitles on this interview"	openai/whisper: speech to text, fully offline. Verified recipe
"Turn my HTML into a four-second intro video"	heygen-com/hyperframes: a headless browser and ffmpeg. Verified recipe
"Design a wall hook I can 3D print"	earthtojake/text-to-cad: an industrial CAD kernel. Verified recipe
"Save these pages as clean Markdown, on my own computer"	firecrawl/firecrawl: a five-service crawler stack. Verified recipe
"Cut the background out of this photo"	danielgatis/rembg: an image segmentation model
"Convert this PDF and Word file to Markdown"	microsoft/markitdown: Microsoft's document converter
"Read this paragraph aloud"	debpalash/VoiceStudio: local text to speech
"List the functions in this program"	NationalSecurityAgency/ghidra: the NSA's reverse-engineering suite, headless

A few featured examples. You never need a recipe from the catalogue: without one, your agent works the project out the first time. A recipe just makes it faster, because someone already did.

Why not just ask your agent?

Your agent can read the code. It usually can't run it for you, and it starts from zero every time.

Most of GitHub assumes Linux. On Windows and on a Mac your agent hits a wall. UGT brings its own private Linux engine, set up in one step, on Linux too: no Docker Desktop, no account, nothing to learn. On an Intel Mac it drives the engine you already have.
Proven once, quick for everyone after. The first agent to get a project working can spend an hour building and fixing: memory limits, wrong-architecture binaries, missing system libraries, a resolver that cannot find the internet. The recipe it leaves behind turns the next person's run into a download.
Proof, not "it started". A container starting is not your job done. Every recipe carries a check that fails unless the output is real: subtitles that fit the recording, a video of the length you asked for, a mesh you can actually print.
Your machine, your files. Projects run in a sandbox with only the files and access their recipe declares. The catalogue reviews that access before admitting a recipe; UGT asks before a locally made recipe reaches beyond its ordinary sandbox. Cloud compute requires your agreement and a stated cost.

The catalogue

Recipes are a shortcut, never a requirement. Each one is a project someone already got doing a job, shared so nobody has to work it out again. A recipe is a folder anyone can read, in recipes/: a compose.yaml that holds everything that runs, and a recipe.json that says what it does. One project can have many recipes, one per job.

Browse them at usegithubthing.com/recipes, or read their source in recipes/. Every one was verified on clean machines before it was admitted, and a new recipe works for everyone the moment it lands, with no update to UGT.

Verified means every service ran as written on clean amd64 and arm64 machines and passed both checks, and both checks rejected deliberately broken outputs. A featured recipe's image is the one that was verified; any other builds on your machine from the same pinned commit and bases.

What's inside a recipe

recipes/openai/whisper/subtitles/

compose.yaml everything that runs: build, limits, mounts, network, and the four services recipe.json what it is: project, commit, task, settings, the access it needs, licence Dockerfile fetches the pinned source itself, so the build needs no clone check/ the check scripts

Service	Does
`task`	Your job, on your files
`check`	Fails unless the job really happened, whatever your input was
`sample`	Puts a known input in place
`sample-check`	Fails unless the known input gave the known answer

It is plain Compose, so there is no new language to learn, and every recipe runs anywhere Compose does. The recipe reference has the rules.

Share your recipe

Got a project doing something useful? Share it, so the next person gets it fast instead of working it out again.

Tell your AI "Use the GitHub Thing: share this recipe", or run ugt recipe submit. UGT checks it runs again from scratch, makes sure nothing personal goes with it (your files, paths and keys), and opens a pull request as you. It is then verified on clean machines with no secrets available, and admitted once it passes; a maintainer reviews any recipe that reaches beyond its sandbox first.

Coming with the UGT app. Until then, from the source:

go install github.com/auscaster/ugt/cmd/ugt@latest

ugt recipe new / # start one, or adopt the project's own Compose file ugt recipe verify # until it passes ugt login # once: approve a code in your browser ugt recipe submit # opens the pull request as you

ugt recipe submit --dry-run shows exactly what would be sent first. CONTRIBUTING.md and the catalogue rules have the details.

Maintain a project? A "Run with UGT" badge is on the way: put it in your README, and one click opens your project in UGT.

House rules

Your files stay yours. Inputs are copied in. Your home folder, keys and the container engine are never handed to a project unless its recipe says why and a maintainer reviewed it, or you agree.
Run anything, hide nothing. A recipe can need the internet, a folder, a device or more. It declares each one, and UGT refuses anything it did not declare. A maintainer reviews it before the catalogue admits it; a recipe from anywhere else asks you before it reaches your computer.
Proof or it didn't happen. No check, no success.
You decide. Installs, admin prompts, big downloads, accounts, keys and cloud compute are always your call, asked plainly before they happen.
Secrets never pass through your agent. UGT asks you for them itself, once, and they live in your system keychain.
Credit travels with the code. Every recipe records its project's licence, and files adapted from upstream keep theirs.
**Your files never leave your

Only the beginning is shown; read the rest in the repo

UGT: Use the GitHub Thing

Overview

PopNx MCP’s three pillars

What you can do with it

Install

Before you install

What it can do

Basic checksi

Maker matches the repo

Still maintained

Has a licence

Endpoint responds

Sign-in with OAuth

No hidden instructions in tool descriptions

Compared with others in Developer toolsi

Common questions

Alternatives

GitHub

Desktop Commander

Cloudflare MCP

README from the maker

How it works

Get started

What you can do with it

Why not just ask your agent?

The catalogue

Share your recipe

House rules