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 4 days ago
Install
Ghcli MCP Connector
Overview
Description from the maker (original English)
MCP server for the GitHub CLI (gh). Read-only by default; single Go binary.
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 checksi1 of 1 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: Runs on your computer
- Transport: stdio
- Category: Developer tools
- You need to fill in: GH_TOKEN
Install
Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.
Before you install
- Basic checks: 1 of 1 passed
- Runs on your computer with your user’s permissions (files, network, apps).
- You fill in yourself:
GH_TOKEN,GH_HOST,GHCLI_MCP_ALLOW_WRITE,GHCLI_MCP_ALLOWED_REPOS,GHCLI_MCP_CLI_PATH
Values marked secret are keys to your account. Never share them or paste them into a chat.
Which app do you use?
Pick your app above. We remember it, so next time the button says “Install in …”.
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
Fill in the empty values before running it.
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.
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.
This one runs on your computer, and ChatGPT can only connect to servers on the internet. Pick another app.
Your choice stays on this device in a cookie; no account needed.
Values you fill in
- gh CLI token. Leave unset to use whatever `gh auth login` already configured (OS keychain).
GH_HOSTenvTarget a GitHub Enterprise hostname instead of github.com.GHCLI_MCP_ALLOW_WRITEenvSet to "true" to permit state-changing gh commands. Defaults to read-only.GHCLI_MCP_ALLOWED_REPOSenvOptional comma-separated allowlist of "owner/repo" values, enforced when -R/--repo is passed. Unset allows all.GHCLI_MCP_CLI_PATHenvOptional path to the gh binary. Defaults to "gh" resolved via PATH.
These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.
What it can do
Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.
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 7, 2026
- ✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account FerhatDundar, which owns the repo
- … 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
- – Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
- – Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
- … Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints
Compared with others in Developer toolsi
- More stars than 0% of the other 1396 servers in this category
- Published to the registry more recently than 38% of the other 1396 servers in this category
- Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 1396 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 Ghcli MCP Connector safe?
It passed 1 of 1 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?
You need to fill in: GH_TOKEN
Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?
It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).
Is it still maintained?
The GitHub repo last changed –, and the latest version (0.1.1) reached the registry 3 months ago.
Which apps can use it?
Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need MCPB on your computer.
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
Desktop Commander
by wonderwhy-er
MCP server for terminal commands, file operations, and process management
Runs on your computer★ 10,225MITUpdated 16 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.
🔌 ghcli-mcp-connector
Talk to the GitHub CLI (`gh`) from an MCP-speaking agent.
A single static Go binary that speaks the Model Context Protocol and lets an agent run GitHub CLI commands: any gh invocation — repo, issue, pr, release, gist, workflow, run, secret, variable, project, ruleset, codespace, extension, api, and more — with a read-only-by-default safety gate on anything that changes state on GitHub.
No Python, no uv, no runtime dependency to install — just a binary and an .mcp.json. It shells out to the gh binary already installed and authenticated on the host (gh auth login, stored in the OS keychain, or GH_TOKEN/GITHUB_TOKEN) instead of reimplementing a GitHub API client, so it gets the full breadth of the CLI for free rather than a hand-curated subset of endpoints.
Note: this is a sibling of github-mcp-connector,
not a replacement. That one talks to the GitHub REST API directly via
google/go-githubwith a curated set of 18 tools. This one shells out to
the
ghCLI itself — same trade-off asaws-mcp-connectorvs. a
hand-written AWS SDK client: broader coverage (gh extensions, gh's own
filters/formatting, workflow/run/codespace/project/ruleset management)
through a single
ghcli_execescape hatch, instead of a curated surface.
✨ Why this exists
An agent that only has a narrow, hand-picked set of GitHub tools hits a
wall the moment you need something outside that set. This connector
instead wraps the
ghCLI itself, so an agent can rungh pr list,
gh issue create,gh workflow run,gh api repos/owner/repo/issues—
anything the CLI can do — without waiting on a new tool to be written
for it. State-changing commands are blocked by default and require both
a server-level opt-in and a per-call
confirm=true, so exploring/
reading is safe out of the box.
🧰 Tools
| Tool | What it does | Write? |
|---|---|---|
ghcli_exec | Run any gh ... command. Read-only by default — commands that change GitHub state need GHCLI_MCP_ALLOW_WRITE=true on the server *and* confirm=true on the call. | ✅ (gated) |
ghcli_help | Show gh [subcommand] --help text — always safe, use it to check exact syntax before calling ghcli_exec. | |
ghcli_whoami | Show the GitHub identity (login, name, profile URL) the configured auth resolves to. |
Every tool accepts an optional response_format: markdown (default, readable for a chat UI) or json (for programmatic use).
This server has no working-directory git repo, so repo-scoped commands need an explicit -R/--repo owner/repo rather than relying on gh's cwd-based repo detection.
🚀 Quickstart
Fastest path: grab a prebuilt bundle from the latest release — download ghcli-mcp-connector-plugin- - - .zip, unzip it, and point Cowork/Claude at the plugin/ folder inside (see step 4 of SETUP.md). No Go toolchain required.
From source:
# 1. Buildcd go-server go mod tidy go build -o ghcli-connector-server . cp ghcli-connector-server ../plugin/servers/go/
2. Set up auth — needs the gh CLI itself installed and logged in
(gh auth login) — see SETUP.md
gh auth status # should succeed before running the server
3. Run
./go-server/ghcli-connector-server # serves MCP over stdio
Or make build — see the Makefile for every shortcut (test, vet, fmt, lint, tidy).
Full walkthrough — including wiring this up as a Claude/Cowork plugin — is in [SETUP.md](SETUP.md).
🔐 Configuration
Everything is environment variables, passed through by the plugin's .mcp.json:
| Variable | Purpose | Default |
|---|---|---|
GH_TOKEN / GITHUB_TOKEN | gh CLI's own token env vars. Leave unset to use whatever gh auth login already configured. | unset (keychain auth) |
GH_HOST | Target a GitHub Enterprise hostname instead of github.com. | unset (github.com) |
GHCLI_MCP_ALLOW_WRITE | "true" to permit state-changing commands at all (still needs confirm=true per call). | false (read-only) |
GHCLI_MCP_ALLOWED_REPOS | Comma-separated allowlist of owner/repo values, e.g. "me/proj,me/other". Only enforced when a call passes an explicit -R/--repo flag. | unset (unrestricted) |
GHCLI_MCP_CLI_PATH | Path to the gh binary. | gh resolved via PATH |
🧪 Quality bar
This isn't a toy script — it's got the same checks you'd expect from a production Go service:
- ✅ Unit tests for every input-validation path (
go test ./...) - ✅ `go vet` + `gofmt` clean
- ✅ [golangci-lint](https://golangci-lint.run/) (govet, staticcheck, errcheck, gosec, and more)
- ✅ [govulncheck](https://go.dev/blog/vuln) — no known vulnerabilities in the dependency graph
- ✅ [CodeQL](https://codeql.github.com/) static security analysis on every push
- ✅ End-to-end verified against real GitHub during development — not mocks
- ✅ [Dependabot](.github/dependabot.yml) keeps Go modules and Actions current
All of it runs in CI on every push and PR.
🏷️ Releases & versioning
Versions follow semver and are cut automatically by release-please from Conventional Commits on main:
fix: ...→ patch (v0.1.0→v0.1.1)feat: ...→ minor (v0.1.1→v0.2.0)feat!: .../BREAKING CHANGE:footer → major (v0.2.0→v1.0.0)
Every merged PR updates a standing "chore(main): release vX.Y.Z" PR with an auto-generated CHANGELOG.md. Merging that PR:
- tags the release and publishes it on GitHub
- builds and attaches zipped, ready-to-install plugin bundles for linux/darwin/windows × amd64/arm64
- regenerates
server.jsonfrom those exact assets (fresh version + SHA-256 hashes) and publishes it to the official MCP Registry viamcp-publisher, authenticated with GitHub OIDC — no stored secrets
See .github/workflows/release-please.yml and .github/workflows/publish-mcp-registry.yml (also runnable by hand for an existing tag via workflow_dispatch).
📁 Layout
ghcli-mcp-connector/├── README.md ← you are here ├── SETUP.md ← step-by-step setup guide ├── CONTRIBUTING.md ← how to contribute ├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md ├── SECURITY.md ← vulnerability reporting ├── CODEOWNERS ├── LICENSE ← MIT ├── Makefile ← build / test / lint shortcuts ├── .golangci.yml ← lint rules ├── release-please-config.json ← semver/changelog automation config ├── .release-please-manifest.json ├── server.json ← MCP Registry manifest (regenerated fresh per release by CI) ├── scripts/ │ └── render-server-json.sh ← rebuilds server.json from a release's zip assets ├── .github/ │ ├── workflows/ │ │ ├── ci.yml ← build, vet, test, lint, govulncheck │ │ ├── codeql.yml ← security scanning │ │ ├── pr-title.yml ← Conventional Commits PR title check │ │ ├── release-please.yml ← version PRs, tagging, GitHub releases │ │ ├── publish-mcp-registry.yml ← publishes server.json to the MCP Registry │ │ └── rebuild-release-assets.yml ← manual re-attach fallback │ ├── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/ │ ├── PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md │ └── dependabot.yml ├── go-server/ ← the MCP server source │ ├── main.go │ ├── main_test.go │ ├── go.mod / go.sum │ └── README.md └── plugin/ ← installable Cowork/Claude plugin ├── .claude-plugin/plugin.json ├── .mcp.json ← holds credentials locally — never commit real ones ├── skills/ghcli-mcp/SKILL.md ← teaches Claude when/how to use the tools └── servers/go/ ← compiled binary goes here
🤝 Contributing
PRs and issues are very welcome — see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for the full guide (setup, coding conventions, how to add a new tool) and the [Code of Conduct](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).
main is protected: every change, including the maintainer's, lands via pull request with CI green. PR titles must follow Conventional Commits — that's what drives the automatic versioning above.
Found a security issue? Please follow [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md) instead of opening a public issue.
📄 License
MIT © FerhatDundar