github-mcp-server
A lightweight Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that exposes three GitHub utility tools to AI agents (such as IBM Bob).
Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
search_repositories |
Search GitHub repos by keyword — returns name, description, URL, stars, forks, language |
list_issues |
List issues for any public (or accessible private) repo — filter by state and labels |
read_file_contents |
Read the raw text of any file in a repo — specify an optional branch/tag/commit ref |
Requirements
- Node.js ≥ 20
- A GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) with at least the
public_repo(orrepofor private repos) scope
Installation
git clone https://github.com/kevinshim/github-mcp-server.git
cd github-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build
Usage
Start the server manually (for testing):
GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token node build/index.js
Register with IBM Bob
Add the following to your Bob mcp.json (global: ~/.bob/mcp.json, or workspace: .bob/mcp.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-mcp-server": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/github-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
"env": {
"GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
}
}
}
}
Replace /absolute/path/to/github-mcp-server with the actual path on your machine.
Example prompts (inside Bob)
Search for TypeScript MCP server repositories with more than 100 stars.
List the open bug issues in IBM/galaxium-travels.
Read the contents of src/index.ts from my-org/my-repo on branch main.
Project structure
github-mcp-server/
├── src/
│ └── index.ts # Server implementation
├── build/ # Compiled output (generated by npm run build)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md
License
MIT
