personal-github-mcp

A minimal, personal MCP server that gives Claude (via Claude Code or Claude Desktop) full read/write access to the GitHub REST API, using your own Personal Access Token (PAT) — no third-party app permissions, no 403s from a shared connector's scopes.

It exposes one tool, github_request, that can call any GitHub REST API endpoint with any HTTP method (GET, POST, PATCH, PUT, DELETE). That covers everything: creating issues, commenting, merging PRs, creating/ updating files, branches, releases, labels, workflows — the full API at https://docs.github.com/en/rest.

1. Create a GitHub Personal Access Token

1. Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens?type=beta (fine-grained token, recommended) or https://github.com/settings/tokens (classic).

2. Fine-grained token: scope it to your account, pick "Only select repositories" (or all, if you want), and under Repository permissions grant at least:

   • Contents: Read and write

   • Issues: Read and write

   • Pull requests: Read and write

   • Metadata: Read-only (required)

3. Classic token: just check the repo scope.

4. Copy the token — you won't see it again.

Related MCP server: GitHub MCP Server

2. Install dependencies

cd github-mcp-server
npm install

3. Configure your MCP client

Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code MCP config (~/.claude.json or via claude mcp add):

claude mcp add personal-github -- node /absolute/path/to/github-mcp-server/index.js

Then set the token as an environment variable before launching, or add it directly to the config's env block:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "personal-github": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/github-mcp-server/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Edit your claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config) and add the same mcpServers block as above, then restart Claude Desktop.

4. Use it

Once connected, ask Claude things like:

• "Create an issue in neural-shubh/dark-fleet-detection titled X with body Y"

• "List my open pull requests across all repos"

• "Update the README.md in neural-shubh/mediscan-ai"

Claude will call github_request with the right method/path/body — e.g. POST /repos/neural-shubh/dark-fleet-detection/issues with {"title": "...", "body": "..."}.

Security notes

• The token lives only in your local MCP config / environment — it's never sent anywhere except api.github.com.

• Scope the token as narrowly as you're comfortable with (fine-grained, select repos only) since this server will honor whatever the token allows.

• This server does not implement any allow/deny tool policy of its own — the token's scopes are the only guardrail. If you want to restrict it further (e.g. read-only, or single-repo-only) that's easy to add — just ask.