create-branch
Create a new branch in a GitHub repository by specifying the owner, repository name, and branch name, with optional source branch selection.
Instructions
Create a new branch in a GitHub repository
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| branch | Yes | Name for the new branch | |
| from_branch | No | Source branch to create from (defaults to the repository's default branch) | |
| owner | Yes | Repository owner | |
| repo | Yes | Repository name |
Implementation Reference
- src/tools/repository.ts:187-239 (handler)The core handler function that executes the create-branch tool. Validates inputs using CreateBranchSchema, checks if the branch exists, determines the source branch, fetches its SHA, and creates the new branch ref via GitHub API.
export async function createBranch(args: unknown): Promise<any> { const { owner, repo, branch, from_branch } = CreateBranchSchema.parse(args); const github = getGitHubApi(); return tryCatchAsync(async () => { // Check if branch already exists try { await github.getOctokit().git.getRef({ owner, repo, ref: `heads/${branch}`, }); return { success: false, message: `Branch '${branch}' already exists in ${owner}/${repo}`, }; } catch (error: any) { // If error is not 404 (not found), rethrow it if (error.status !== 404) { throw error; } } // Get the SHA of the latest commit on the source branch const sourceBranch = from_branch || await github.getDefaultBranch(owner, repo); const { data: refData } = await github.getOctokit().git.getRef({ owner, repo, ref: `heads/${sourceBranch}`, }); // Create a new branch from the source branch const { data } = await github.getOctokit().git.createRef({ owner, repo, ref: `refs/heads/${branch}`, sha: refData.object.sha, }); return { success: true, ref: data.ref, url: data.url, object: { sha: data.object.sha, type: data.object.type, url: data.object.url, }, message: `Branch '${branch}' created from '${sourceBranch}' in ${owner}/${repo}`, }; }, 'Failed to create branch'); } - src/utils/validation.ts:71-74 (schema)Zod validation schema used in the handler to parse and validate the input arguments for create-branch.
export const CreateBranchSchema = OwnerRepoSchema.extend({ branch: z.string().min(1, 'Branch name is required'), from_branch: z.string().optional(), }); - src/server.ts:1175-1177 (registration)Switch case in the MCP tool call handler that routes 'create-branch' invocations to the createBranch function.
case 'create-branch': result = await createBranch(parsedArgs); break; - src/server.ts:222-248 (schema)Input schema definition for the create-branch tool in the MCP server's listTools response.
{ name: 'create-branch', description: 'Create a new branch in a GitHub repository', inputSchema: { type: 'object', properties: { owner: { type: 'string', description: 'Repository owner', }, repo: { type: 'string', description: 'Repository name', }, branch: { type: 'string', description: 'Name for the new branch', }, from_branch: { type: 'string', description: 'Source branch to create from (defaults to the repository\'s default branch)', }, }, required: ['owner', 'repo', 'branch'], additionalProperties: false, }, },