Mode: Cognitive/Prompt-Driven — No standalone utility script; use via agent context.

GitHub Skill

Overview

This skill provides access to the official GitHub MCP server with progressive disclosure for optimal context usage.

Context Savings: ~95% reduction

• MCP Mode: ~50,000 tokens always loaded (80+ tools)

• Skill Mode: ~500 tokens metadata + on-demand loading

Requirements

• Docker installed and running

• GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable set

Toolsets

The server provides 80+ tools across 19 toolsets:

Toolset Description

actions

Workflow management, runs, jobs, artifacts

code_security

Scanning alerts, code analysis

discussions

Forum interactions

gists

Code snippets management

issues

Issue creation, updates, commenting

labels

Label management and filtering

projects

GitHub Projects board management

pull_requests

PR creation, review, merging

repos

Code search, commits, releases, branches

users

User search and management

orgs

Organization and team management

notifications

Notification management

secret_scanning

Secret scanning alerts

context

Context about the user

Quick Reference

Use the gh CLI for GitHub operations:

Get repository info

gh repo view anthropics/claude-code

List issues

gh issue list --repo anthropics/claude-code

Search code

gh search code "language:python MCP"

Create issue

gh issue create --repo me/myrepo --title "Bug" --body "Description"

List pull requests

gh pr list --repo anthropics/claude-code

Common Tools (Default Toolsets: 40 tools)

Repository Operations

• search_repositories

• Search for repositories

• create_repository

• Create a new repository

• fork_repository

• Fork a repository

• list_commits

• List repository commits

• get_commit

• Get commit details

• get_file_contents

• Get file contents from a repository

• create_or_update_file

• Create or update a file

• delete_file

• Delete a file

• push_files

• Push multiple files

• search_code

• Search for code across GitHub

• list_branches

• List repository branches

• create_branch

• Create a new branch

• list_tags

• List repository tags

• get_tag

• Get tag details

• list_releases

• List releases

• get_latest_release

• Get latest release

• get_release_by_tag

• Get release by tag

Issue Operations

• list_issues

• List repository issues

• issue_read

• Read issue details

• issue_write

• Create/update issues

• add_issue_comment

• Add a comment to an issue

• search_issues

• Search for issues

• list_issue_types

• List issue types (for organizations)

• get_label

• Get label details

• sub_issue_write

• Manage sub-issues

• assign_copilot_to_issue

• Assign Copilot to an issue

Pull Request Operations

• list_pull_requests

• List repository pull requests

• pull_request_read

• Read PR details

• create_pull_request

• Create a new PR

• update_pull_request

• Update a PR

• update_pull_request_branch

• Update PR branch

• merge_pull_request

• Merge a PR

• search_pull_requests

• Search for pull requests

• pull_request_review_write

• Create/submit PR reviews

• add_comment_to_pending_review

• Add comments to pending review

• request_copilot_review

• Request Copilot review

User & Team Operations

• get_me

• Get current authenticated user

• search_users

• Search for users

• get_teams

• Get organization teams

• get_team_members

• Get team members

Configuration

The skill uses Docker to run the official GitHub MCP server:

• Image: ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server

• Auth: GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable

Environment Variables

Variable Required Description

GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN

Yes GitHub PAT for authentication

GITHUB_HOST

No For GitHub Enterprise (default: github.com)

GITHUB_TOOLSETS

No Comma-separated toolsets to enable

GITHUB_READ_ONLY

No Set to 1 for read-only mode

Limiting Toolsets

When using MCP, configure toolsets via environment variables:

Only repos and issues

GITHUB_TOOLSETS=repos,issues

Only pull requests and code security

GITHUB_TOOLSETS=pull_requests,code_security

Error Handling

If operations fail:

• Verify Docker is running: docker ps

• Check GitHub token is set: echo $GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN

• Ensure token has required permissions for the operation

• Use gh auth status to verify authentication

Related

• Official GitHub MCP Server: https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server

• GitHub API Documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/rest

Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before starting: Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md

After completing:

• New pattern -> .claude/context/memory/learnings.md

• Issue found -> .claude/context/memory/issues.md

• Decision made -> .claude/context/memory/decisions.md

ASSUME INTERRUPTION: If it's not in memory, it didn't happen.