Connect an AI assistant to a GitHub account to read and act on repos, issues, and pull requests.
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Lets an AI assistant read repository contents, issues, and pull requests, and (depending on the token's scope) create or comment on them — useful for having an assistant triage issues, draft PR descriptions, or answer questions about a codebase's history directly.
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"github": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-github"],
"env": {
"GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "<YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN>"
}
}
}
}
```
Generate a token with only the scopes you actually need (read-only if you just want it answering questions; add repo write scope only if you want it opening issues/PRs on your behalf) — this token is exactly as powerful as whatever scopes you grant it, so don't over-grant out of convenience.
Treat the token like any other credential: don't commit the config file with the token filled in to a public repo. Check the server's current documentation for the exact package name and available scopes before use, since MCP servers are updated frequently.