GitHub Chat MCP
A Model Context Protocol (MCP) for analyzing and querying GitHub repositories using the GitHub Chat API. Official Site: https://github-chat.com
Installation
# Install with pip
pip install github-chat-mcp
# Or install with the newer uv package manager
uv install github-chat-mcp
- Start using it with Claude!
Example prompts:
- "Use github-chat-mcp to analyze the React repository"
- "Index the TypeScript repository with github-chat-mcp and ask about its architecture"
GitHub Chat MCP server
Setup Instructions
Before anything, ensure you have a GitHub Chat API key. This is required to use the service.
Install uv first.
MacOS/Linux:
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
Windows:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
Setup with Cursor (Recommended)
In mcp.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-chat": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"github-chat-mcp"
]
}
}
}
With above, no envs required since it's a freemium release.
Setup with Claude Desktop
# claude_desktop_config.json
# Can find location through:
# Hamburger Menu -> File -> Settings -> Developer -> Edit Config
# Must perform: brew install uv
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-chat": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["github-chat-mcp"],
"env": {
}
}
}
}
Installing via Smithery
You can install GitHub Chat for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:
npx -y @smithery/cli install github-chat-mcp --client claude
Using GitHub Chat with Claude
-
Index a GitHub repository first: "Index the GitHub repository at https://github.com/username/repo"
-
Then ask questions about the repository: "What is the core tech stack used in this repository?"
Debugging
Run:
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uvx github-chat-mcp
Local/Dev Setup Instructions
Clone repo
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/github-chat-mcp.git
Install dependencies
Install uv first.
MacOS/Linux:
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
Windows:
powershell -ExecutionPolicy ByPass -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"
Then install MCP server dependencies:
cd github-chat-mcp
# Create virtual environment and activate it
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate # MacOS/Linux
# OR
.venv/Scripts/activate # Windows
# Install dependencies
uv sync
Setup with Claude Desktop
Using MCP CLI SDK
# `pip install mcp[cli]` if you haven't
mcp install /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/github-chat-mcp/src/github_chat_mcp/server.py -v "GITHUB_API_KEY=API_KEY_HERE"
Manually
# claude_desktop_config.json
# Can find location through:
# Hamburger Menu -> File -> Settings -> Developer -> Edit Config
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-chat": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"--directory",
"/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/github-chat-mcp",
"run",
"github-chat-mcp"
],
"env": {
}
}
}
}
Using GitHub Chat with Claude
-
Index a GitHub repository first: "Index the GitHub repository at https://github.com/username/repo"
-
Then ask questions about the repository: "What is the core tech stack used in this repository?"
Debugging
Run:
# If mcp cli installed (`pip install mcp[cli]`)
mcp dev /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/github-chat-mcp/src/github_chat_mcp/server.py
# If not
npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector \
uv \
--directory /ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/PARENT/FOLDER/github-chat-mcp \
run \
github-chat-mcp
Then access MCP Inspector at http://localhost:5173. You may need to add your GitHub API key in the environment variables in the inspector under GITHUB_API_KEY.
Notes
- Level of logging is adjustable through the
FASTMCP_LOG_LEVELenvironment variable (e.g.FASTMCP_LOG_LEVEL="ERROR") - This MCP server provides two main tools:
- Repository Indexing - Index and analyze a GitHub repository
- Repository Querying - Ask questions about the indexed repository