GitHub MCP Lightweight

A lightweight GitHub MCP (Model Context Protocol) server optimized for efficient issue and pull request analysis. This server provides minimal response sizes by returning only essential fields, making it perfect for bulk analysis of GitHub repositories.

🚀 Features

Lightweight responses: 90%+ smaller than full GitHub API responses
Essential data only: Returns only id, html_url, title, body, and comment bodies
Efficient bulk analysis: Optimized for processing large numbers of issues/PRs
Simple setup: Easy installation and configuration
Rate limit aware: Built-in GitHub API rate limiting awareness

📦 Installation

npm install -g @wipiano/github-mcp-lightweight

🔧 Configuration

1. Get a GitHub Personal Access Token

Go to GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
Click "Generate new token (classic)"
Select the following scopes:
- repo (for private repositories) or public_repo (for public repositories only)
- read:org (if accessing organization repositories)
Copy the generated token

2. Configure MCP Settings

Add the server to your MCP settings configuration file:

For Cline/Claude Dev: Edit ~/.vscode-server/data/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-lightweight": {
      "command": "npx",
      "type": "stdio",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@wipiano/github-mcp-lightweight"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_personal_access_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Claude Desktop: Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or equivalent:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-lightweight": {
      "command": "github-mcp-lightweight",
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_personal_access_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

🛠️ Available Tools

`list_repository_issues`

List issues from a GitHub repository with minimal response size.

Parameters:

owner (string, required): Repository owner (username or organization)
repo (string, required): Repository name
since (string, required): Only show issues updated at or after this time (ISO 8601 format)

Example:

{
  "owner": "microsoft",
  "repo": "vscode",
  "since": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}

`list_repository_pull_requests`

List pull requests from a GitHub repository with minimal response size.

Parameters:

owner (string, required): Repository owner (username or organization)
repo (string, required): Repository name
since (string, required): Only show pull requests updated at or after this time (ISO 8601 format)

Example:

{
  "owner": "microsoft",
  "repo": "vscode",
  "since": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}

📊 Response Format

Both tools return a lightweight response containing only essential fields:

{
  "repository": "owner/repo",
  "since": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "total_issues": 42,
  "issues": [
    {
      "id": 123456789,
      "html_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/1",
      "title": "Issue title",
      "body": "Issue description...",
      "comments": [
        "First comment body...",
        "Second comment body..."
      ]
    }
  ]
}

🔄 Comparison with Full GitHub MCP

Feature	Full GitHub MCP	Lightweight MCP
Response size	~50+ fields per issue	5 fields per issue
Bandwidth usage	High	Low (90%+ reduction)
Processing speed	Slower	Faster
Use case	Comprehensive operations	Bulk analysis
Comment data	Full metadata	Body text only

🚨 Error Handling

The server provides clear error messages for common issues:

401 Unauthorized: Invalid or expired GitHub token
403 Forbidden: Rate limit exceeded or insufficient permissions
404 Not Found: Repository not found or access denied

🔒 Security Best Practices

Token Storage: Store your GitHub token securely in environment variables
Token Permissions: Use minimal required scopes for your use case
Token Rotation: Regularly rotate your personal access tokens
Environment Isolation: Use different tokens for different environments

📈 Rate Limiting

GitHub allows 5,000 requests per hour for authenticated requests
The server is aware of rate limits and will provide appropriate error messages
For large repositories, consider using more specific since parameters to reduce API calls

🐛 Troubleshooting

Server won't start

Verify GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable is set
Check token permissions include required scopes
Ensure token is not expired

Authentication errors

Regenerate your GitHub personal access token
Verify token has access to the target repository
Check if repository is private and token has repo scope

Empty responses

Verify repository exists and is accessible
Check since parameter isn't too recent
Ensure repository has issues/PRs updated after the since date

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🔗 Links

GitHub MCP Lightweight

🚀 Features

Lightweight responses: 90%+ smaller than full GitHub API responses
Essential data only: Returns only id, html_url, title, body, and comment bodies
Efficient bulk analysis: Optimized for processing large numbers of issues/PRs
Simple setup: Easy installation and configuration
Rate limit aware: Built-in GitHub API rate limiting awareness

📦 Installation

npm install -g @wipiano/github-mcp-lightweight

🔧 Configuration

1. Get a GitHub Personal Access Token

Go to GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens
Click "Generate new token (classic)"
Select the following scopes:
- repo (for private repositories) or public_repo (for public repositories only)
- read:org (if accessing organization repositories)
Copy the generated token

2. Configure MCP Settings

Add the server to your MCP settings configuration file:

For Cline/Claude Dev: Edit ~/.vscode-server/data/User/globalStorage/saoudrizwan.claude-dev/settings/cline_mcp_settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-lightweight": {
      "command": "npx",
      "type": "stdio",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@wipiano/github-mcp-lightweight"
      ],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_personal_access_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

For Claude Desktop: Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or equivalent:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-lightweight": {
      "command": "github-mcp-lightweight",
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_personal_access_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

🛠️ Available Tools

`list_repository_issues`

List issues from a GitHub repository with minimal response size.

Parameters:

owner (string, required): Repository owner (username or organization)
repo (string, required): Repository name
since (string, required): Only show issues updated at or after this time (ISO 8601 format)

Example:

{
  "owner": "microsoft",
  "repo": "vscode",
  "since": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}

`list_repository_pull_requests`

List pull requests from a GitHub repository with minimal response size.

Parameters:

owner (string, required): Repository owner (username or organization)
repo (string, required): Repository name
since (string, required): Only show pull requests updated at or after this time (ISO 8601 format)

Example:

{
  "owner": "microsoft",
  "repo": "vscode",
  "since": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z"
}

📊 Response Format

Both tools return a lightweight response containing only essential fields:

{
  "repository": "owner/repo",
  "since": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
  "total_issues": 42,
  "issues": [
    {
      "id": 123456789,
      "html_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo/issues/1",
      "title": "Issue title",
      "body": "Issue description...",
      "comments": [
        "First comment body...",
        "Second comment body..."
      ]
    }
  ]
}

🔄 Comparison with Full GitHub MCP

Feature	Full GitHub MCP	Lightweight MCP
Response size	~50+ fields per issue	5 fields per issue
Bandwidth usage	High	Low (90%+ reduction)
Processing speed	Slower	Faster
Use case	Comprehensive operations	Bulk analysis
Comment data	Full metadata	Body text only

🚨 Error Handling

The server provides clear error messages for common issues:

401 Unauthorized: Invalid or expired GitHub token
403 Forbidden: Rate limit exceeded or insufficient permissions
404 Not Found: Repository not found or access denied

🔒 Security Best Practices

Token Storage: Store your GitHub token securely in environment variables
Token Permissions: Use minimal required scopes for your use case
Token Rotation: Regularly rotate your personal access tokens
Environment Isolation: Use different tokens for different environments

📈 Rate Limiting

GitHub allows 5,000 requests per hour for authenticated requests
The server is aware of rate limits and will provide appropriate error messages
For large repositories, consider using more specific since parameters to reduce API calls

🐛 Troubleshooting

Server won't start

Verify GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable is set
Check token permissions include required scopes
Ensure token is not expired

Authentication errors

Regenerate your GitHub personal access token
Verify token has access to the target repository
Check if repository is private and token has repo scope

Empty responses

Verify repository exists and is accessible
Check since parameter isn't too recent
Ensure repository has issues/PRs updated after the since date

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.