github-mcp-lite

A small Model Context Protocol server for GitHub — nine tools, PAT auth, stdio transport.

The official github/github-mcp-server covers a lot of ground (60+ tools). Handy for org admin and security workflows, but heavy if you mostly read files, scan PRs, and file issues. GitHub's been nudging people toward smaller tool sets for that reason (changelog, notes on token use).

This repo is the opposite end: fixed scope, short tool list, easy to skim before you plug it into an MCP host.

Install

git clone https://github.com/benjimkh/github-mcp-lite.git
cd github-mcp-lite
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Run it:

export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_...
github-mcp-lite

MCP client config (stdio):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-mcp-lite": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/github-mcp-lite/.venv/bin/github-mcp-lite",
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

See examples/mcp-client.json.

Tools

Tool	What it does
get_repo	Metadata, default branch, visibility, star count
search_code	Code search (repo:owner/name queries work well)
get_file_contents	Read a file or list a directory at a ref
list_pull_requests	Open / closed / all PRs
get_pull_request	Single PR with merge state and diff stats
create_issue	Open a new issue
comment_on_issue	Comment on an issue or PR thread
list_issues	Issues only (PRs filtered out)
search_repositories	Repo search

No gists, notifications, or org settings — that's intentional.

Benchmark

Ballpark tool/schema footprint vs the official server:

python3 benchmark/measure_schema_size.py

Background: docs/context-budget-guide.md.

This repo vs official github-mcp-server

github-mcp-lite	official server
Few repos, everyday PR/issue work	Org admin, security, Dependabot
Short tool list you can read in a minute	Actions, Projects, Discussions, etc.
PAT + stdio	Copilot OAuth integration

License

MIT — see LICENSE. PRs welcome; see CONTRIBUTING.md.