Secure GitHub Ops MCP Server

Created by Aaron Murillo

An MCP server that makes GitHub automation actually safe. Every write operation needs approval before it runs, so you never have to worry about runaway scripts creating 100 issues while you're grabbing coffee.

What This Does

You know how most automation just... does stuff immediately? This flips that. When you (or an AI) try to create an issue, open a PR, or add a comment, it goes into a pending queue. Then someone with admin access reviews and approves it. Only then does it actually hit GitHub.

Two roles:

• Operators can request actions
• Admins can approve, deny, and see what's pending

Everything gets logged so you have a full audit trail.

Getting Started

You'll need Node 18+ and a GitHub token.

cd secure-github-ops
npm install
cp .env.example .env

Open .env and fill in your stuff:

GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_your_token_here
ADMIN_API_KEYS=some-secret-admin-key
OPERATOR_API_KEYS=some-secret-operator-key

Then run it:

npm run build
npm start

For dev mode with hot reload:

npm run dev

Using with Claude Desktop

Add this to your Claude Desktop config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "secure-github-ops": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/secure-github-ops/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_TOKEN": "ghp_your_token",
        "ADMIN_API_KEYS": "your-admin-key",
        "OPERATOR_API_KEYS": "your-operator-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

The Tools

For operators and admins:

• github.issues.create - request to create an issue
• github.pr.open - request to open a PR
• github.comment.add - request to add a comment

Admin only:

• admin.approve_action - approve and run a pending action
• admin.deny_action - reject a pending action
• admin.list_pending_actions - see what's waiting

How It Works

Say an operator wants to create an issue:

// Operator requests it
{
  "tool": "github.issues.create",
  "arguments": {
    "_authToken": "operator-key",
    "owner": "myorg",
    "repo": "myrepo",
    "title": "Fix the login bug"
  }
}
// Returns a pending action with an ID

Nothing happened on GitHub yet. Now an admin checks what's pending:

{
  "tool": "admin.list_pending_actions",
  "arguments": { "_authToken": "admin-key" }
}
// Shows the pending issue request

Admin approves it:

{
  "tool": "admin.approve_action",
  "arguments": {
    "_authToken": "admin-key",
    "actionId": "the-uuid-from-before"
  }
}
// NOW the issue gets created

Config Options

GITHUB_TOKEN (required) - Your GitHub PAT with repo access

ADMIN_API_KEYS (required) - Comma-separated admin keys

OPERATOR_API_KEYS (optional) - Comma-separated operator keys

ALLOWED_REPOS (optional) - Lock it down to specific repos like owner/repo1,owner/repo2

LOG_LEVEL (optional) - debug, info, warn, error

About the STDIO Transport

This uses STDIO, which means it talks through stdin/stdout. All the logs go to stderr so they don't mess with the protocol. If you're wondering why there's no console.log anywhere, that's why.

Want HTTP instead? That's on the roadmap. The core code stays the same, just swap the transport.

Running Tests

npm test

26 tests covering auth, config, and the pending store.

Docker

docker build -t secure-github-ops .
docker run -e GITHUB_TOKEN=... -e ADMIN_API_KEYS=... secure-github-ops

What's Next

Eventually adding HTTP transport so you can host this as a service. Also thinking about persistent storage for the pending actions (right now they live in memory).