- GitHub Issues
- Manage GitHub issues using the
- @modelcontextprotocol/server-github
- MCP server.
- Available Tools
- MCP Tools (read operations)
- Tool
- Purpose
- mcp__github__issue_read
- Read issue details, sub-issues, comments, labels (methods: get, get_comments, get_sub_issues, get_labels)
- mcp__github__list_issues
- List and filter repository issues by state, labels, date
- mcp__github__search_issues
- Search issues across repos using GitHub search syntax
- mcp__github__projects_list
- List projects, project fields, project items, status updates
- mcp__github__projects_get
- Get details of a project, field, item, or status update
- mcp__github__projects_write
- Add/update/delete project items, create status updates
- CLI / REST API (write operations)
- The MCP server does not currently support creating, updating, or commenting on issues. Use
- gh api
- for these operations.
- Operation
- Command
- Create issue
- gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues -X POST -f title=... -f body=...
- Update issue
- gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{number} -X PATCH -f title=... -f state=...
- Add comment
- gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{number}/comments -X POST -f body=...
- Close issue
- gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{number} -X PATCH -f state=closed
- Set issue type
- Include
- -f type=Bug
- in the create call (REST API only, not supported by
- gh issue create
- CLI)
- Note:
- gh issue create
- works for basic issue creation but does
- not
- support the
- --type
- flag. Use
- gh api
- when you need to set issue types.
- Workflow
- Determine action
-
- Create, update, or query?
- Gather context
-
- Get repo info, existing labels, milestones if needed
- Structure content
-
- Use appropriate template from
- references/templates.md
- Execute
-
- Use MCP tools for reads,
- gh api
- for writes
- Confirm
-
- Report the issue URL to user
- Creating Issues
- Use
- gh api
- to create issues. This supports all parameters including issue types.
- gh api repos/
- {
- owner
- }
- /
- {
- repo
- }
- /issues
- \
- -X
- POST
- \
- -f
- title
- =
- "Issue title"
- \
- -f
- body
- =
- "Issue body in markdown"
- \
- -f
- type
- =
- "Bug"
- \
- --jq
- '{number, html_url}'
- Optional Parameters
- Add any of these flags to the
- gh api
- call:
- -f type="Bug" # Issue type (Bug, Feature, Task, Epic, etc.)
- -f labels[]="bug" # Labels (repeat for multiple)
- -f assignees[]="username" # Assignees (repeat for multiple)
- -f milestone=1 # Milestone number
- Issue types
- are organization-level metadata. To discover available types, use:
- gh api graphql
- -f
- query
- =
- '{ organization(login: "ORG") { issueTypes(first: 10) { nodes { name } } } }'
- --jq
- '.data.organization.issueTypes.nodes[].name'
- Prefer issue types over labels for categorization.
- When issue types are available (e.g., Bug, Feature, Task), use the
- type
- parameter instead of applying equivalent labels like
- bug
- or
- enhancement
- . Issue types are the canonical way to categorize issues on GitHub. Only fall back to labels when the org has no issue types configured.
- Title Guidelines
- Be specific and actionable
- Keep under 72 characters
- When issue types are set, don't add redundant prefixes like
- [Bug]
- Examples:
- Login fails with SSO enabled
- (with type=Bug)
- Add dark mode support
- (with type=Feature)
- Add unit tests for auth module
- (with type=Task)
- Body Structure
- Always use the templates in
- references/templates.md
- . Choose based on issue type:
- User Request
- Template
- Bug, error, broken, not working
- Bug Report
- Feature, enhancement, add, new
- Feature Request
- Task, chore, refactor, update
- Task
- Updating Issues
- Use
- gh api
- with PATCH:
- gh api repos/
- {
- owner
- }
- /
- {
- repo
- }
- /issues/
- {
- number
- }
- \
- -X
- PATCH
- \
- -f
- state
- =
- closed
- \
- -f
- title
- =
- "Updated title"
- \
- --jq
- '{number, html_url}'
- Only include fields you want to change. Available fields:
- title
- ,
- body
- ,
- state
- (open/closed),
- labels
- ,
- assignees
- ,
- milestone
- .
- Examples
- Example 1: Bug Report
- User
- "Create a bug issue - the login page crashes when using SSO" Action : gh api repos/github/awesome-copilot/issues \ -X POST \ -f title = "Login page crashes when using SSO" \ -f type = "Bug" \ -f body = "## Description The login page crashes when users attempt to authenticate using SSO.
Steps to Reproduce
- Navigate to login page
- Click 'Sign in with SSO'
- Page crashes
Expected Behavior
SSO authentication should complete and redirect to dashboard.
Actual Behavior
- Page becomes unresponsive and displays error."
- \
- --jq
- '{number, html_url}'
- Example 2: Feature Request
- User
- "Create a feature request for dark mode with high priority" Action : gh api repos/github/awesome-copilot/issues \ -X POST \ -f title = "Add dark mode support" \ -f type = "Feature" \ -f labels [ ] = "high-priority" \ -f body = "## Summary Add dark mode theme option for improved user experience and accessibility.
Motivation
- Reduces eye strain in low-light environments
- Increasingly expected by users
Proposed Solution
Implement theme toggle with system preference detection.
Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] Toggle switch in settings
- [ ] Persists user preference
- [ ] Respects system preference by default" \ --jq '{number, html_url}' Common Labels Use these standard labels when applicable: Label Use For bug Something isn't working enhancement New feature or improvement documentation Documentation updates good first issue Good for newcomers help wanted Extra attention needed question Further information requested wontfix Will not be addressed duplicate Already exists high-priority Urgent issues Tips Always confirm the repository context before creating issues Ask for missing critical information rather than guessing Link related issues when known: Related to #123 For updates, fetch current issue first to preserve unchanged fields Extended Capabilities The following features require REST or GraphQL APIs beyond the basic MCP tools. Each is documented in its own reference file so the agent only loads the knowledge it needs. Capability When to use Reference Advanced search Complex queries with boolean logic, date ranges, cross-repo search, issue field filters ( field.name:value ) references/search.md Sub-issues & parent issues Breaking work into hierarchical tasks references/sub-issues.md Issue dependencies Tracking blocked-by / blocking relationships references/dependencies.md Issue types (advanced) GraphQL operations beyond MCP list_issue_types / type param references/issue-types.md Projects V2 Project boards, progress reports, field management references/projects.md Issue fields Custom metadata: dates, priority, text, numbers (private preview) references/issue-fields.md Images in issues Embedding images in issue bodies and comments via CLI references/images.md