GitHub Skill Overview

This skill provides access to the official GitHub MCP server with progressive disclosure for optimal context usage.

Context Savings: ~95% reduction

MCP Mode: ~50,000 tokens always loaded (80+ tools) Skill Mode: ~500 tokens metadata + on-demand loading Requirements Docker installed and running GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable set Toolsets

The server provides 80+ tools across 19 toolsets:

Toolset Description actions Workflow management, runs, jobs, artifacts code_security Scanning alerts, code analysis discussions Forum interactions gists Code snippets management issues Issue creation, updates, commenting labels Label management and filtering projects GitHub Projects board management pull_requests PR creation, review, merging repos Code search, commits, releases, branches users User search and management orgs Organization and team management notifications Notification management secret_scanning Secret scanning alerts context Context about the user Quick Reference

Use the gh CLI for GitHub operations:

Get repository info

gh repo view anthropics/claude-code

List issues

gh issue list --repo anthropics/claude-code

Search code

gh search code "language:python MCP"

Create issue

gh issue create --repo me/myrepo --title "Bug" --body "Description"

List pull requests

gh pr list --repo anthropics/claude-code

Common Tools (Default Toolsets: 40 tools) Repository Operations search_repositories - Search for repositories create_repository - Create a new repository fork_repository - Fork a repository list_commits - List repository commits get_commit - Get commit details get_file_contents - Get file contents from a repository create_or_update_file - Create or update a file delete_file - Delete a file push_files - Push multiple files search_code - Search for code across GitHub list_branches - List repository branches create_branch - Create a new branch list_tags - List repository tags get_tag - Get tag details list_releases - List releases get_latest_release - Get latest release get_release_by_tag - Get release by tag Issue Operations list_issues - List repository issues issue_read - Read issue details issue_write - Create/update issues add_issue_comment - Add a comment to an issue search_issues - Search for issues list_issue_types - List issue types (for organizations) get_label - Get label details sub_issue_write - Manage sub-issues assign_copilot_to_issue - Assign Copilot to an issue Pull Request Operations list_pull_requests - List repository pull requests pull_request_read - Read PR details create_pull_request - Create a new PR update_pull_request - Update a PR update_pull_request_branch - Update PR branch merge_pull_request - Merge a PR search_pull_requests - Search for pull requests pull_request_review_write - Create/submit PR reviews add_comment_to_pending_review - Add comments to pending review request_copilot_review - Request Copilot review User & Team Operations get_me - Get current authenticated user search_users - Search for users get_teams - Get organization teams get_team_members - Get team members Configuration

The skill uses Docker to run the official GitHub MCP server:

Image: ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server Auth: GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN environment variable Environment Variables Variable Required Description GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN Yes GitHub PAT for authentication GITHUB_HOST No For GitHub Enterprise (default: github.com) GITHUB_TOOLSETS No Comma-separated toolsets to enable GITHUB_READ_ONLY No Set to 1 for read-only mode Limiting Toolsets

When using MCP, configure toolsets via environment variables:

Only repos and issues

GITHUB_TOOLSETS=repos,issues

Only pull requests and code security

GITHUB_TOOLSETS=pull_requests,code_security

Error Handling

If operations fail:

Verify Docker is running: docker ps Check GitHub token is set: echo $GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN Ensure token has required permissions for the operation Use gh auth status to verify authentication Related Official GitHub MCP Server: https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server GitHub API Documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/rest Memory Protocol (MANDATORY)

Before starting: Read .claude/context/memory/learnings.md

After completing:

New pattern -> .claude/context/memory/learnings.md Issue found -> .claude/context/memory/issues.md Decision made -> .claude/context/memory/decisions.md

ASSUME INTERRUPTION: If it's not in memory, it didn't happen.