GitHub Reader

A lightweight Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for bringing GitHub repositories into context for large language models.

Features

• API-based: No local repository cloning required - works directly with GitHub's API
• Repository Analysis: Get overview and statistics for any GitHub repository
• File Access: Retrieve individual file contents or entire repository file structures
• Smart Filtering: Include or exclude files with glob and regex patterns
• Cache-enabled: Smart caching and optimized request patterns to avoid GitHub API limits
• Search Capabilities: Find files matching specific patterns within repositories
• MCP Compatible: Works with any LLM client supporting the Model Context Protocol
• Prompt Templates: Ready-to-use prompt templates for common repository analysis tasks

Installation

Global Installation (Recommended for CLI usage)

npm install -g mcp-github-reader

Local Installation

npm install mcp-github-reader

Usage

Running as a Standalone Server

# If installed globally
mcp-github-reader

# If installed locally
npx mcp-github-reader

Integration with Claude

For npm installation:

Add this to your Claude Desktop tools configuration:

"github-reader": {
  "runtime": "node",
  "command": "npx",
  "args": [
    "-y",
    "mcp-github-reader"
  ]
}

For local installation:

"github-reader-test": {
  "command": "node",
  "args": [
    "/path/to/your/repo/src/mcp-github-reader.js"
  ]
}

Replace /path/to/your/repo with your actual repository location.

Available Tools

The MCP server provides four powerful tools for interacting with GitHub repositories:

1. get_individual_file_content

Retrieves the content of a specific file from a GitHub repository.

Parameters:

• owner: Repository owner (e.g., "skydeckai")
• repo: Repository name (e.g., "mcp-server-aidd")
• path: Path to the file within the repository (e.g., "README.md")
• branch (optional): Branch name (defaults to the default branch)

2. get_entire_repo_contents

Get an entire repository's content with smart filtering options.

Parameters:

• owner: Repository owner (e.g., "skydeckai")
• repo: Repository name (e.g., "mcp-server-aidd")
• exclude_patterns (optional): Patterns to exclude (e.g., [".test.js", "node_modules/"])
• include_patterns (optional): Only include files matching these patterns (e.g., [".js", ".json", "*.md"])
• file_size_limit (optional): Maximum total size of response (e.g., "5m")
• individual_file_size_limit (optional): Skip files larger than this size (e.g., "500k")
• max_files (optional): Maximum number of files to include (default: 50)
• include_contents (optional): Whether to include file contents or just list files (default: true)
• use_regex (optional): Treat exclude/include patterns as regular expressions

3. analyzeRepository

Analyzes a repository, providing statistics and language breakdown.

Parameters:

• repository: Repository name in owner/repo format (e.g., "skydeckai/mcp-server-aidd")
• includeFiles (optional): Include file list in analysis (default: false)

4. searchRepository

Searches for files matching specific patterns within a repository.

Parameters:

• repository: Repository name in owner/repo format (e.g., "skydeckai/mcp-server-aidd")
• query: Text to search for in filenames (e.g., "function")
• path (optional): Filter searches to a specific path (e.g., "src")

Available Prompts

The server also includes useful prompt templates to help LLMs interact with repositories:

1. repositoryOverview: Analyze a repository's purpose and structure
2. codeExplanation: Explain code from a specific file
3. codeSearch: Search for patterns in a repository
4. fileContent: Get content of a specific file
5. repositoryInfo: Get repository information
6. repositoryStructure: View repository file structure
7. branchList: List repository branches

Examples

Retrieving individual file content

{
  "name": "get_individual_file_content",
  "parameters": {
    "owner": "skydeckai",
    "repo": "mcp-server-aidd",
    "path": "README.md"
  }
}

Getting repository contents with filtering

{
  "name": "get_entire_repo_contents",
  "parameters": {
    "owner": "skydeckai",
    "repo": "mcp-server-aidd",
    "include_patterns": ["*.js", "*.json", "*.md"],
    "exclude_patterns": ["*.test.js", "node_modules/*"],
    "max_files": 30
  }
}

Analyzing a repository

{
  "name": "analyzeRepository",
  "parameters": {
    "repository": "skydeckai/mcp-server-aidd",
    "includeFiles": true
  }
}

Limitations

• Currently only works with public GitHub repositories
• No support for private repositories or authentication
• Subject to GitHub API rate limits (60 requests per hour for unauthenticated requests)

License

Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE file for details.

Copyright © 2025 SkyDeck AI Inc.