Git Repo Brief

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that generates structured briefs for public GitHub repositories. Get comprehensive repository information including overview, key files, release notes, and activity snapshots.

Features

• repo_overview: Get repository metadata (name, description, stars, forks, language, topics, license, timestamps)
• extract_key_files: Fetch contents of key files (README.md, LICENSE, package.json, pyproject.toml)
• release_notes: Get recent release notes with tag names, descriptions, and dates
• activity_snapshot: Get activity metrics (last commit, open issues/PRs, contributors count)

Installation

npm install
npm run build

Usage

As MCP Server (stdio mode)

# Run directly
npm start

# Or after building
node dist/cli.js

As HTTP Server

npm start -- --http
# or
HTTP_PORT=3001 node dist/cli.js --http

MCP Client Configuration

Add to your MCP client configuration (e.g., Claude Desktop):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "git-repo-brief": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/git-repo-brief/dist/cli.js"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

repo_overview

Get a comprehensive overview of a GitHub repository.

Input:

{
  "repo_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo"
}

Output:

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": {
    "name": "repo",
    "full_name": "owner/repo",
    "description": "Repository description",
    "stars": 1234,
    "forks": 567,
    "language": "TypeScript",
    "topics": ["mcp", "github"],
    "license": "MIT",
    "created_at": "2023-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "updated_at": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
    "default_branch": "main",
    "homepage": "https://example.com",
    "owner": {
      "login": "owner",
      "avatar_url": "https://github.com/owner.png",
      "type": "User"
    }
  },
  "meta": {
    "source": "https://api.github.com/repos/owner/repo",
    "retrieved_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    "pagination": { "next_cursor": null },
    "warnings": []
  }
}

extract_key_files

Fetch contents of key files from a repository.

Input:

{
  "repo_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo",
  "paths": ["README.md", "package.json"]
}

Output:

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": {
    "files": [
      {
        "path": "README.md",
        "content": "# Project\n\nDescription...",
        "size": 1234,
        "encoding": "utf-8"
      },
      {
        "path": "package.json",
        "content": "{\"name\": \"project\"}",
        "size": 456,
        "encoding": "utf-8"
      }
    ],
    "default_branch": "main"
  },
  "meta": {
    "retrieved_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    "warnings": []
  }
}

release_notes

Get recent release notes from a repository.

Input:

{
  "repo_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo",
  "limit": 5
}

Output:

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": {
    "releases": [
      {
        "tag_name": "v1.0.0",
        "name": "Version 1.0.0",
        "body": "## Changes\n- Feature A\n- Bug fix B",
        "published_at": "2024-01-01T00:00:00Z",
        "prerelease": false,
        "draft": false,
        "html_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo/releases/tag/v1.0.0"
      }
    ],
    "total_count": 1
  },
  "meta": {
    "retrieved_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    "pagination": { "next_cursor": null },
    "warnings": []
  }
}

activity_snapshot

Get a snapshot of recent repository activity.

Input:

{
  "repo_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo"
}

Output:

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": {
    "last_commit_date": "2024-01-14T15:30:00Z",
    "last_commit_message": "fix: resolve parsing issue",
    "open_issues_count": 25,
    "open_prs_count": 8,
    "contributors_count": 42,
    "watchers_count": 100,
    "has_wiki": true,
    "has_discussions": true
  },
  "meta": {
    "retrieved_at": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    "warnings": []
  }
}

HTTP API Endpoints

When running in HTTP mode:

• GET /health - Health check
• GET /tools - List available tools
• POST /tools/repo_overview - Get repository overview
• POST /tools/extract_key_files - Extract key files
• POST /tools/release_notes - Get release notes
• POST /tools/activity_snapshot - Get activity snapshot

Example HTTP Request

curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/tools/repo_overview \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"repo_url": "https://github.com/microsoft/vscode"}'

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
GITHUB_TOKEN	-	GitHub personal access token (optional, increases rate limit from 60 to 5000 req/hour)
REQUEST_DELAY_MS	100	Delay between requests for rate limiting
REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS	30000	Request timeout in milliseconds
TRANSPORT_MODE	stdio	Transport mode: stdio or http
HTTP_PORT	3000	HTTP server port (when using HTTP transport)

Rate Limiting

The server implements polite rate limiting:

• Default delay of 100ms between requests
• Handles GitHub API rate limit responses gracefully
• Optional GitHub token support for higher rate limits

Response Format

All responses follow the standard envelope format:

Success Response

{
  "ok": true,
  "data": { ... },
  "meta": {
    "source": "optional API URL",
    "retrieved_at": "ISO-8601 timestamp",
    "pagination": { "next_cursor": null },
    "warnings": []
  }
}

Error Response

{
  "ok": false,
  "error": {
    "code": "INVALID_INPUT | UPSTREAM_ERROR | RATE_LIMITED | TIMEOUT | PARSE_ERROR | INTERNAL_ERROR",
    "message": "Human readable message",
    "details": { ... }
  },
  "meta": {
    "retrieved_at": "ISO-8601 timestamp"
  }
}

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run dev

# Run tests
npm test

# Run tests with coverage
npm run test:coverage

# Type check
npm run typecheck

# Build
npm run build

Testing

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:watch

# Run with coverage
npm run test:coverage

License

MIT