GitHub Repo Intel

A hosted Model Context Protocol server that gives AI coding agents structured intelligence about any GitHub repository — overview, recent PRs, contributors, hot files, CI status, and dependencies — through a single MCP endpoint.

No local setup. No git clone. No Octokit boilerplate. Plug your agent into the MCP URL and start asking questions.

Why this exists

Local GitHub MCP servers exist, but they require every user to set up Node/Python, install the server, manage tokens, and keep it patched. This Actor runs on Apify's platform and is reachable as a hosted streamable-HTTP MCP endpoint — your agent just needs the URL.

It's useful when you want an LLM to reason about a codebase without giving it filesystem or shell access: think code-review bots, repo-onboarding helpers, dependency-audit agents, refactor planners.

Hosted vs local — when this saves you time

	This Actor	Local MCP server
Setup	Paste URL + token into client config	git clone, install deps, manage Node/Python versions
Distribution	Same URL works for every teammate	Each teammate sets up their own
Updates	Always latest server build	You patch + redeploy
Auth surface	One Apify token + optional GitHub PAT in tool args	GitHub PAT lives on every machine
Cost when idle	$0 (Standby mode, billed per call)	Whatever your laptop/server costs
When local wins	Air-gapped repos, on-prem GitHub Enterprise	—

Three workflows it shortens

1. Repo onboarding — drop the URL into Claude Code, ask "give me a one-page brief on kubernetes/kubernetes: maintainers, top 10 hot files, current PR pipeline, CI health." One conversation, six tool calls, no clones.
2. PR-review prep — before reviewing a stranger's PR, run get_contributors + list_recent_prs + get_hot_files on the target repo to know who you're dealing with and where the churn actually lives.
3. Dependency / supply-chain audit — get_dependencies across a list of repos in a loop, no shell access required, no risk of malicious npm install running on your machine.

Tools exposed

Tool	What it returns	Typical use
get_repo_overview	Stars, forks, language, license, topics, last push	"Is this repo still maintained?"
list_recent_prs	Recent PRs with author, state, merge dates	"Show me the last 20 merged PRs by user X"
get_contributors	Top contributors by commit count	"Who maintains this project?"
get_hot_files	Most-modified files over the last N commits	"Where's the churn?"
get_ci_status	Check runs and conclusions for a ref	"Is the default branch green?"
get_dependencies	Parses package.json, requirements.txt, go.mod, Cargo.toml, pyproject.toml	"What does this project depend on?"

Every tool accepts an optional github_token parameter. With no token you get GitHub's 60-req/hour limit on public repos. Provide a fine-grained PAT and you get 5,000 req/hour and can access private repos.

Pricing

$0.005 per tool call. First 100 calls free per user.

Pay-per-event model — you only pay when a tool actually executes. No subscription, no minimums. The server runs in Apify Standby mode, so you're not billed for idle time.

Usage

From an MCP-aware client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Continue, etc.)

The Actor exposes a Streamable-HTTP MCP transport at:

https://cg-nguyen--github-repo-intel-mcp.apify.actor/mcp

Authentication uses your Apify token via the Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_TOKEN> header — most MCP clients let you configure this in their server config.

Example tool call (raw JSON-RPC)

curl -X POST https://cg-nguyen--github-repo-intel-mcp.apify.actor/mcp \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json, text/event-stream" \
  -d '{
    "jsonrpc": "2.0",
    "id": 1,
    "method": "tools/call",
    "params": {
      "name": "get_repo_overview",
      "arguments": {"owner": "facebook", "repo": "react"}
    }
  }'

From Claude Desktop config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-repo-intel": {
      "url": "https://cg-nguyen--github-repo-intel-mcp.apify.actor/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <APIFY_TOKEN>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Limits and caveats

• Free tier on Apify gets you $5/month of usage credits — enough for ~1,000 free tool calls before the per-event price kicks in.
• The get_hot_files tool scans up to 200 commits and makes one API call per commit, so it eats GitHub rate limit the fastest. Pass a github_token if you call it often.
• get_ci_status reads the GitHub Checks API — it surfaces GitHub Actions, CodeQL, and any third-party check that posts back via the Checks API. Repos that run their CI entirely on external systems (Prow, Buildkite, CircleCI without GitHub integration) may show 0 check runs even when the build is green. The response includes a note field flagging this case.
• This is a read-only server. It cannot create PRs, comment on issues, or modify any repository state.
• All data comes straight from the GitHub REST API — no caching layer, so freshness equals what the GitHub API returns.

Source & roadmap

Author: luongnp. Open to feature requests — file an issue on the Actor page if you want a tool added (issues board, releases, dependency vulnerabilities via Dependabot API, etc.).