Connect to GitHub - Claude.ai Documentation

When Claude Desktop is deployed on third-party inference, Claude can work with your organization’s GitHub data (repositories, issues, pull requests, and more) through GitHub’s open-source github-mcp-server. Two connectors are available: a remote connector, where the desktop app connects to GitHub’s hosted copy of the server, and a local connector, a copy of the server built into the desktop app. In both cases the device talks to GitHub directly; no GitHub data or tokens pass through Anthropic’s infrastructure.

Choose a connector

Both connectors expose the same family of GitHub tools; they differ in where the server runs and how users authenticate. Use this table to pick one, then follow that connector’s section below.

	Remote connector	Local connector
Where the server runs	GitHub’s infrastructure	On the user’s device, bundled in the app
Authentication	A personal access token you issue and distribute	OAuth device flow; no tokens to issue or distribute
Credential handling	Token delivered through the entry’s `headers` or a headers helper script	User signs in; the token is acquired and stored encrypted on the device
GitHub Enterprise Server	Not available; github.com only	Supported; set `host`
Tool surface controls	Per-tool `toolPolicy`	`toolsets`, `readOnly`, and per-tool `toolPolicy`
Claude Desktop version	Any version that supports managed MCP servers	Requires a version that includes the bundled server (beta)

Remote connector

GitHub hosts a copy of github-mcp-server on its own infrastructure. Claude Desktop on 3P connects to it as a standard remote managedMcpServers entry, authenticated with a GitHub personal access token: the device connects straight to GitHub’s endpoint, and the token travels only in the request headers from the user’s device.

{
  "name": "GitHub",
  "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
  "transport": "http",
  "headersHelper": "/opt/org/bin/github-token"
}

The headersHelper executable prints the request headers as a flat JSON object to stdout, for example {"Authorization": "Bearer GITHUB_PAT"}, and follows the execution model described under short-lived credentials with a headers helper. Use it to fetch a per-user fine-grained token from your secrets manager. A static headers object also works, but it puts the same token on every device, so every session acts as that one identity; prefer the helper, a narrowly scoped fine-grained token, or the local connector, which needs no tokens at all. Check the endpoint URL, the supported authentication methods, and the token scopes your tools need against GitHub’s github-mcp-server documentation, which is the source of truth for the hosted server. GitHub Enterprise Server instances are not reachable through GitHub’s hosted endpoint; use the local connector instead.

Local connector

Claude Desktop includes a built-in copy of github-mcp-server and runs it as a local process when a managedMcpServers entry sets server to github. The server calls github.com, or your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, directly from the device. Users sign in to GitHub from the app through the OAuth device flow, so there are no personal access tokens to issue, distribute, or rotate. You register one OAuth app in your GitHub organization and ship its client ID in the entry; each user then authorizes their own sign-in. The local connector is in beta, and the in-app configuration window marks it with a Beta pill.

Set up the local connector

In your GitHub organization, open Settings → Developer settings → OAuth Apps → New OAuth App and register an app for Claude Desktop:

Set Application name and Homepage URL to values your users will recognize on the authorization screen.
Enter any valid URL as the Authorization callback URL. The device flow does not use a redirect, but GitHub requires the field.
After registering, select Enable Device Flow on the app’s settings page and save. Sign-in fails without it.
Note the app’s Client ID. Do not create a client secret; the device flow does not use one, and Claude Desktop never asks for it.

A GitHub App works in place of an OAuth app: put its client ID in the same field. Its permissions come from the app registration itself (the entry’s scope field is ignored), it must be installed where users need access, and its user tokens expire after about eight hours, so users sign in again more often than with an OAuth app.

Add the managed entry

In the Claude Desktop in-app configuration window, open Connectors & extensions, select Add server, and choose GitHub under the Built-in group. Enter the client ID from step 1, select Test connection to verify that the bundled server starts and lists its tools, and select Save.If you manage configuration through JSON or a plist directly, add an entry to managedMcpServers with the server field set to github:

{
  "name": "GitHub",
  "server": "github",
  "clientId": "OAUTH_APP_CLIENT_ID_FROM_STEP_1"
}

Field	Required	Description
`name`	Yes	Unique display name, shown to users in connector settings.
`server`	Yes	Must be `github`.
`clientId`	Yes	The client ID of the OAuth app (or GitHub App) from step 1.
`host`	No	Base URL of your GitHub Enterprise Server instance, for example `https://github.example.com`. Leave unset for github.com. HTTPS is required.
`scope`	No	Space-separated OAuth scopes to request at sign-in, for example `repo read:org`. Defaults to `repo read:org read:user`. Ignored for GitHub Apps.
`toolsets`	No	Comma-separated github-mcp-server toolsets to enable, for example `context,repos,issues,pull_requests`. Defaults to the bundled server’s default toolsets.
`readOnly`	No	`true` starts the server with read tools only; write tools are not registered at all.
`toolPolicy`	No	Per-tool approval locks, the same as for any managed server. See `toolPolicy`.

In the in-app configuration window, the GitHub form offers the client ID, GitHub Enterprise Server URL, toolsets, and read-only fields; set scope through exported JSON or your device-management tool if you need a non-default scope set.

Allow the required network hosts

The server and the sign-in flow call GitHub directly from the device, so in addition to the base egress hosts, devices need outbound HTTPS access to:

Host	Purpose
`github.com`	OAuth device-flow sign-in
`api.github.com`	GitHub API calls

GitHub Enterprise Server deployments need access to the instance’s own host instead. No egress to any Anthropic host is needed for GitHub data.

The first time a user opens the GitHub connector, Claude Desktop shows a short code and opens GitHub’s device-authorization page in the system browser. The user enters the code, reviews the requested access, and approves it. The resulting token is stored encrypted on the device and reused until it is revoked, it expires, or the entry’s identity fields change; Disconnect in connector settings deletes it.

Control what Claude can do

Three levers narrow the local connector, from coarsest to finest:

readOnly removes every write tool from the server. Claude never sees them.
toolsets selects which github-mcp-server tool groups are registered, so you can expose repositories and pull requests without, for example, the Actions tools.
toolPolicy locks the approval state per tool. Without a policy, write tools ask the user before each call. A few irreversible GitHub actions (merging a pull request, pushing commits, or triggering a workflow, for example) stay at ask or stricter no matter what the policy says.

The default repo OAuth scope grants read and write access to repositories the user can reach, so pair a broad scope with readOnly or a restrictive toolPolicy rather than relying on the scope alone to keep sessions read-only. A narrower scope list, or a GitHub App with minimal permissions, limits what the token itself can do.

​Choose a connector

​Remote connector

​Local connector

​Set up the local connector

​How users sign in

​Control what Claude can do

Choose a connector

Remote connector

Local connector

Set up the local connector

How users sign in

Control what Claude can do