GitHub Projects MCP Server

Local setup required. This server has to be cloned and prepared on your machine before you register it in Claude Code.
1

Set the server up locally

Run this once to clone and prepare the server before adding it to Claude Code.

Run in terminal
git clone https://github.com/jamescalam/github-projects-mcp
cd github-projects-mcp

Then follow the repository README for any remaining dependency or build steps before continuing.

2

Register it in Claude Code

After the local setup is done, run this command to point Claude Code at the built server.

Run in terminal
claude mcp add -e "GITHUB_PAT=${GITHUB_PAT}" github-projects -- node "<FULL_PATH_TO_GITHUB_PROJECTS_MCP>/dist/index.js"

Replace <FULL_PATH_TO_GITHUB_PROJECTS_MCP>/dist/index.js with the actual folder you prepared in step 1.

Required:GITHUB_PAT
README.md

MCP server for scraping and retrieving data from GitHub Projects

GitHub Projects

This project provides an MCP server for scraping data from GitHub Projects. For use on private projects you will need a Github Personal Access Token (PAT) with the following permissions:

Repository permissions:
- Contents: Read-only
- Issues: Read-only
- Metadata: Read-only
- Pull requests: Read-only

Organization permissions:
- Members: Read-only
- Projects: Read-only

Running with MCP

In Claude Desktop:

vim ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "github-projects": {
            "command": "uv",
            "args": [
                "--directory",
                "/Users/jamesbriggs/Documents/aurelio/corp-agent/github-projects",
                "run",
                "github_projects/mcp/app.py"
            ]
            "env": {
                "GITHUB_PAT": "github_pat_..."
            }
        }
    }
}
Digging in

We're leaving some quick notes on working and developing with MCP here. First, to view your MCP server and the various tools etc it contains we recommend:

npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/inspector

Start the inspector app, inside the terminal you should see a localhost URL you can navigate to to open the UI.

mcp-inspector

Once inside the UI, start and connect to the MCP server with the following adapted to your particular environment. Note that these are the same inputs we provide to Claude Desktop:

Command: uv
Arguments: --directory /Users/jamesbriggs/Documents/aurelio/corp-agent/github-projects run python -m github_projects.app
Environment Variables (keep anything already here, just append): GITHUB_PAT: github_pat_...

Assuming the server started successfully, you can navigate to Tools and view the @mcp.tool methods that we have defined.

Environment Variables

GITHUB_PATrequiredGitHub Personal Access Token with read-only permissions for repositories, issues, metadata, pull requests, members, and projects.

Configuration

claude_desktop_config.json
{"mcpServers": {"github-projects": {"command": "uv", "args": ["--directory", "/path/to/github-projects", "run", "github_projects/mcp/app.py"], "env": {"GITHUB_PAT": "github_pat_..."}}}}

Try it

List all open issues in my project board.
Summarize the latest pull requests for this repository.
Get metadata for the organization projects.
Find all issues assigned to me in the current project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key features of GitHub Projects?

Scrapes data from GitHub Projects. Retrieves repository issues and pull requests. Accesses organizational metadata. Supports private project data via PAT.

What can I use GitHub Projects for?

Automating project status updates for team meetings. Summarizing active development work across multiple repositories. Querying organizational project boards using natural language. Tracking issue progress without leaving the Claude interface.

How do I install GitHub Projects?

Install GitHub Projects by running: uv --directory /path/to/github-projects run python -m github_projects.app

What MCP clients work with GitHub Projects?

GitHub Projects works with any MCP-compatible client including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and other editors with MCP support.

Turn this server into reusable context

Keep GitHub Projects docs, env vars, and workflow notes in Conare so your agent carries them across sessions.

Need the old visual installer? Open Conare IDE.
Open Conare