GitHub MCP Project Setup

This skill sets up per-project GitHub MCP configuration, keeping your GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT) isolated to specific projects rather than granting global access.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• •You need to access GitHub (PRs, issues, repo content) from Claude Code
• •The project doesn't have GitHub MCP configured yet
• •You want to avoid using a global GitHub PAT

Security Notice

CRITICAL: Claude must NEVER read files that may contain tokens.

• •Never read .mcp.json after the user has added their token
• •Never read .env files or any files that might contain secrets
• •The user is responsible for adding their token directly to the file

Instructions for Claude

When this skill is invoked:

Step 1: Create .mcp.json with Placeholder

Write this file to the project root (creating or overwriting):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 2: Update .gitignore

Add .mcp.json to .gitignore if not already present:

# Check and add to .gitignore
grep -q "^\.mcp\.json$" .gitignore 2>/dev/null || echo ".mcp.json" >> .gitignore

Step 3: Guide the User

Tell the user:

Setup complete! Now you need to:

1. •

   Create a Fine-Grained PAT at: https://github.com/settings/personal-access-tokens/new

   • •Token name: "Claude Code - [project name]"
   • •Expiration: 90 days (or as needed)
   • •Repository access: "Only select repositories" → select just this repo
   • •Permissions:
     • •Contents: Read and write
     • •Issues: Read and write
     • •Pull requests: Read and write
     • •Metadata: Read-only (auto-selected)
2. •

   Edit .mcp.json in your project root and replace YOUR_TOKEN_HERE with your PAT

3. •

   Restart Claude Code (MCP only loads on startup)

4. •

   Verify with: claude mcp list

Alternative: CLI Method

If preferred, the user can run this command directly (replacing with their actual PAT):

claude mcp add-json github '{"type":"http","url":"https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp","headers":{"Authorization":"Bearer YOUR_PAT_HERE"}}' --scope project

This stores the token directly in the project config.

Security Notes

• •.mcp.json is automatically added to .gitignore to prevent accidental commits
• •Fine-grained PATs limit access to specific repositories only
• •Project-level config means the token only works in this project directory
• •Tokens can be revoked anytime at https://github.com/settings/tokens
• •Claude will never read the .mcp.json file after setup to protect your token