Installation

Prerequisites

Requirement	Minimum Version	Check Command	Notes
Go	1.25.0+	go version	Required for building from source
Git	2.0+	git --version	Optional — server works without Git (48 tools available)
GitHub Token	—	—	Personal Access Token with repo scope

Tip

No Go installed? Download from go.dev/dl. The installation takes 2 minutes and provides the best performance.

Installation Steps

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/jotajotape/github-go-server-mcp.git
   cd github-go-server-mcp

2. Install Go dependencies

   go mod tidy

   This downloads:

   • github.com/google/go-github/v81 v81.0.0 — GitHub API client
   • golang.org/x/oauth2 v0.34.0 — OAuth2 authentication

3. Build the executable

   Windows

   # Using the included build script
   .\compile.bat
   
   # Or manually
   go build -o github-mcp-server-v3.exe ./cmd/github-mcp-server/

   Linux / macOS

   # Build directly
   go build -o github-mcp-server-v3 ./cmd/github-mcp-server/
   
   # Make executable
   chmod +x github-mcp-server-v3

4. Create your GitHub Personal Access Token

   1. Go to GitHub Settings → Personal Access Tokens
   2. Click “Generate new token (classic)”
   3. Give it a descriptive name like “Claude Desktop MCP Server”
   4. Select scopes:
      • ✅ repo (required) — Full control of private repositories
      • ✅ delete_repo (optional) — For github_delete_repository tool
      • ✅ workflow (optional) — For re-running GitHub Actions workflows
      • ✅ security_events (optional) — For dismissing security alerts
      • ✅ admin:repo_hook (optional) — Enhanced webhook management (v3.0)
      • ✅ admin:org (optional) — Team management in organizations (v3.0)
   5. Click “Generate token” and copy it immediately

   Keep your token safe

   GitHub tokens are like passwords. Store them securely and never commit them to version control.

5. Verify installation

   # Test the executable
   ./github-mcp-server-v3 --help
   
   # Expected output:
   # GitHub MCP Server v3.0
   # Usage: github-mcp-server-v3 [options]
   # Options:
   #   --profile <name>        Use a specific profile
   #   --safety-config <path>  Path to safety configuration file

What’s Next?

After installing, you need to configure Claude Desktop to use the server:

👉 Continue to Configuration →

Troubleshooting

go: command not found

Go is not installed or not in your PATH. Download from go.dev/dl and follow the installation instructions for your platform.

package github.com/google/go-github/v81: cannot find package

Dependencies aren’t installed. Run go mod tidy in the project directory.

Build fails on macOS with “xcrun: error”

Git command-line tools aren’t installed. Two options:

1. Install Xcode Command Line Tools: xcode-select --install
2. Use Git-Free Mode: The server will work without Git (48 tools remain available, including all GitHub API and admin tools)

Permission denied when running executable

On Linux/macOS, the file needs execute permissions:

chmod +x github-mcp-server-v3

Advanced: Pre-built Binaries

If you don’t want to build from source, check the GitHub Releases page for pre-built binaries (if available).

Testing the Installation

Run the test suite to verify everything works:

# Run all tests
go test ./...

# Run with verbose output
go test ./... -v

# Test specific packages
go test ./pkg/safety/ -v    # Safety system tests
go test ./pkg/git/ -v       # Git operations tests

Expected: All 124 tests should pass in ~1.4 seconds.