MCP server for searching GitHub discussions, issues, and pull requests
npm install github-brainGitHub Brain is an experimental MCP server for summarizing GitHub discussions, issues, and pull requests. Answer questions like:
- _What are the contributions of user X in the last month?_
- _Summarize this month's discussions._
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/80910025-9d58-4367-af00-bf4c51e6ce86
GitHub Brain complements (but does not replace) the official GitHub MCP server. It stores GitHub data in a local database for:
- Fast responses
- More than the standard 100-item API limit
- Token-efficient Markdown output

GitHub Brain is programmed in Markdown.
``sh`
npm i -g github-brain
Rerun to update. sudo may be required on some systems.
Alternatively use npx to run without installing globally and needing sudo.
`sh`
npx github-brain@latest
`sh`
github-brain
Or with npx:
`sh`
npx github-brain@latest
Launches the interactive TUI where you can:
1. Setup - Configure authentication and settings
- Login with GitHub (OAuth) - Recommended for most users
- Login with Personal Access Token - For fine-grained tokens or when OAuth is unavailable
- Open configuration file - Edit .env directly
2. Pull - Populate the local database with GitHub data
Re-run pull anytime to update the database with new GitHub data.
The app loads environment variables from a .env file in the GitHub Brain's home directory - ~/.github-brain by default.
Example .env file
GITHUB_TOKEN=your_github_token
ORGANIZATION=my-org
| Argument | Description |
| :------- | :----------------------------------------- |
| -m | Home directory. Default: ~/.github-brain |
Personal access token scopes
Use fine-grained personal access tokens.
Private organizations: Token needs read access to discussions, issues, metadata, and pull requests. Generate token.
Public organizations: Any token works (data is publicly accessible).
Start the MCP server using the local database:
`sh`
github-brain mcp
Or with npx:
`sh`
npx github-brain@latest mcp
| Argument | Variable | Description |
| :------- | :------------- | :----------------------------------------- |
| -o | ORGANIZATION | GitHub organization. Required. |-m
| | | Home directory. Default: ~/.github-brain |
Add to the Claude MCP configuration file:
`json`
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-brain": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "github-brain",
"args": ["mcp"]
}
}
Or with npx:
`json`
{
"mcpServers": {
"github-brain": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["github-brain@latest", "mcp"]
}
}
Merge with existing mcpServers if present.
Add to the VS Code MCP configuration file:
`json`
{
"servers": {
"github-brain": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "github-brain",
"args": ["mcp"],
"version": "0.0.1"
}
}
}
Or with npx:
`json`
{
"servers": {
"github-brain": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": ["github-brain@latest", "mcp"],
"version": "0.0.1"
}
}
}
Merge with existing servers if present.
scripts/run builds and runs github-brain with the checkout directory as home -m (database in db/, config in .env`).