Servers / GitHub

Install GitHub MCP in Cursor

GitHub · Remote HTTP · OAuth or PAT

Cursor mcp.json

Paste this into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or.cursor/mcp.json (this repo). Merge it with servers you already have. Primer: how Cursor loads MCP.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/"
    }
  }
}

MCP endpoint: https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/. Source: github/github-mcp-server.

What it is

The GitHub MCP is GitHub's own server. Cursor can already run git locally. This server is for the GitHub product: PRs, issues, checks, and code search against github.com, without you pasting issue text into the chat.

The problem it solves

Without it, the agent reviews diffs it can see on disk and then asks you to open the PR in a browser. With it, it can list review comments, open the PR, and match failing checks to files.

Install steps

1. Add the hosted URL. Put the github server in mcp.json with url https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/. That is the URL GitHub documents for Cursor.
2. Authenticate. Reload Cursor and complete OAuth when it asks. To use a PAT instead, add headers.Authorization as Bearer YOUR_GITHUB_PAT. Scope the token to the repos the agent should touch.
3. Confirm tools. Under Tools & MCP the github server should list issue and pull-request tools. Ask Cursor to list open PRs in this repo as a smoke test.

A prompt that uses it

List open pull requests for this repo, summarize review comments on the oldest one, and draft a reply that addresses the failing checks.

If it will not connect

A 401 usually means the PAT is missing, expired, or missing repo scope. OAuth can fail if popups are blocked. The URL must keep the trailing slash GitHub publishes: https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/

FAQ