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How to connect GitHub to Cursor

Cursor can reach GitHub's hosted MCP server, published by github as the vendor, with a short JSON entry and an optional Authorization header. Nothing runs on your machine. This page follows the listing's install data and Cursor's documentation, and it ends with a check of the logs in the Output panel.

Updated Oct 26, 2026 · Built from catalog data; how we rank and grade

Checked against Cursor's documentation on Oct 26, 2026. Commands and config blocks are generated from the same install data as each listing page.

Before you start

  • Cursor installed and able to start.
  • Network access to api.githubcopilot.com.
  • Authorization (optional): Authorization header with authentication token (PAT or App token).

  1. 1. Check what you need

    The server is hosted, so the only requirement is that Cursor can reach api.githubcopilot.com.

    • It can take Authorization (next step).

  2. 2. Get Authorization

    To send Authorization, create a PAT or App token in your GitHub account and keep it in a private place.

    • Authorization (optional): Authorization header with authentication token (PAT or App token).

  3. 3. Add GitHub to Cursor

    The entry in .cursor/mcp.json reads the token from GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN, so export that variable before you start Cursor.

    Add this to .cursor/mcp.json in the project, or to ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project.cursor/mcp.json
    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "github-mcp-server": {
      "url": "https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer ${env:GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN}"
      }
    }
  }
}
    Set the variable in the shell you start the host from
    export GITHUB_MCP_SERVER_TOKEN="paste-your-value-here"
    • Cursor expands ${env:NAME} from its own environment, so the variable has to be set where Cursor starts.

  4. 4. Restart or reload if it does not appear

    If GitHub does not appear in Cursor, read the notes for what the docs say about restarting and about approving tool use.

    • The docs do not say whether editing mcp.json needs a restart. They tell you to restart Cursor after updating files of a custom local server.
    • Cursor asks for approval before an agent uses an MCP tool unless you allowlist it.

Check that it works

Open the Output panel, pick MCP Logs and scan for connection errors. Under Available Tools you should see GitHub's tools, 119 in the catalog, including actions_list.

  • Open the Output panel (Cmd+Shift+U on macOS), choose MCP Logs, and look for connection errors. A working server lists its tools under Available Tools; agent mcp list shows connection state from the terminal.
  • Once it is connected, Cursor should list its tools; the catalog records 119 for GitHub, including actions_get, actions_list and actions_run_trigger.

Troubleshooting

A server fails or an npm-based server misbehaves after an update
Check the MCP Logs channel in the Output panel. For npm-based servers the docs suggest removing the server, running npm cache clean --force, and adding it again. Source

Reported by other users

Issues in the server's repository (github/github-mcp-server) about installing or starting it, as of Oct 26, 2026. They are links, not fixes: open one to see whether it was resolved.

Security notes

  • Publisher: github, listed as the vendor's own server; license MIT.
  • Your requests go to api.githubcopilot.com. Check who runs it and what it does with your data before you connect.
  • Keep Authorization in an environment variable; the config above refers to it by name, so the value is not written to the file.
  • This listing has no security grade: Agent Market has not published security grades yet, so the choice is yours to make from the source and the permissions.

How we grade security · Trust policy

Servers and skills in this guide

From here you can see other GitHub servers, compare them, or read the general guide for Cursor.

  1. 1
    GitHub

    githubOfficial

    Connect AI assistants to GitHub - manage repos, issues, PRs, and workflows through natural language.

    ★ 33.9KLast active Oct 22, 2026Local (stdio), Remote (HTTP)Claude Code, VS Code, Codex, Cursor +2

Related

Sources

Cite this page

How to connect GitHub to Cursor. Agent Mart. https://agentmart.dev/guides/connect-github-to-cursor (last updated 2026-10-26)