The GitHub MCP Server is introducing a new tool to interact with and manage GitHub Projects.

We have also implemented multiple strategies to decrease the footprint of the GitHub MCP Server by:

  • Updating the default configuration to include a reduced list of the most-used toolsets.
  • Consolidating pull request tools into fewer, more powerful tools.

The updates for default and consolidated tools are now live across both local and remote GitHub MCP Servers.
If you notice a commonly used tool missing, it has likely been consolidated into a new multifunctional tool or moved out of the default configuration.

Visit the GitHub MCP Server repository to learn more.

Managing your projects using the GitHub MCP Server

You can now manage your projects and their items using the GitHub MCP Server to further automate your project workflows.

You can perform tasks such as:

  • Listing and retrieving projects
  • Listing and retrieving issues, pull requests, and fields within a project
  • Updating fields for items in a project, such as moving an issue from To do to In progress
  • Adding and removing issues and pull requests from a project

Note: The projects toolset is not included by default. To use it locally, update your GitHub MCP Server configuration or tool registry to include projects, then rebuild and restart the server.

Join the discussion about using the Projects tools to learn more and share your feedback.

Updated default toolset

The new default configuration now includes the five most-used toolset groups. This ensures common workflows are as seamless as possible, with better tool selection, improved performance and more efficient resource use.

The default configuration now includes:

  • context
  • repos
  • issues
  • pull_requests
  • users

The previously available tools are still accessible by modifying your server configuration.

Join the discussion about the updated default configuration to learn more and share your feedback.

Consolidating tools into more powerful multifunctional tools

We’re simplifying the GitHub MCP Server by merging related tools into unified, multifunctional ones. This reduces tool bloat and improves usability. Each consolidated tool now supports multiple operations through a single method parameter, making configurations leaner, AI reasoning clearer, and performance faster.

Pull request tooling

The following pull request tools have been consolidated into a single powerful tool called pull_request_read:

  • get_pull_request
  • get_pull_request_files
  • get_pull_request_status
  • get_pull_request_diff
  • get_pull_request_reviews
  • get_pull_request_review_comments

The pull_request_read tool uses the method argument to perform these operations:

  • get
  • get_files
  • get_status
  • get_diff
  • get_reviews
  • get_review_comments

Label toolset

The label toolset includes the following tools:

  • get_label
  • list_label
  • label_write, where the method argument can be set to one of the following:
    • create
    • update
    • delete