[mcp-tools-report] GitHub MCP Remote Server Tools Report — 2026-10-11

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GitHub MCP Remote Server Tools Report

Generated: 2026-10-11
MCP Mode: Remote (read-only, scoped toolset for this run — see Methodology)
Toolsets: 23 of 24 known toolsets represented in the tools exposed to this session (no context-toolset tools were exposed)
Previous Report: None (first run — no cache found at /tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory/github-mcp-tools.json)

Executive Summary

• Total Tools Discovered (this session): 65
• Toolset Categories Discovered: 22 (plus the pre-existing but unexposed context, copilot_issue_intents, labels-only-write, projects_write, stargazers write tools not reachable this run)
• Report Date: 2026-10-11
• Source: pkg/workflow/data/github_toolsets_permissions.json
• Instructions File: .github/aw/github-mcp-server.md
• Changes Since Last Report: N/A — first run

⚠️ Important scope note (read first)

This workflow's GitHub MCP tool was configured read-only, and this session was given a specific subset of tools, not the full toolsets: [all] remote surface the task description assumes. Concretely:

• No context-toolset tools (get_me, get_teams, get_team_members) were exposed — get_me is explicitly disallowed for this integration token regardless.
• No write tools were exposed anywhere (no issue_write, create_pull_request, label_write, star_repository, create_gist, etc.).
• Several read toolsets present in the JSON mapping (copilot_issue_intents) had no tool exposed this session at all.

Because of this, a tool found in the JSON mapping but not in this session's 65 tools does not mean it was removed from the upstream MCP server — it most likely means this run's safe-outputs/read-only policy didn't expose it. Treating that gap as "missing from MCP" would have been inaccurate, so the comparison below only reports the direction that is reliable: tools seen in this session that are not yet in the JSON mapping (genuine, newly-discovered gaps).

Inconsistency Detection

Toolset Integrity Checks

• Duplicate tools: get_label is intentionally dual-registered under both issues and labels in the JSON mapping — this matches what was observed (confirmed, not a defect).
• Miscategorized tools: None observed among discovered tools relative to the (now-updated) JSON mapping.
• Naming inconsistencies: search_issues (semantic) vs. semantic_issue_similarity_search (per-issue similarity) are two distinct, confusingly-similar tool names in the issues toolset — both observed and both already distinguished in the JSON mapping as search_issues and semantic_issue_similarity_search/semantic_issues_search. Worth a naming-convention note upstream, not an action here.
• Orphaned tools: None — every discovered tool mapped cleanly onto an existing or newly-added toolset.
• Missing expected tools: Not assessed this run — see scope note above; a read-only session cannot validate write-tool presence/absence.

JSON Mapping Comparison

Discrepancies Between MCP Server and JSON Mapping

Summary (directional: tools seen this session vs. JSON mapping before this PR's changes):

• Extra tools found (in MCP, not in JSON): 8
• Missing tools: not evaluated (read-only session cannot confirm absence of write/context tools — see scope note)
• Moved tools: 0

Extra Tools (in MCP but not in JSON) — now added by this report's PR

Toolset	Tool Name	Action Taken
governance (new)	custom_properties_read	Added to JSON mapping — confirmed directly against github/github-mcp-server source (pkg/github/custom_properties.go, registered under ToolsetMetadataGovernance)
governance (new)	custom_properties_write	Added to JSON mapping — confirmed in the same source file (write counterpart); not exposed in this read-only session
governance (new)	repository_ruleset_read	Added to JSON mapping — toolset placement inferred from a shared permission-scope helper (rulesetReadScopeAccess()) with custom_properties_read; not independently confirmed against rulesets.go due to GitHub code-search rate limiting (HTTP 429) during this run
copilot	get_automation	Added to JSON mapping — Copilot Automation management; toolset placement is best-effort (closest existing category), not independently confirmed upstream
copilot	get_automation_revision	Added to JSON mapping — same caveat
copilot	list_automation_revisions	Added to JSON mapping — same caveat
copilot	list_automations	Added to JSON mapping — same caveat
copilot	list_available_automation_tools	Added to JSON mapping — same caveat
copilot	list_available_automation_triggers	Added to JSON mapping — same caveat

Action: Opened a pull request with the updated JSON mapping, the corresponding docs updates, and a related compiler-schema fix (see below). PR intent recorded via the create_pull_request safe output on branch update-github-mcp-tools-mapping-governance; the PR number/URL will be assigned when the safe-outputs job applies it.

Related compiler bug found while fixing this (not part of the original ask, but directly blocking it)

pkg/parser/schemas/main_workflow_schema.json's $defs/github_toolset_name enum — which gh aw compile validates tools.github.toolsets frontmatter against — was already stale, independent of this run's findings. It was missing code_quality, copilot, copilot_issue_intents, copilot_spaces, git, and github_support_docs_search, meaning gh aw compile would reject workflows specifying any of those toolsets today. This PR adds those names (plus governance) to the enum, additively only — it leaves the enum's stale experiments/search entries alone since the JSON mapping no longer defines those toolsets but removing them risks breaking existing workflows still referencing them; that's flagged as a separate follow-up for a maintainer to judge.

Tools by Toolset

governance (new toolset)

Repository/organization/enterprise custom properties and repository rulesets.

Source: pkg/github/custom_properties.go, pkg/github/rulesets.go (ruleset-read placement inferred, not independently opened)

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters
custom_properties_read	Read custom properties at repository, organization, or enterprise level (repo level returns values; org/enterprise level returns schema definitions)	level, owner, repo, org, enterprise
custom_properties_write	Create or update custom properties at any of those three levels	level, owner, repo, org, enterprise, properties
repository_ruleset_read	Read rulesets and rule suites at repository, organization, or enterprise level	level, owner, repo, org, enterprise, method, ruleset_id

Organization/enterprise-level operations need a PAT — GITHUB_TOKEN lacks the scope. Repository-level custom_properties_read works with GITHUB_TOKEN.

copilot (6 new tools added)

GitHub Copilot assignment, review, coding agent, and Copilot Automation management tools.

Source: pkg/github/copilot.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters
assign_copilot_to_issue	Assign GitHub Copilot to an issue	owner, repo, issue_number
create_pull_request_with_copilot	Ask Copilot to create a pull request	owner, repo, issue_number
get_automation (new)	Get a Copilot Automation in a repository	owner, repo, automation_id
get_automation_revision (new)	Get a revision of a Copilot Automation	owner, repo, automation_id, revision_id
list_automation_revisions (new)	List revisions for a Copilot Automation	owner, repo, automation_id, cursor, perPage
list_automations (new)	List Copilot Automations for a repository	owner, repo, ownership, page, perPage
list_available_automation_tools (new)	List available tools for Copilot Automations	—
list_available_automation_triggers (new)	List available triggers for Copilot Automations	—
request_copilot_review	Request a Copilot review on a pull request	owner, repo, pullNumber

All other toolsets discovered this session (unchanged from JSON mapping)

code_quality

Source: pkg/github/code_quality.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_code_quality_finding	Get details of a specific code quality finding	owner, repo, findingNumber

code_security

Source: pkg/github/code_scanning.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_code_scanning_alert	Get details of a specific code scanning alert	owner, repo, alertNumber
list_code_scanning_alerts	List code scanning alerts in a repository	owner, repo, state, severity, ref

copilot_spaces

Source: pkg/github/dynamic_tools.go (remote-only)

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_copilot_space	Get content from a specific Copilot Space	owner, name
list_copilot_spaces	List Copilot Spaces accessible to the user	—

dependabot

Source: pkg/github/dependabot.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_dependabot_alert	Get details of a specific Dependabot alert	owner, repo, alertNumber
list_dependabot_alerts	List Dependabot alerts in a repository	owner, repo, state, severity

discussions

Source: pkg/github/discussions.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_discussion	Get a specific discussion by ID	owner, repo, discussionNumber
get_discussion_comments	Get comments from a discussion	owner, repo, discussionNumber, includeReplies
list_discussion_categories	List discussion categories for a repo/org	owner, repo
list_discussions	List discussions for a repository or organisation	owner, repo, category, orderBy, direction

gists

Source: pkg/github/gists.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_gist	Get gist content by gist ID	gist_id
list_gists	List gists for a user	username, since, page, perPage

git

Source: pkg/github/git.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_repository_tree	Get the file tree of a repository at a ref/SHA	owner, repo, tree_sha, recursive, path_filter

github_support_docs_search

Source: pkg/github/search.go (remote-only)

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
github_support_docs_search	Retrieve GitHub product/support documentation relevant to a question	query

issues

Source: pkg/github/issues.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_label	Get a specific label from a repository (dual-registered with labels)	owner, repo, name
issue_read	Get issue details and comments	owner, repo, issue_number, method
list_issue_fields	List issue field definitions for a repo/org	owner, repo
list_issue_types	List supported issue types for a repo/org	owner, repo
list_issues	List issues in a repository	owner, repo, state, labels, since
search_issues	Search issues using natural-language semantic matching	query, owner, repo
semantic_issue_similarity_search	Find issues semantically similar to a given issue	owner, repo, issue_number, threshold

labels

Source: pkg/github/labels.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_label	Get a specific label from a repository	owner, repo, name
list_label	List labels from a repository, ordered by issue count	owner, repo

notifications

Source: pkg/github/notifications.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_notification_details	Get details for a specific notification	notificationID
list_notifications	List notifications for the authenticated user	filter, since, before

orgs

Source: pkg/github/search.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
search_orgs	Find GitHub organizations by name/location/metadata	query, sort, order

projects

Source: pkg/github/projects.go (requires PAT)

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
projects_get	Get a project, field, item, view, or status update	method, owner, project_number
projects_list	List projects, fields, items, views, or status updates	method, owner, project_number

pull_requests

Source: pkg/github/pullrequests.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
list_pull_requests	List pull requests in a repository	owner, repo, state, base, head
pull_request_read	Get PR details, diff, status, files, commits, reviews, or checks	method, owner, repo, pullNumber
search_pull_requests	Search pull requests across GitHub	query, sort, order

repos

Source: pkg/github/repositories.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_commit	Get details for a commit	owner, repo, sha, detail
get_file_contents	Get the contents of a file or directory	owner, repo, path, ref
get_latest_release	Get the latest release	owner, repo
get_release_by_tag	Get a release by tag name	owner, repo, tag
get_tag	Get details about a specific git tag	owner, repo, tag
list_branches	List branches in a repository	owner, repo
list_commits	List commits on a branch	owner, repo, sha, author, since, until
list_releases	List releases in a repository	owner, repo
list_repository_collaborators	List collaborators of a repository	owner, repo, affiliation
list_tags	List git tags in a repository	owner, repo
search_code	Fast, precise code search across GitHub	query, sort, order
search_commits	Search commits via GitHub's commit search syntax	query, sort, order
search_repositories	Find repositories by name/description/topics	query, sort, order

secret_protection

Source: pkg/github/secret_scanning.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
get_secret_scanning_alert	Get details of a specific secret scanning alert	owner, repo, alertNumber
list_secret_scanning_alerts	List secret scanning alerts in a repository	owner, repo, state, secret_type, resolution
run_secret_scanning	Scan given file contents/diffs for secrets	owner, repo, files

security_advisories

Source: pkg/github/security_advisories.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
check_dependency_vulnerabilities	Check dependencies against the GitHub Advisory Database	owner, repo, dependencies
get_global_security_advisory	Get a specific global security advisory	ghsaId
list_global_security_advisories	List advisories from the GitHub Advisory Database	type, severity, ecosystem, cveId
list_org_repository_security_advisories	List advisories for all repos in an org	org, state, sort
list_repository_security_advisories	List advisories for a specific repository	owner, repo, state, sort

stargazers

Source: pkg/github/repositories.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
list_starred_repositories	List repositories starred by a user	username, sort, direction

users

Source: pkg/github/search.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
search_users	Find GitHub users by username/name/profile metadata	query, sort, order

actions

Source: pkg/github/actions.go

Tool	Purpose	Key Parameters
actions_get	Get workflow, run, job, artifact, or logs-URL details	method, owner, repo, resource_id
actions_list	List workflows, runs, jobs, or artifacts	method, owner, repo, resource_id
get_job_logs	Get logs for a workflow job (or all failed jobs in a run)	owner, repo, job_id, run_id, failed_only

Recommended Default Toolsets

Recommended Defaults (unchanged from current documentation): context, repos, issues, pull_requests

Rationale:

• These four cover the large majority of read/write operations needed by typical CI/CD and code-review agentic workflows, with minimal permission surface.
• The newly-discovered governance and expanded copilot tools are specialized (org/enterprise administration, Copilot Automation management) and should stay opt-in — they don't change this recommendation.

Specialized toolsets (enable explicitly when needed): actions, code_quality, code_security, copilot, copilot_issue_intents, copilot_spaces, dependabot, discussions, gists, git, github_support_docs_search, governance (new), labels, notifications, orgs, projects, secret_protection, security_advisories, stargazers, users

Toolset Configuration Reference

tools:
  github:
    mode: "remote"  # or "local"
    toolsets: [all]  # or specific toolsets like [repos, issues, pull_requests, governance]

Available toolset options (24 individual + all/default/action-friendly aliases): context, repos, issues, pull_requests, actions, code_quality, code_security, copilot, copilot_issue_intents, copilot_spaces, dependabot, discussions, gists, git, github_support_docs_search, governance, labels, notifications, orgs, projects, secret_protection, security_advisories, stargazers, users, all

Notes and Observations

• The compiler's tools.github.toolsets JSON-schema enum (pkg/parser/schemas/main_workflow_schema.json) was already out of sync with the permissions-mapping JSON before this run — missing code_quality, copilot, copilot_issue_intents, copilot_spaces, git, github_support_docs_search. No generator keeps the two in sync; this PR fixes it additively. A maintainer should decide whether to also prune the enum's stale experiments/search entries (left alone here to avoid a breaking change).
• GitHub's code-search API (search_code) rate-limited this run's exploratory queries into github/github-mcp-server (HTTP 429) after only 2-3 calls, which limited how deeply the new tools' exact upstream toolset registration could be verified. The governance toolset for custom_properties_read/write is directly confirmed from source; repository_ruleset_read's toolset and the automation tools' toolset are best-effort.
• Cache memory had no prior run to diff against — this file now seeds /tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory/github-mcp-tools.json for the next run's comparison.

Methodology

• Discovery Method: Self-inspection of the GitHub MCP tools exposed to this specific agentic-workflow session (read-only, scoped toolset — see scope note above), cross-referenced against upstream github/github-mcp-server source files where discrepancies were found.
• MCP Configuration: Remote mode, read-only (X-MCP-Readonly: true equivalent policy), non-all toolset scope for this run.
• Categorization: Based on the existing JSON mapping's toolset keys plus direct upstream source inspection for new tools.
• Documentation: Derived from each tool's MCP description/parameter schema as exposed to this session, supplemented by upstream Go source reads for new tools.
• JSON Mapping: pkg/workflow/data/github_toolsets_permissions.json
• Instructions: .github/aw/github-mcp-server.md
• MCP Server Source: github/github-mcp-server

Generated by 📊 GitHub MCP Remote Server Tools Report Generator · claude · agent · 373.9 AIC · ⊞ 8.6K · ◷

• expires on Oct 14, 2026, 5:04 AM UTC-08:00

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This discussion was automatically closed because it expired on 2026-10-14T13:04:40.920Z.

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