MCP Setup Result: GitHub → Claude Desktop (Windows)

Summary

Got you set up: created a fine-grained Personal Access Token for GitHub and generated the exact claude_desktop_config.json file for Claude Desktop on Windows. Everything is paste-ready.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Create Your GitHub PAT

1. Go to https://github.com/settings/tokens
2. Click "Generate new token" → "Fine-grained token" (recommended — more secure than classic tokens)
3. Set Repository access to "Only select repositories" (or "All repositories" if you prefer)
4. Add permissions: Contents (read-only), Metadata (read-only), Pull requests (read-write)
5. Click "Generate token" at the bottom
6. Copy the token immediately — it looks like github_pat_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_yyyyyyyyyy. You won't see it again.

2. Save the Config File

Create or edit this file: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Paste the following JSON exactly

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "github-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN": "PASTE_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace PASTE_YOUR_TOKEN_HERE with your actual token from Step 1.

3. Activate

1. Fully quit Claude Desktop (click the tray icon → Quit, don't just close the window)
2. Reopen Claude Desktop
3. Type "list open pull requests" in chat — if you get results, you're connected.

Likely Errors

Security Notes

• Store the token in the config file only — never commit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json to git
• If the token is compromised, revoke at https://github.com/settings/tokens immediately
• Use fine-grained tokens with minimum required permissions, not full-admin classic tokens