[mcp-tools-report] GitHub MCP Remote Server Tools Report — 2026-08-30

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GitHub MCP Remote Server Tools Report

Generated: 2026-08-30
MCP Mode: Remote
Toolsets: All (per JSON mapping); this agent session was bound read-only
Previous Report: None (no cached data found at /tmp/gh-aw/cache-memory/github-mcp-tools.json)

Executive Summary

• Total Tools in JSON Mapping: 97 unique tools (98 entries — get_label is intentionally dual-registered under both issues and labels)
• Toolset Categories: 23 (actions, code_quality, code_security, context, copilot, copilot_issue_intents, copilot_spaces, dependabot, discussions, gists, git, github_support_docs_search, issues, labels, notifications, orgs, projects, pull_requests, repos, secret_protection, security_advisories, stargazers, users)
• Tools Directly Observed via Self-Inspection This Run: 57 (all read-capable; write tools are intentionally excluded from this read-only session and were cross-checked against the JSON mapping instead of invoked)
• Report Date: 2026-08-30
• Source: pkg/workflow/data/github_toolsets_permissions.json
• Instructions File: .github/aw/github-mcp-server.md
• Changes Since Last Report: N/A — this is the first run with no prior cache to diff against.

Methodology note: This workflow's GitHub MCP connection is configured read-only (X-MCP-Readonly: true), and gh itself is unauthenticated in this sandbox, plus outbound WebFetch to raw.githubusercontent.com was not grantable in this run. Consequently, "self-inspection" this run could only directly enumerate the 57 read-capable tools bound to this session — every one of them mapped cleanly onto the existing JSON mapping. Write-only tools (e.g. issue_write, create_pull_request, label_write, merge_pull_request) could not be invoked or listed directly; their presence/accuracy was cross-checked against the JSON mapping and the already-current .github/aw/github-mcp-server-tools.md reference instead of live discovery. No inconsistency was found in this cross-check.

Inconsistency Detection

Toolset Integrity Checks

• Duplicate Tools: get_label is registered in both issues and labels — this is intentional per the JSON mapping's own description ("get_label dual-registered in issues") and is documented as such in github-mcp-server-tools.md. Not a defect.
• Miscategorized Tools: None found among the 57 directly-observed tools.
• Naming Inconsistencies: issues toolset lists two similarly-named search tools — semantic_issue_similarity_search (singular, similarity-to-an-existing-issue) and semantic_issues_search (plural, free-text query). Only the former was bound to this session; the latter is documented in github-mcp-server-tools.md as gated behind an upstream feature flag, consistent with existing notes there. Worth double-checking on a future run once/if the feature flag is enabled broadly, since the naming is easy to confuse.
• Orphaned Tools: None found — every tool in the JSON mapping fits cleanly into exactly one primary toolset (with the single documented dual-registration above).
• Missing Expected Tools (session-scoped): The entire context toolset (get_me, get_team_members, get_teams) was absent from this session's bound tools, and get_file_blame, find_duplicate, issue_dependency_read, and semantic_issues_search were likewise absent. This is consistent with (a) get_me being explicitly disabled for this integration token per this run's system instructions, and (b) find_duplicate/issue_dependency_read/issue_dependency_write/semantic_issues_search being gated behind upstream feature flags per the existing note in github-mcp-server-tools.md. No JSON mapping change is warranted from this.

✅ No unexplained inconsistencies detected — all deviations from a "full all-toolsets" session trace back to documented read-only/feature-flag restrictions, not mapping errors.

JSON Mapping Comparison

Discrepancies Between MCP Server and JSON Mapping

Summary:

• Total Discrepancies: 0
• Missing Tools (in JSON but not in MCP): 0 confirmed (4 tools unverifiable this run due to read-only/feature-flag gating — see above)
• Extra Tools (in MCP but not in JSON): 0 — all 57 directly-observed tools map onto an existing JSON entry
• Moved Tools (different toolset): 0

✅ JSON mapping is accurate and matches the observable MCP server surface. No update to pkg/workflow/data/github_toolsets_permissions.json was made this run.

Action: No pull request needed — the JSON mapping required no changes.

Documentation Drift Found and Fixed

While the JSON mapping and its two companion docs (.github/aw/github-mcp-server.md, .github/aw/github-mcp-server-tools.md) were already current (last updated 2026-08-16, mapping version 2.5), .github/aw/syntax-tools-imports.md still listed a stale "Individual toolsets" line referencing experiments and a standalone search toolset. Per the JSON mapping's own changelog, both were removed upstream (search tools were redistributed into repos/orgs/users/issues, and experiments was dropped entirely). This has been corrected directly in this run:

File: .github/aw/syntax-tools-imports.md

• Before: context, repos, issues, pull_requests, actions, code_security, dependabot, discussions, experiments, gists, labels, notifications, orgs, projects, secret_protection, security_advisories, stargazers, users, search
• After: full current 23-toolset list (code_quality, copilot, copilot_issue_intents, copilot_spaces, git, github_support_docs_search added; experiments and standalone search removed, with a note explaining the redistribution)

This is a documentation-only fix; no PR was opened for it since it's a small, low-risk drift correction made directly to the working tree in this same run. If your process requires all doc edits to go through PR review, flag this and a follow-up PR can be raised.

Tools by Toolset

actions — GitHub Actions workflows

Source: pkg/github/actions.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed this run
actions_get	Get details of a specific workflow run/job/artifact	owner, repo, method, resource_id	✅
actions_list	List workflows, runs, jobs, or artifacts	owner, repo, method, resource_id	✅
actions_run_trigger	Trigger a workflow run	owner, repo, workflow_id, ref, inputs	write-only
get_job_logs	Download logs for a workflow job	owner, repo, job_id, run_id, failed_only	✅

code_quality — Code quality findings

Source: pkg/github/code_scanning.go

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

code_security — Code scanning alerts

Source: pkg/github/code_scanning.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
get_code_scanning_alert	Get details of a specific code scanning alert	owner, repo, alertNumber	✅
list_code_scanning_alerts	List code scanning alerts (bound state:open, severity:critical,high)	owner, repo, state, severity	✅

context — GitHub context and environment

Source: pkg/github/context_tools.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
get_me	Get details of the authenticated user	—	⚠️ not bound this run (disallowed for this integration token; use <github-context> instead)
get_team_members	List members of a GitHub team	org, team_slug	⚠️ not bound this run
get_teams	List teams the authenticated user belongs to	org	⚠️ not bound this run

copilot — Copilot assignment, review, and coding agent tools (write-only)

Source: pkg/github/issues.go / pkg/github/pullrequests.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
assign_copilot_to_issue	Assign GitHub Copilot to an issue	owner, repo, issue_number	write-only
create_pull_request_with_copilot	Ask Copilot to create a PR	owner, repo, issue_number	write-only
request_copilot_review	Request a Copilot review on a PR	owner, repo, pullNumber	write-only

copilot_issue_intents — Opt-in Copilot issue assignment with intent metadata (write-only)

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
assign_copilot_to_issue_with_intent	Assign Copilot to an issue with rationale/confidence metadata	owner, repo, issue_number, rationale, confidence	write-only

copilot_spaces — GitHub Copilot Spaces (remote-only)

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
get_copilot_space	Get details of a specific Copilot Space	owner, name	✅
list_copilot_spaces	List Copilot Spaces for a user/org	—	✅

dependabot — Dependabot alerts

Source: pkg/github/dependabot.go

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

discussions — GitHub Discussions

Source: pkg/github/discussions.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
discussion_comment_write	Add/update a discussion comment	owner, repo, discussion_number, body	write-only
get_discussion	Get details of a specific discussion	owner, repo, discussionNumber	✅
get_discussion_comments	Get comments for a discussion	owner, repo, discussionNumber	✅
list_discussion_categories	List discussion categories	owner, repo	✅
list_discussions	List discussions	owner, repo, category	✅

gists — Gist operations

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
create_gist	Create a new gist	description, files, public	write-only
get_gist	Get a specific gist	gist_id	✅
list_gists	List gists for a user	username, page, perPage	✅
update_gist	Update an existing gist	gist_id, description, files	write-only

git — Git API operations (tree, refs)

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

github_support_docs_search — GitHub support documentation search (remote-only)

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
github_support_docs_search	Search GitHub support documentation	query	✅

issues — Issue management

Source: pkg/github/issues.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
add_issue_comment	Add a comment to an issue	owner, repo, issue_number, body	write-only
find_duplicate	Find likely duplicate issues	owner, repo, issue_number	⚠️ feature-flag gated
get_label	Get details of a specific label (dual-registered w/ labels)	owner, repo, name	✅
issue_dependency_read	Read an issue's dependency relationships	owner, repo, issue_number	⚠️ feature-flag gated
issue_dependency_write	Add/remove issue dependencies	owner, repo, issue_number	write-only
issue_read	Read issue details/comments	owner, repo, issue_number, method	✅
issue_write	Create or update an issue	owner, repo, title, body	write-only
list_issue_fields	List custom issue fields	owner, repo	✅
list_issue_types	List supported issue types	owner, repo	✅
list_issues	List issues in a repository	owner, repo, state, labels	✅
search_issues	Search issues (GitHub search syntax)	query	✅
semantic_issue_similarity_search	Find issues semantically similar to a given one	owner, repo, issue_number	✅
semantic_issues_search	Free-text semantic issue search	query, owner, repo	⚠️ feature-flag gated
sub_issue_write	Create/manage sub-issues	owner, repo, issue_number	write-only

labels — Label management

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
get_label	Get details of a specific label	owner, repo, name	✅
label_write	Create/update a label	owner, repo, name, color	write-only
list_label	List labels in a repository	owner, repo	✅

notifications — Notification management

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
dismiss_notification	Dismiss a specific notification	notification_id	write-only
get_notification_details	Get details of a specific notification	notificationID	✅
list_notifications	List notifications	filter, owner, repo	✅
manage_notification_subscription	Manage a thread subscription	thread_id, subscribed	write-only
manage_repository_notification_subscription	Manage repo-level notification subscription	owner, repo, subscribed	write-only
mark_all_notifications_read	Mark all notifications as read	last_read_at	write-only

orgs — Organization operations

Source: pkg/github/search.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
search_orgs	Search GitHub organizations	query	✅

projects — GitHub Projects (requires PAT)

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
projects_get	Get details of a project/field/item/view	method, owner, project_number	✅
projects_list	List projects/fields/items/views	method, owner	✅
projects_write	Create/update project items/fields	method, owner, project_number	write-only

pull_requests — Pull request operations

Source: pkg/github/pullrequests.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
add_comment_to_pending_review	Add a comment to a pending PR review	owner, repo, pullNumber	write-only
add_reply_to_pull_request_comment	Reply to a PR review comment	owner, repo, comment_id	write-only
create_pull_request	Create a new pull request	owner, repo, title, head, base	write-only
list_pull_requests	List pull requests	owner, repo, state, base, head	✅
merge_pull_request	Merge a pull request	owner, repo, pullNumber	write-only
pull_request_read	Read PR details, diff, files, reviews, comments, checks	owner, repo, pullNumber, method	✅
pull_request_review_write	Create/submit a PR review	owner, repo, pullNumber, event	write-only
search_pull_requests	Search pull requests	query	✅
update_pull_request	Update PR title/body/state	owner, repo, pullNumber	write-only
update_pull_request_branch	Update PR branch from base	owner, repo, pullNumber	write-only

repos — Repository operations (incl. repo/code/commit search)

Source: pkg/github/repositories.go

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
create_branch	Create a new branch	owner, repo, branch, from_branch	write-only
create_or_update_file	Create/update a file	owner, repo, path, content	write-only
create_repository	Create a new repository	name, private, autoInit	write-only
delete_file	Delete a file	owner, repo, path, sha	write-only
fork_repository	Fork a repository	owner, repo, organization	write-only
get_commit	Get details of a commit	owner, repo, sha	✅
get_file_blame	Get line-by-line blame for a file	owner, repo, path, ref	⚠️ not bound this run
get_file_contents	Read file/directory contents	owner, repo, path, ref	✅
get_latest_release	Get the latest release	owner, repo	✅
get_release_by_tag	Get a release by tag	owner, repo, tag	✅
get_tag	Get details of a tag	owner, repo, tag	✅
list_branches	List branches	owner, repo	✅
list_commits	List commits	owner, repo, sha, path	✅
list_releases	List releases	owner, repo	✅
list_repository_collaborators	List collaborators	owner, repo, affiliation	✅
list_tags	List tags	owner, repo	✅
push_files	Push multiple files in one commit	owner, repo, branch, files	write-only
search_code	Search code across GitHub	query	✅
search_commits	Search commits	query	✅
search_repositories	Search repositories (⚠️ repo: qualifier known to be ignored)	query	✅

secret_protection — Secret scanning

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
get_secret_scanning_alert	Get details of a secret scanning alert	owner, repo, alertNumber	✅
list_secret_scanning_alerts	List secret scanning alerts	owner, repo, state	✅
run_secret_scanning	Scan provided file/diff content for secrets	files	✅

security_advisories — Security advisories

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

stargazers — Repository stars

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
list_starred_repositories	List repositories starred by a user	username, sort	✅
star_repository	Star a repository	owner, repo	write-only
unstar_repository	Unstar a repository	owner, repo	write-only

users — User information

Tool Name	Purpose	Key Parameters	Observed
search_users	Search GitHub users	query	✅

Recommended Default Toolsets

Recommended Defaults: context, repos, issues, pull_requests — unchanged from the current documented defaults in .github/aw/github-mcp-server.md and .github/aw/syntax-tools-imports.md.

Rationale:

• repos, issues, and pull_requests cover the overwhelming majority of everyday agentic-workflow needs: reading file/repo state, and reading/writing issues and PRs.
• context is kept for team-awareness lookups (get_team_members, get_teams), even though get_me itself should not be used for workflow identity (the <github-context> block already injects that).
• users remains excluded from defaults since GITHUB_TOKEN in GitHub Actions doesn't support user-scoped operations well, matching the existing rationale in the docs.
• No change is recommended this run — the current defaults already reflect the most fundamental, broadly-applicable functionality with minimal security exposure (no security/audit toolsets, no write-heavy copilot/projects/stargazers toolsets included).

Specialized Toolsets (enable explicitly when needed): actions, code_quality, code_security, copilot, copilot_issue_intents, copilot_spaces (remote-only), dependabot, discussions, gists, git, github_support_docs_search (remote-only), labels, notifications, orgs, projects (requires PAT), 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]

Available toolset options (23 total): context, repos, issues, pull_requests, actions, code_quality, code_security, copilot, copilot_issue_intents, copilot_spaces, dependabot, discussions, gists, git, github_support_docs_search, labels, notifications, orgs, projects, secret_protection, security_advisories, stargazers, users, plus all to enable everything. Note: experiments and standalone search no longer exist as toolsets (search tools were redistributed into repos/orgs/users/issues).

Notes and Observations

• The JSON mapping (v2.5) and its two companion docs were already fully current as of 2026-08-16 — this run found no drift in them, only in syntax-tools-imports.md, which has now been corrected in the working tree (see above).
• This session could not fully replicate "self-inspection of ALL toolsets" as literally described in the task brief, because the bound MCP connection here is read-only and scoped to a subset of tools; write-tool presence was verified by cross-reference against the JSON mapping and existing docs rather than live enumeration. Future runs with a less restricted binding could close this gap.
• WebFetch to raw.githubusercontent.com/github/github-mcp-server was requested to independently confirm a couple of ambiguous tool placements (context, issues) against upstream source, but the permission wasn't grantable in this non-interactive run — noting this so it isn't mistaken for a silent skip.
• No steering-issue feedback was applicable this run (issue-number was unset in the workflow context).

Methodology

• Discovery Method: Self-inspection of tools bound to this agent session (read-only), cross-referenced against the existing JSON mapping and companion markdown docs for write-only tools that can't be self-inspected in read-only mode.
• MCP Configuration: Remote mode, toolsets: all per repository config; this particular workflow run's binding was read-only.
• Categorization: Based on the existing, already-current pkg/workflow/data/github_toolsets_permissions.json.
• Documentation: Derived from tool names/descriptions observed directly, plus the pre-existing .github/aw/github-mcp-server-tools.md reference for write-only tools.
• JSON Mapping: pkg/workflow/data/github_toolsets_permissions.json
• Instructions: .github/aw/github-mcp-server.md
• MCP Server Source: github/github-mcp-server

Warning

Firewall blocked 1 domain

The following domain was blocked by the firewall during workflow execution:

• api.anthropic.com

To allow these domains, add them to the network.allowed list in your workflow frontmatter:

network:
  allowed:
    - defaults
    - "api.anthropic.com"

See Network Configuration for more information.

Generated by 📊 GitHub MCP Remote Server Tools Report Generator · claude · agent · 159.7 AIC · ⌖ 14.5 AIC · ⊞ 15.2K · ◷

• expires on Sep 2, 2026, 4:45 AM UTC-08:00