io.github.Dave-London/pare-github MCP Server
io.github.Dave-London/pare-github
Structured GitHub operations (PRs, issues, actions) as typed JSON for AI agents.
What is the io.github.Dave-London/pare-github MCP server?
The Pare GitHub MCP server wraps GitHub CLI operations and returns clean, schema-validated JSON instead of raw terminal text. It provides typed data for pull requests, issues, and GitHub Actions workflows that agents can process directly without brittle string parsing.
Pare GitHub eliminates parsing fragile CLI output by returning structured JSON for GitHub operations. Instead of dealing with ANSI escape codes and locale-specific formatting, agents get consistent, typed data for managing PRs, issues, and actions—reducing token usage and improving reliability.
How to install io.github.Dave-London/pare-github
Copy-paste configuration for popular MCP clients.
Tools & capabilities
Tools this server exposes to the agent.
pull_request_list— List pull requests with filtering and sortingpull_request_create— Create a new pull requestpull_request_update— Update an existing pull requestpull_request_merge— Merge a pull requestissue_list— List issues with filtering and sortingissue_create— Create a new issueissue_update— Update an existing issueissue_close— Close an issueaction_list— List GitHub Actions workflows and runsaction_run— Trigger a GitHub Actions workflow
Use cases
- Automate PR reviews and merging by querying PR status and metadata
- Create and manage issues programmatically with structured data
- Monitor GitHub Actions workflow runs and their results
- Batch update multiple PRs or issues with consistent formatting
- Query repository state without parsing terminal output
io.github.Dave-London/pare-github MCP server FAQ
Pare GitHub is an MCP server that wraps GitHub CLI operations and returns structured, schema-validated JSON instead of raw terminal text. It provides typed data for pull requests, issues, and GitHub Actions workflows.
Yes, Pare is open source under the MIT license. It wraps free GitHub CLI tools and requires only Node.js >= 20.
Install via npm: `npm install @paretools/github`. Then configure your MCP client (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) to run `npx @paretools/github`. See setup guides at https://github.com/Dave-London/Pare/tree/main/docs/setup for your specific client.
Yes, you need GitHub CLI (`gh`) installed and authenticated. Run `gh auth login` to set up credentials before using the server.
Yes, use environment variables to filter tools. Set `PARE_GITHUB_TOOLS=pull_request_list,issue_list` to expose only specific tools, or use `PARE_TOOLS` for universal filtering across all servers.
Pare typically reduces token usage by 80–95% on verbose commands by eliminating ANSI codes, decorative headers, and platform-specific formatting while preserving all essential data.
README (reference)
Source of truth, from the repository.
Reliable, structured CLI output for AI agents — no more parsing fragile terminal text.
Pare provides MCP servers that wrap common developer tools (git, npm, docker, test runners, etc.) and return clean, schema-validated JSON instead of raw terminal text. Agents get typed data they can act on directly, without brittle string parsing.
The Problem
Parsing CLI output is fragile. Raw terminal text includes ANSI escape codes, decorative headers, progress bars, locale-specific formatting, and platform differences that break agent workflows in subtle ways. An agent that works fine with git status on macOS may fail on Windows because the output format changed. A test runner's summary line might shift between versions, silently breaking a regex.
Pare eliminates this entire class of errors by returning schema-validated JSON with consistent field names, regardless of platform, tool version, or locale. As a bonus, structured output is significantly smaller — agents use fewer tokens per tool call:
| Tool Command | Raw Tokens | Pare Tokens | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
docker build (multi-stage, 11 steps) | 373 | 20 | 95% |
git log --stat (5 commits, verbose) | 4,992 | 382 | 92% |
npm install (487 packages, warnings) | 241 | 41 | 83% |
vitest run (28 tests, all pass) | 196 | 39 | 80% |
cargo build (2 errors, help text) | 436 | 138 | 68% |
pip install (9 packages, progress bars) | 288 | 101 | 65% |
cargo test (12 tests, 2 failures) | 351 | 190 | 46% |
npm audit (4 vulnerabilities) | 287 | 185 | 36% |
Token estimates use ~4 chars/token. The biggest savings appear on verbose commands (builds, installs, tests). For simpler tools like
eslintortsc, the main advantage is reliable structured data — agents can use typed JSON directly rather than parsing strings.
How It Works
Each Pare tool returns two outputs:
content— human-readable text, for MCP clients that display itstructuredContent— typed, schema-validated JSON, ready for agents to process
This uses MCP's structuredContent and outputSchema features to provide type-safe, validated data that agents can rely on without custom parsing.
Example: git status
Raw git output (~118 tokens):
On branch main
Your branch is ahead of 'origin/main' by 2 commits.
(use "git push" to publish your local commits)
Changes to be committed:
(use "git restore --staged <file>..." to unstage)
modified: src/index.ts
new file: src/utils.ts
Changes not staged for commit:
(use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
(use "git restore <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)
modified: README.md
Untracked files:
(use "git add <file>..." to include in what will be committed)
temp.log
Pare structured output (~59 tokens):
{
"branch": "main",
"upstream": "origin/main",
"ahead": 2,
"staged": [
{ "file": "src/index.ts", "status": "modified" },
{ "file": "src/utils.ts", "status": "added" }
],
"modified": ["README.md"],
"deleted": [],
"untracked": ["temp.log"],
"conflicts": [],
"clean": false
}
50% fewer tokens. Zero information lost. Fully typed. Savings scale with output verbosity — test runners and build logs see 80–92% reduction.
Available Servers (28 packages, 240 tools)
Install only the servers relevant to your stack — most projects need just 2–4. The full catalog covers a wide range of ecosystems so Pare works wherever you do.
| Category | Servers | Tools | Wraps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Version Control | git, github | 55 | git, gh |
| Languages & Packages | npm, python, cargo, go, deno, bun, nix, dotnet, ruby, swift, jvm | 101 | npm, pip, cargo, go, deno, bun, nix, dotnet, gem, swift, gradle, maven |
| Build, Lint & Test | build, lint, test, cmake, bazel | 23 | tsc, esbuild, vite, webpack, eslint, prettier, biome, vitest, pytest, jest |
| Infrastructure | docker, k8s, infra, security, remote | 40 | docker, kubectl, helm, terraform, ansible, trivy, ssh |
| Utilities | search, http, make, process, db | 21 | ripgrep, fd, curl, make, just, psql, mysql, redis, mongosh |
Tool Schemas — detailed response examples and field descriptions for every tool. See also Tool Response Examples for quick JSON samples.
Quick Setup
# 1. Configure MCP servers (non-interactive)
npx @paretools/init --client claude-code --preset web
# 2. Add agent rules to your project
# (append to existing CLAUDE.md, or copy if new)
cat node_modules/@paretools/init/rules/CLAUDE.md >> CLAUDE.md
# 3. Restart your client session
# 4. Validate
npx @paretools/init doctor
Available presets: web, python, rust, go, jvm, dotnet, ruby, swift, mobile, devops, full
Setup Guides by Client
| Claude Code | Claude Desktop | Cursor |
| VS Code / Copilot | Windsurf | Cline / Roo Code |
| OpenAI Codex | Gemini CLI | Zed |
| Continue.dev |
Full Quickstart Guide — presets, ecosystem mapping, validation
Manual Configuration — config paths and formats for all clients
Agent Integration Guide — rule files, hooks, CLI-to-MCP mapping
Configuration
Tool Selection
By default, every Pare server registers all of its tools. If a server exposes tools you don't need — or you want to limit which tools are available to an agent — you can filter them with environment variables.
Per-server filter — restrict a single server's tools:
# Only register status and log in the git server
PARE_GIT_TOOLS=status,log npx @paretools/git
Universal filter — restrict tools across all servers:
# Only register these specific tools across any server
PARE_TOOLS=git:status,git:log,npm:install npx @paretools/git
Disable all tools — set the env var to an empty string:
PARE_GIT_TOOLS= npx @paretools/git # no tools registered
| Env Var | Scope | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
PARE_TOOLS | All servers | server:tool,... | git:status,npm:install |
PARE_{SERVER}_TOOLS | One server | tool,... | status,log,diff |
Rules:
- No env var = all tools enabled (default)
PARE_TOOLS(universal) takes precedence over per-server vars- Server names use uppercase with hyphens replaced by underscores (e.g.,
PARE_MY_SERVER_TOOLS) - Whitespace around commas is ignored
Common patterns:
# Read-only git (no push, commit, add, checkout)
PARE_GIT_TOOLS=status,log,diff,branch,show
# Minimal npm
PARE_NPM_TOOLS=install,test,run
# Only specific tools across all servers
PARE_TOOLS=git:status,git:diff,npm:install,test:run
In JSON MCP config, set via the env key:
{
"mcpServers": {
"pare-git": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@paretools/git"],
"env": {
"PARE_GIT_TOOLS": "status,log,diff,show"
}
}
}
}
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
npx not found / ENOENT on Windows | Use cmd /c npx wrapper (see your client's setup guide) |
| Slow first start | Run npx -y @paretools/git once to cache, or install globally: npm i -g @paretools/git |
| Node.js version error | Pare requires Node.js >= 20 |
| NVM/fnm PATH issues | Use absolute path to npx: e.g., ~/.nvm/versions/node/v22/bin/npx |
| MCP connection timeout | Set MCP_TIMEOUT=30000 for Claude Code, or increase initTimeout in client config |
| Too many tools filling context | Use tool selection env vars to limit tools, or only install the servers you need |
Contributing
Each server is a self-contained package. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide.
License
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