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Audit score 45

read-github

am-will/codex-skills

Read and search GitHub repository documentation via gitmcp.io MCP service.

What is read-github?

Access GitHub repository documentation and code through the gitmcp.io MCP service. Use this when you need to understand what a repository does, search its documentation, or find specific code implementations.

  • Fetch complete repository documentation (README, docs, etc.)
  • Semantically search within repository documentation
  • Search code using GitHub Search API for exact matches
  • Fetch content from URLs referenced in documentation
  • List available MCP tools for any repository
  • Call MCP tools directly with custom arguments

How to install read-github

npx skills add https://github.com/am-will/codex-skills --skill read-github
Prerequisites
  • Python 3 installed
  • Access to gitmcp.io MCP service
  • GitHub repository URL in owner/repo format
Claude Code
Cursor
Windsurf
Cline

How to use read-github

  1. 1.Convert the GitHub URL to gitmcp.io format (github.com/owner/repo → gitmcp.io/owner/repo)
  2. 2.Run `python3 scripts/gitmcp.py fetch-docs owner/repo` to retrieve full documentation
  3. 3.Use `python3 scripts/gitmcp.py search-docs owner/repo "query"` for specific questions
  4. 4.Use `python3 scripts/gitmcp.py search-code owner/repo "function_name"` to find code implementations
  5. 5.Use `python3 scripts/gitmcp.py fetch-url owner/repo "https://example.com"` to retrieve referenced external content

Use cases

Good for
  • User provides a GitHub URL and asks what the repository does
  • Search for specific features or usage patterns within a repo's documentation
  • Find implementations of particular functions or classes in a codebase
  • Retrieve external documentation links referenced in a repository
  • Understand project structure and capabilities before diving into code
Who it's for
  • Developers exploring unfamiliar repositories
  • Code reviewers needing quick documentation lookup
  • Engineers integrating third-party libraries
  • Researchers analyzing open-source projects

read-github FAQ

How do I search for a specific function in a repository?

Use `python3 scripts/gitmcp.py search-code owner/repo "function_name"` to search code via GitHub Search API for exact matches.

What's the difference between search-docs and search-code?

search-docs performs semantic search within repository documentation, while search-code searches the actual codebase using GitHub's Search API for exact matches.

Can I fetch external links mentioned in the documentation?

Yes, use `python3 scripts/gitmcp.py fetch-url owner/repo "https://example.com/doc"` to fetch content from URLs referenced in the documentation.

How are tool names formatted for different repositories?

Tool names are dynamically prefixed with the repo name in underscore format: `karpathy/llm-council` becomes `fetch_llm_council_documentation`.

What should I do first when exploring a new repository?

Start by fetching the full documentation with `fetch-docs` to understand the project, then use search-docs for specific questions or search-code to find implementations.

Full instructions (SKILL.md)

Source of truth, from am-will/codex-skills.


name: read-github description: | Read and search GitHub repository documentation via gitmcp.io MCP service.

WHEN TO USE:

  • User provides a GitHub URL
  • User mentions a specific repo in owner/repo format
  • User asks "what does this repo do?", "read the docs for X repo", or similar
  • User wants to search code or docs within a repo

Read GitHub Docs

Access GitHub repository documentation and code via the gitmcp.io MCP service.

URL Conversion

Convert GitHub URLs to gitmcp.io:

  • github.com/owner/repo → gitmcp.io/owner/repo
  • https://github.com/karpathy/llm-council → https://gitmcp.io/karpathy/llm-council

CLI Usage

The scripts/gitmcp.py script provides CLI access to repository docs.

List Available Tools

python3 scripts/gitmcp.py list-tools owner/repo

Fetch Documentation

Retrieves the full documentation file (README, docs, etc.):

python3 scripts/gitmcp.py fetch-docs owner/repo

Search Documentation

Semantic search within repository documentation:

python3 scripts/gitmcp.py search-docs owner/repo "query"

Search Code

Search code using GitHub Search API (exact match):

python3 scripts/gitmcp.py search-code owner/repo "function_name"

Fetch Referenced URL

Fetch content from URLs mentioned in documentation:

python3 scripts/gitmcp.py fetch-url owner/repo "https://example.com/doc"

Direct Tool Call

Call any MCP tool directly:

python3 scripts/gitmcp.py call owner/repo tool_name '{"arg": "value"}'

Tool Names

Tool names are dynamically prefixed with the repo name (underscored):

  • karpathy/llm-council → fetch_llm_council_documentation
  • facebook/react → fetch_react_documentation
  • my-org/my-repo → fetch_my_repo_documentation

Available MCP Tools

For any repository, these tools are available:

  1. fetch_{repo}_documentation - Fetch entire documentation. Call first for general questions.
  2. search_{repo}_documentation - Semantic search within docs. Use for specific queries.
  3. search_{repo}_code - Search code via GitHub API (exact match). Returns matching files.
  4. fetch_generic_url_content - Fetch any URL referenced in docs, respecting robots.txt.

Workflow

  1. When given a GitHub repo, first fetch documentation to understand the project
  2. Use search-docs for specific questions about usage or features
  3. Use search-code to find implementations or specific functions
  4. Use fetch-url to retrieve external references mentioned in docs