GitHub

Connect Cardinal Desktop Application to GitHub for accessing repositories, issues, and pull requests.

Overview

GitHub is a platform for version control and collaborative development. With the GitHub connector, your AI agents can:

Field	Description
Display Name	Custom name for this GitHub connection
GitHub MCP Server URL	URL of your GitHub MCP server endpoint
GitHub Personal Access Token	PAT for GitHub authentication
Share credentials	(Optional) Share credentials with organization

Go to github.com/settings/tokens (opens in a new tab)
Click "Generate new token" → "Generate new token (classic)"
Give your token a descriptive name
Select the required scopes based on your MCP server requirements:
- repo - Full control of private repositories
- read:org - Read organization data
- read:user - Read user profile data
Click "Generate token"
Copy the token and paste it into Cardinal Desktop Application (tokens start with ghp_)

Step 1 - Connection Configuration

In Cardinal Desktop Application, go to Connectors and click Browse Connectors
Select GitHub
Enter a Display Name for this connection
- Example: "GitHub Prod", "GitHub Dev", "My GitHub"

Step 2 - GitHub MCP Configuration

Enter your GitHub MCP Server URL
- Example: https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp
- The HTTP URL of your GitHub MCP server
- Include the protocol (http or https)
Enter your GitHub Personal Access Token (PAT)
- Must start with ghp_
- Found at github.com/settings/tokens (opens in a new tab)
- Ensure token has required scopes: repo, read:org, read:user

Step 3 - Credentials Storage (Optional)

Check Share credentials with organization to securely share with your organization
- When disabled: credentials are stored locally on this device
- When enabled: credentials are securely shared with your organization members

Step 4 - Save

Your AI agent can now access GitHub repositories, issues, and pull requests.

Reach out to support@cardinalhq.io for support or to ask questions not answered in our documentation.