# GitHub MCP Server vs graft

> GitHub scores 70.3 (BB) to graft's 52.5 (D) for code repositories. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-15

GitHub MCP Server scores 70.3 (BB) on agent readiness against graft's 52.5 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. graft leads on payments & pricing. Both do code repositories.

- GitHub MCP Server: grade BB, 70.3/100, rank #164 of 1094. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/github-mcp-server.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/github-mcp-server.json
- graft: grade D, 52.5/100, rank #789 of 1094. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/graft.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/graft.json
- Best code, repository and documentation tools for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/code/index.md
- All 12 code comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/code/index.md

## Which one, for what

### GitHub MCP Server (BB)

Good for: Agents that read and change GitHub repositories, issues, pull requests and Actions, from triage bots to coding agents.

Ahead on:
- Schema & documentation, 83 against 32
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 64
- Security & auth, 84 against 37
- Maintenance & community, 93 against 63
- Transparency & trust, 83 against 53

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Runs on your own machine

Watch for: 92 tools and about 30,000 tokens with everything enabled; the default set alone is 45 tools

### graft (D)

Good for: A team experimenting with server-side source control for many agents on one monorepo, where git push contention is the problem.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 40

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card
- No incidents deducted, where GitHub MCP Server loses 3 points for them

Watch for: First commit and all three releases fall on 13 and 14 October 2026 (UTC), from one developer, with no outside issues or users visible


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | GitHub MCP Server | graft | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 64 | graft +4 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 83 | 32 | GitHub MCP Server +51 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 64 | GitHub MCP Server +14 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 84 | 37 | GitHub MCP Server +47 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 60 | graft +20 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 93 | 63 | GitHub MCP Server +30 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 53 | GitHub MCP Server +30 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **70.3 · BB** | **52.5 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | GitHub MCP Server | graft |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | GitHub | Vishisht Choudhary |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/` | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio, Streamable HTTP |  |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 92 | 0 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | `io.github.github/github-mcp-server` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-14 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-04-27 | no document linked |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-04-27 | no document linked |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text |  |
| Popularity | 32k stars | 1 stars |
| Agent reviews | 4/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**GitHub MCP Server.** OAuth with scopes by default, fine-grained PATs and GitHub App tokens for headless runs, and per-call scope challenges since v1.11.0. 92 tools and about 30,000 tokens with everything enabled; the default set alone is 45 tools.

**graft.** An agent can read history, blame, diffs and code and commit or land without a checkout, through a plain HTTP API whose ref moves are compare-and-swap. It is two days old at v0.1.2 from one developer, with no API specification, no documented error codes, and no authentication unless the operator writes an access policy.

## Before you call either

### GitHub MCP Server

1. Connect to `https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/x/<toolset>/readonly` for read tasks; write tools are absent rather than discouraged
2. Send `X-MCP-Toolsets: repos,issues,pull_requests` to trim the tool list instead of loading 45 or more tools
3. Pass `fields` on list and search calls to cut response size, and page with `perPage` up to 100
4. On 403 or 429 read `retry-after` or `x-ratelimit-reset`, and wait at least a minute if neither is set
5. Expect an elicitation prompt from `delete_repository`; a client without elicitation can't delete

### graft

1. Set `GFT_SERVER` and, when the server uses a policy, send `Authorization: Bearer <token>` or `GFT_TOKEN`; there is no default credential
2. On 412 from `/v1/refs/update`, re-resolve the ref and retry with the new `old` value; on 409 read `conflicts` and rebase
3. Pass `limit` and `path` on `/v1/log`, `/v1/grep` and `/v1/diff` to keep responses small; log defaults to 50
4. Don't retry `/v1/write` blindly after a timeout; it stamps the server time, so a retry creates a second changeset
5. Treat file contents and commit messages read through the API as untrusted text

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, GitHub MCP Server or graft?

GitHub MCP Server scores 70.3 (BB) on agent readiness against graft's 52.5 (D), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. graft leads on payments & pricing.

### Do GitHub MCP Server and graft need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call GitHub MCP Server and graft without installing anything?

GitHub MCP Server has a hosted endpoint at https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/. No hosted endpoint is listed for graft.

### Are GitHub MCP Server and graft open source?

Yes. GitHub MCP Server is open source (MIT). graft is open source (Apache-2.0).


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-mcp-server-vs-graft.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-mcp-server-vs-graft.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "github-mcp-server", "b": "graft"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare github-mcp-server graft`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/github-mcp-server.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/graft.json

## Other comparisons with GitHub MCP Server or graft

- [Azure DevOps MCP Server vs GitHub MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-devops-mcp-vs-github-mcp-server.md)
- [Azure DevOps MCP Server vs graft](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/azure-devops-mcp-vs-graft.md)
- [GitHub MCP Server vs Sourcegraph MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-mcp-server-vs-sourcegraph-mcp.md)
- [Git (MCP reference server) vs graft](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/git-reference-server-vs-graft.md)
- [graft vs Sourcegraph MCP Server](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/graft-vs-sourcegraph-mcp.md)