# GitHub MCP Server vs Sourcegraph MCP Server

> GitHub MCP Server scores 70.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Sourcegraph MCP Server's 57.5 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do code repo. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-mcp-server-vs-sourcegraph-mcp
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-mcp-server-vs-sourcegraph-mcp.md (~2,050 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-mcp-server-vs-sourcegraph-mcp.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/github-mcp-server-vs-sourcegraph-mcp.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-08

GitHub MCP Server scores 70.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Sourcegraph MCP Server's 57.5 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do code repo.

- GitHub MCP Server: grade BB, 70.3/100, rank #131 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/github-mcp-server.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/github-mcp-server.json
- Sourcegraph MCP Server: grade C, 57.5/100, rank #420 of 629. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sourcegraph-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sourcegraph-mcp.json

## 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:
- Reliability, 60 against 25
- Schema & documentation, 83 against 71
- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 72
- Security & auth, 84 against 76
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 15
- Maintenance & community, 93 against 83
- Transparency & trust, 83 against 78

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

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

### Sourcegraph MCP Server (C)

Good for: A company that already runs Sourcegraph and wants agents to search and navigate many repositories with compiler-accurate definitions and references.

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where GitHub MCP Server loses 3 points for them

Watch for: Enterprise plans only, from a $16,000 minimum annual contract through sales. A Cloud trial is by request and subject to eligibility


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | GitHub MCP Server | Sourcegraph MCP Server | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 25 | GitHub MCP Server +35 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 83 | 71 | GitHub MCP Server +12 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 72 | GitHub MCP Server +6 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 84 | 76 | GitHub MCP Server +8 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 15 | GitHub MCP Server +25 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 93 | 83 | GitHub MCP Server +10 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 78 | GitHub MCP Server +5 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **70.3 · BB** | **57.5 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | GitHub MCP Server | Sourcegraph MCP Server |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | GitHub | Sourcegraph, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.githubcopilot.com/mcp/` | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio, Streamable HTTP | Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | Proprietary. The server is part of the Sourcegraph Enterprise product under the Sourcegraph Terms of Service |
| Tools exposed | 92 | 16 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | `io.github.github/github-mcp-server` | `io.github.sourcegraph/mcp` |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-09-17 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-04-27 | 2026-07-22 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-04-27 | 2026-06-12 |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | yes, with an opt-out |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 32k stars | none |
| 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.

**Sourcegraph MCP Server.** Sixteen read-only tools search and navigate code across every repository an instance indexes, with OAuth limited to an `mcp` scope and repository permissions enforced on each call. Access needs an Enterprise contract, priced from $16,000 a year, and no request rate limits were found in the reviewed documentation.

## 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

### Sourcegraph MCP Server

1. Connect to https://<instance>/.api/mcp for the nine core tools. Use /.api/mcp/all for `go_to_definition`, `find_references`, `nls_search` and `compare_revisions`
2. Request only the `mcp` scope in OAuth. Any other scope on the MCP resource fails with `invalid_scope`
3. Without OAuth, send `Authorization: token <access token>` and create the token with the `mcp` scope and an expiry
4. Call `list_repos` first and name the repository in every `code_finder` task. It declines broad searches across repositories
5. Read large files with `startLine` and `endLine`. Files over 128KB return only the first 200 lines

## Questions

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

GitHub MCP Server scores 70.3 (BB) on agent readiness against Sourcegraph MCP Server's 57.5 (C), and leads in every scored category.

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

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

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

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

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

GitHub MCP Server is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Sourcegraph MCP Server.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with GitHub MCP Server or Sourcegraph MCP Server

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