Happy slice of mcp pizzaMCP.pizza

Gitingest-MCP

MCP.Pizza Chef: puravparab

Three tools do the work: an overview built from the project's README plus a file count, a full folder listing, and the contents of specific files you name. You can point it at a particular branch. It reaches public GitHub only, with nowhere to sign in, so private or company repositories will simply fail. Every request downloads the whole project again, which makes large repositories slow even when you asked for a single file.

Unmaintained · no code changes since March 2025
Coding
Web/Research

Use This MCP server To

Get the gist of an unfamiliar project before I clone it See a project's folder layout without opening GitHub Read a specific config file from a public repository Summarize what a library does from its README Compare how two open-source projects lay out their folders Check which files a project has before I dig in

README

Gitingest-MCP smithery badge

An MCP server for gitingest. This allows MCP clients like Claude Desktop, Cline, Cursor, etc to quickly extract information about Github repositories including

  • Repository summaries
  • Project directory structure
  • File content
Gitingest-MCP MCP server
gitingest_demo.mov

Table of Contents

Installation

Installing via Smithery

  • To install gitingest-mcp via Smithery:

     npx -y @smithery/cli@latest install @puravparab/gitingest-mcp --client claude --config "{}" # Claude
     npx -y @smithery/cli@latest run @puravparab/gitingest-mcp --client cursor --config "{}" # Cursor
     npx -y @smithery/cli@latest install @puravparab/gitingest-mcp --client windsurf --config "{}" # Windsurf
    npx -y @smithery/cli@latest install @puravparab/gitingest-mcp --client cline --config "{}" # Cline

Install via Github

  1. Add this to the MCP client config file

    {
	"mcpServers": {
		"gitingest-mcp": {
			"command": "<path to uv>/uvx",
			"args": [
				"--from",
				"git+https://github.com/puravparab/gitingest-mcp",
				"gitingest-mcp"
			]
		}
	}
}

Installing Repo Manually

  1. Clone the repo

    git clone https://https://github.com/puravparab/Gitingest-MCP
cd Gitingest-MCP

  2. Install dependencies

    uv sync

  3. Add this to the MCP client config file

    {
	"mcpServers": {
		"gitingest": {
			"command": "<path to uv>/uv",
			"args": [
				"run",
				"--with",
				"mcp[cli]",
				"--with-editable",
				"<path to gitingest-mcp project>/gitingest_mcp",
				"mcp",
				"run",
				"<path to gitingest-mcp project>/gitingest-mcp/src/gitingest_mcp/server.py"
			]
		}
	}
}

  4. If you have issues, follow this MCP server documentation

Updating the MCP client configuration

  1. Add to Claude Desktop

    Open config file in your IDE

    cursor ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
    code ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Debug

  1. Using mcp inspector 
    uv run mcp dev src/gitingest_mcp/server.py

Gitingest-MCP FAQ

Do I need a key or a GitHub login?
No, and there is nowhere to add one. That also means private and company repositories will not work. Public projects only.
Which apps does it work in?
Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline and Windsurf are all documented, and it should work in other MCP-compatible assistants too.
Can I use this to understand a project I have never seen?
Yes. Ask for the summary first, then the folder tree, then the two or three files that look most important.
How many tools does it really add?
Three, and all three work: a summary, a folder tree, and the contents of files you name.
Can it change my code or the repository?
No. It only reads public projects. Nothing here commits, pushes or deletes anything.
Is it quick on large projects?
No. Each request re-downloads the entire repository, so a big project is slow even for one small file, and an open issue reports trouble with very large folder structures.
Can I look at a branch other than the main one?
Yes. Name the branch and it will be used.
Is it still being maintained?
The last code change was March 2025, so it has been quiet for well over a year. It carries an MIT licence, so workplace use is fine.