TL;DR:
Composio connects Claude to GitHub for PR summaries, issue management, and code scanning, directly from your chat interface.
Managed OAuth handles the full handshake, token refresh, and permission scoping, no custom auth code needed.
Free tier: 20,000 tool calls per month, no credit card required.
Connecting Claude to GitHub should take a few minutes. In practice, managing OAuth tokens and repository permissions often turns a quick workflow upgrade into a multi-day debugging project. Access tokens expire and scopes mismatch, and by the time you've untangled all of that alongside an organization admin approval that's still pending, you've burned hours you didn't have.
Composio acts as a managed bridge between Claude and your GitHub repositories. It handles the OAuth handshake, refreshes tokens automatically before they expire, and gives you granular control over what Claude can and can't do inside your codebase. You get a production-ready connection without writing or owning any integration infrastructure.
How to connect GitHub to Claude Code using Composio
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
Claude Code installed on your device
A free active Composio account
A GitHub account
Step 1: Add the Composio MCP to Claude Code
Open Composio and generate your MCP URL. Add the generated Composio MCP URL to Claude Code using the setup instructions provided by Composio.
Step 2: Start Claude Code
Open your terminal and run:
claudeThis launches a new Claude Code session.
Step 3: Open the MCP list
Inside Claude Code, run:
/mcpThis opens the list of MCP servers currently available in Claude Code.
Step 4: Authenticate Composio
Select Composio from the MCP list, then click Authenticate.
Claude Code will redirect you to the Composio authentication page.
Step 5: Authorize your GitHub account
On the Composio OAuth page, select GitHub and complete the authorization process.
Review the requested permissions, then approve the connection.
Once authorization is complete, return to Claude Code.
Step 6: Ask Claude to connect to GitHub
You can now ask Claude to connect to your GitHub account or complete a GitHub-related task.
For example:
Connect to my GitHub account and list my repositories.If further authentication is required, Claude will provide a link. Open the link, complete the authorization flow, and return to your Claude Code session.
Your GitHub account is now connected to Claude Code through Composio.
How to connect GitHub to Claude Cowork using Composio
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
Access to Claude Cowork
A free Composio account
A GitHub account
Step 1: Open the customize menu
Open Claude Desktop and click Customize in the left sidebar. Select Connectors, then click the + icon at the top of the page.
Step 2: Add the Composio MCP server
Click Add custom connector. Paste the following Composio MCP server URL into the connector field:
https://connect.composio.dev/mcpThen click Connect.
Step 3: Authorize Composio
Claude Desktop will open a browser window and redirect you to the Composio authorization page. Follow the on-screen instructions to authorize Composio, then return to Claude Cowork.
Step 4: Connect your GitHub account
In Cowork, ask the agent to connect to GitHub or give it a GitHub-related task.
For example:
Add labels to my latest GitHub issue.Invite a collaborator to my repository.Assign a team member to an open bug.Cowork will prompt you to authenticate your GitHub account and authorize the required access. Complete the authorization flow using the link provided.
Step 5: Start using GitHub in Cowork
Once authentication is complete, Composio’s GitHub tools will be available inside Cowork. You can now ask Cowork to manage supported GitHub tasks directly from your Claude Desktop session.
Top 5 ways to streamline your coding workflow with the GitHub integration in Claude Code
Once GitHub is connected through Composio, Claude Code can help you move faster across common development tasks without constantly switching between your terminal and GitHub.
You can use the integration to:
Review open issues and identify the highest-priority bugs.
Summarize pull requests and flag potential problems before merging.
Create branches and plan code changes from existing GitHub issues.
Check recent repository activity and surface anything that needs attention.
Update files, commits, and pull requests as part of a guided coding workflow.
Try these prompts:
Review the open issues in this repository, identify the most urgent bug, and create a step-by-step plan to fix it. Do not make any changes until I approve the plan.Review the latest open pull request, summarize the changes, flag any potential bugs or security concerns, and suggest improvements before it is merged.Top 5 ways to simplify GitHub management with Claude Cowork
With GitHub connected through Composio, Claude Cowork can help teams manage repository activity and keep projects organized without manually working through every issue or pull request.
You can use the integration to:
Organize open issues by priority, status, or project.
Add labels and assign issues to the right team members.
Summarize weekly repository activity for project updates.
Invite collaborators and help manage repository access.
Identify unresolved issues, stalled pull requests, and overdue tasks.
Try these prompts:
Review all open issues in my repository, group them by priority, and suggest the most suitable labels. Ask for my approval before updating anything.Summarize the GitHub activity from the past seven days, including new issues, closed issues, pull requests, and anything that still needs attention.Get started
OAuth debugging and token management slow down most GitHub-to-Claude integrations before they're useful. Composio removes that overhead: managed auth, automatic token refresh, and 1,000+ pre-built integrations, ready without writing integration code.
Create a free Composio account at Composio, no credit card required. Then follow the Claude Cowork walkthrough above if you want a no-terminal setup, or the Claude Code walkthrough if you prefer the terminal.
FAQs
How much does it cost to connect Claude to GitHub?
Composio's free tier includes 20,000 tool calls per month with no credit card required, which covers real evaluation and small projects. Paid plans start at $29 per month for 200,000 tool calls, with the next tier at $229 per month for 2 million tool calls.
How does Claude handle access to your private GitHub repositories?
Composio is SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certified, with credentials encrypted at rest and in transit. Access is controlled by the permissions you grant during the OAuth flow.
How long does the full setup take?
Under 10 minutes for the Claude Cowork path if you have a Composio account and GitHub account ready. The Claude Code path takes slightly longer if you're new to the terminal, but most developers complete it in under 15 minutes.
What happens if I need Claude to access multiple GitHub repositories?
Composio supports multiple repository connections. You manage the full set of connections from your dashboard. The GitHub toolkit documentation covers the scope configuration for multi-repository setups.
Glossary
Claude Code: Anthropic's terminal-based AI coding tool. Supports MCP servers, which extend what Claude can access and act on during a session.
Claude Cowork: A collaborative workspace inside Claude Desktop. Supports custom connectors, which link Claude to external tools and services.
ISO 27001: An international security standard for information security management. Composio is ISO 27001 certified.
MCP (Model Context Protocol): An open protocol that lets AI models communicate with external tools and services. Think of it as a universal connector: it gives Claude a standardized way to call tools like the GitHub API through a server that handles the translation.
Token refresh: OAuth access tokens expire. Token refresh is the process of automatically replacing an expired token with a new one so the connection stays active. Composio handles this automatically, removing the need to re-authorize manually.