GitHub Issue Searcher MCP 🚀

github_issue_searcher.mp4

A powerful Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server that combines FAISS (Facebook AI Similarity Search) with OpenAI embeddings to provide semantic search capabilities for GitHub repository issues. Perfect for building RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) systems and knowledge bases focused on GitHub issue tracking!

✨ Features

• 🔍 Semantic Search: Generate embeddings using OpenAI and search with FAISS
• 📚 Document Storage: Store text with rich metadata for organized retrieval
• 🐙 GitHub Integration: Automatically sync and search GitHub repository issues
• ⚡ Fast Similarity Search: Powered by Facebook's FAISS library
• 🔧 MCP Compatible: Works seamlessly with Claude and other MCP clients
• 💾 Persistent Storage: Automatic saving and loading of indexes and metadata

🛠️ Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or higher
• OpenAI API key
• (Optional) GitHub Personal Access Token for GitHub integration

Quick Setup

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/calumjs/github-issue-searcher-mcp.git
   cd github-issue-searcher-mcp

2. Set up virtual environment (recommended)

   cd faiss_mcp_server
   python -m venv .venv
   
   # Activate virtual environment
   # On Windows:
   .venv\Scripts\activate
   # On macOS/Linux:
   source .venv/bin/activate

3. Install dependencies

   pip install -r requirements.txt

4. Set up environment variables Create a .env file in the faiss_mcp_server directory:

   OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here
   GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_github_token_here  # Optional

5. Sync a GitHub repository (Essential First Step)

   # Sync your first repository to populate the search index
   python sync_github.py owner/repo --clear
   
   # Examples:
   python sync_github.py microsoft/vscode --clear
   python sync_github.py facebook/react --clear
   python sync_github.py SSWConsulting/SSW.YakShaver --clear

6. Configure your MCP client

   Add the server to your MCP client configuration. For Claude Desktop, add this to your MCP settings:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "github-issue-searcher": {
         "command": "python",
         "args": ["/path/to/your/faiss_mcp_server/main.py"],
         "env": {
           "OPENAI_API_KEY": "your-openai-api-key-here"
         }
       }
     }
   }

   Note: Replace /path/to/your/faiss_mcp_server/main.py with the actual path to your installation.

   Alternative: You can also run the server directly for testing:

   python main.py

🚀 Usage

Step 1: Sync GitHub Repository Data

This is the essential first step! The GitHub Issue Searcher MCP needs repository data to search through. You have two options:

Option 1: Standalone sync script (Recommended)

cd faiss_mcp_server

# Sync a single repository (clears existing data)
python sync_github.py owner/repo --clear

# Add multiple repositories (append to existing data)
python sync_github.py microsoft/vscode
python sync_github.py facebook/react
python sync_github.py vercel/next.js

Option 2: Sync during server startup

cd faiss_mcp_server

# Start server and sync repository
python main.py --sync-repo owner/repo --clear

Important Notes:

• Use --clear flag to replace existing data with new repository
• Omit --clear flag to add repository data to existing index
• Syncing can take several minutes depending on repository size
• The server remains responsive during standalone sync operations

Step 2: Search Through Issues

Once you have synced repository data, you can use the MCP tools:

search_embeddings

Search for similar content using natural language:

search_embeddings(
    query_text="How to fix memory leaks in React components?",
    k=5  # Number of results to return
)

get_index_status

Check what data is currently indexed:

get_index_status()
# Returns: {"initialized": true, "dimension": 1536, "vector_count": 4490, ...}

Managing Your Data

Add More Repositories:

# Add additional repositories without clearing existing data
python sync_github.py tensorflow/tensorflow
python sync_github.py pytorch/pytorch

Replace All Data:

# Clear everything and sync a new repository
python sync_github.py new-owner/new-repo --clear

Check Current Data: Use the get_index_status tool to see how many issues are currently indexed and from which repositories.

🏗️ Architecture

faiss_mcp_server/
├── main.py              # Entry point and argument parsing
├── sync_github.py       # Standalone GitHub sync script
├── server.py            # MCP server initialization
├── requirements.txt     # Python dependencies
├── pyproject.toml       # Project configuration
├── tools/
│   ├── faiss_tools.py   # FAISS search tools
│   └── github_tools.py  # GitHub integration utilities
└── utils/
    ├── faiss_handler.py # Core FAISS operations
    └── github_syncer.py # GitHub API integration

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required
OPENAI_API_KEY	Your OpenAI API key for embeddings	✅ Yes
GITHUB_PERSONAL_ACCESS_TOKEN	GitHub token for repository access	❌ Optional

Data Storage

• FAISS Index: Stored as faiss_index.bin
• Metadata: Stored as metadata.json
• Location: data/ directory (created automatically)

📊 Use Cases

• 🐛 GitHub Issue Search: Semantically search through GitHub repository issues
• 📖 Issue Knowledge Base: Build searchable knowledge bases from GitHub issues
• 🤖 RAG Systems: Enhance AI responses with relevant GitHub issue context
• 📚 Research: Find similar issues, bug reports, or feature requests
• 💬 Developer Support: Search through issue history for troubleshooting
• 🔍 Project Management: Discover related issues and track patterns

🛡️ Error Handling

The server includes comprehensive error handling:

• Automatic retry for API failures
• Graceful degradation when services are unavailable
• Detailed logging for debugging
• Input validation and sanitization

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Development Setup

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
6. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
7. Open a Pull Request

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Facebook Research for the amazing FAISS library
• OpenAI for the embedding models
• Anthropic for the Model Context Protocol
• GitHub for the excellent API

📞 Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

1. Check the Issues page
2. Create a new issue with detailed information
3. Include logs and error messages when possible

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Made with ❤️ for the GitHub community

Happy issue searching! 🔍✨