🚀 Improving GitHub MCP Server Performance and Resource Consumption: Introducing default toolsets

[tonytrg]

Hello together from the github-mcp-server maintainers 👋 ,

we are introducing performance improvements to the GitHub MCP Server with a new default toolset configuration in #1159.

The Problem

Our current "all tools enabled by default" approach has caused several issues for most users:

• Excessive context: 101 tools consuming 64.6k tokens by default
• Tool selection degradation: LLMs struggle to choose the right tool from too many options
• Higher inference costs: Larger context windows increase computational expenses
• User complaints: While toolset configuration is available, many users complained about the "out of the box experience"

New Approach: Data-driven default configuration

We analyzed real-world usage data to identify which tools users actually need. The new default configuration includes the five most-used toolset groups:

Default Toolsets:

• context - Current user and GitHub context
• repos - Repository operations
• issues - Issue tracking
• pull_requests - PR workflows
• users - User information

These cover the most frequently used tools, accompanied by their co-occuring tools to ensure common workflows as seamless as possible, while cutting down on resource consumption.

Removed from default (still available via configuration): Sub-issues, Organizations, PR Reviews, Releases, Code Security, Secret Protection, Dependabot, Notifications, Discussions, Actions, Security Advisories, Experiments, Gists,
Projects, Stargazers, Dynamic toolsets.

ℹ️ See here on how to configure the local/remote server for specific toolsets.

Improvements compared to having all tools enabled

📊 Significant resource Savings

Metric	Before	After	Reduction
Number of Tools	101 tools	52 tools	50 tools (49% reduction)
Token Usage	64.6k tokens	30.3k tokens	34.3k tokens (53% reduction)

🎯 Better Tool Selection

• More accurate tool selection for common tasks
• Reduced decision paralysis for LLMs
• Faster execution with smaller context windows

Why Change the Default?

• Defaults matter. Most users never customize their configuration, so they were paying a performance penalty for tools they never used.
• A better default provides immediate value without requiring a setup.
• On the other hand users are expected/required to further customize their toolset configuration to include toolsets that they might require beyond the new default configuration.

Looking Ahead

🔧 Granular Toolset Splitting

We're breaking up large toolsets (like repos) into specialized groups (repos, releases, stargazers), allowing users to enable exactly what they need.

🆕 Faster Feature Rollout

We can now introduce new tools without impacting general user experience, experiment with beta features in separate toolsets, and iterate quickly based on data.

We Want Your Feedback! 💬

Your experience matters. Please share your thoughts:

• What would make the configuration experience better?
• What ideas could improve the experience with using the GitHub MCP server?