MCP Apps with extra functionality by mattdholloway · Pull Request #1974 · github/github-mcp-server

mattdholloway · 2026-02-09T16:45:56Z

Summary

This pull request introduces a new backend tool for fetching UI-related repository data and integrates it into the PR creation UI, enabling dynamic branch selection and repository search. It also includes comprehensive tests for the new tool.

Why

Expands on #1957
Closes https://github.com/github/copilot-mcp-core/issues/1754

What changed

Backend: UI Data Fetch Tool

Adds the new ui_get tool to provide UI data (labels, assignees, milestones, issue types, branches) for MCP Apps, including its schema and logic for fetching data using GitHub APIs. [1] [2]
Integrates the ui_get tool into the server toolset, making it available as an insiders-only feature.
Declares ui_get as app-only (_meta.ui.visibility: ["app"]) per the MCP Apps 2026-01-26 spec, so the host keeps it out of the agent's tool list while the bundled MCP App views can still call it via tools/call.
Includes comprehensive tests for the new tool, covering various scenarios and error handling.

Frontend: Pull Request Creation UI Enhancements

Updates the PR creation app to support repository search and selection, and dynamically loads branches for the chosen repository using the new ui_get tool. [1] [2]
Adds UI state and logic for filtering and selecting base/head branches, preventing invalid selections (e.g., same branch for base and head). [1] [2]
Imports additional icons and types to support new UI elements for repositories and branches. [1] [2] [3]

MCP impact

No tool or API changes
Tool schema or behavior changed
New tool added

Prompts tested (tool changes only)

Security / limits

No security or limits impact
Auth / permissions considered
Data exposure, filtering, or token/size limits considered

ui_get is declared app-only (_meta.ui.visibility: ["app"]), so the host does not expose it in the agent's tool list; it is callable only by the bundled MCP App views via tools/call. It is read-only and gated behind the insiders MCP Apps feature flag.

Tool renaming

I am renaming tools as part of this PR (e.g. a part of a consolidation effort)
- I have added the new tool aliases in deprecated_tool_aliases.go
I am not renaming tools as part of this PR

Note: if you're renaming tools, you must add the tool aliases. For more information on how to do so, please refer to the official docs.

Lint & tests

Linted locally with ./script/lint
Tested locally with ./script/test

Docs

Not needed
Updated (README / docs / examples)

…ce CreateIssueApp to manage existing issue data

…server into mcp-ui-apps-3

# Conflicts: # ui/src/apps/issue-write/App.tsx # ui/src/apps/pr-write/App.tsx

Copilot · 2026-06-01T13:19:34Z

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts in this pull request

Resolved the merge conflicts with main in 2a65fd3. I combined the conflicting state declarations in pr-write/App.tsx and issue-write/App.tsx (keeping the repo/metadata state from this branch while adding hostContext/setModelContext from main), and fixed the useCallback/useEffect dependency arrays accordingly. I also updated the new ui_get tool to go-github v87 (import + the NewClient signature change in its tests). UI typecheck, Go build/vet, and the pkg/github tests all pass.

ui_get backs only the MCP App views and has no business in the agent's tool list. Per the MCP Apps 2026-01-26 spec, omitting _meta.ui.visibility defaults to ["model","app"], which exposes the tool to the model. Declare visibility ["app"] so the host hides it from tools/list while the views can still invoke it via tools/call. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Regenerated via UPDATE_TOOLSNAPS to capture the new _meta.ui.visibility. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Locks in the _meta.ui.visibility ["app"] contract so a future edit can't silently re-expose the UI data tool to the model. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Regenerated docs/feature-flags.md and docs/insiders-features.md to include the ui_get tool entry. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 8/8 changed files
Comments generated: 21

- Paginate the labels GraphQL query (cursor-based) so repos with more than 100 labels return a complete list instead of silently truncating. - Emit an empty due_on for milestones without a due date instead of formatting the zero time as "0001-01-01". - Use NewGitHubAPIErrorResponse in uiGetIssueTypes to preserve GitHub response context, matching the other REST-backed methods. - Extend tests to cover the labels (GraphQL), milestones (including the no-due-date case) and issue_types methods, plus the issue_types error path. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

- Re-initialize selectedRepo from toolInput inside the reset-on-invocation effect instead of a separate effect. The two effects both depended on toolInput and ran in declaration order, so the reset wiped the just- initialized repo and the picker never reflected the invocation's owner/repo. - Set the default base branch with a functional update in pr-write so a base prefilled from toolInput.base (or chosen by the user) isn't overwritten by a stale baseBranch value captured before the branches request resolved. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 8/8 changed files
Comments generated: 1

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot

Copilot's findings

Files reviewed: 8/8 changed files
Comments generated: 5

+	for {
+		assignees, resp, err := client.Issues.ListAssignees(ctx, owner, repo, opts)
+		if err != nil {
+			return ghErrors.NewGitHubAPIErrorResponse(ctx, "failed to list assignees", resp, err), nil, nil
+		}
+		allAssignees = append(allAssignees, assignees...)
+		if resp.NextPage == 0 {
+			break
+		}
+		opts.Page = resp.NextPage
+	}


+	for {
+		milestones, resp, err := client.Issues.ListMilestones(ctx, owner, repo, opts)
+		if err != nil {
+			return ghErrors.NewGitHubAPIErrorResponse(ctx, "failed to list milestones", resp, err), nil, nil
+		}
+		allMilestones = append(allMilestones, milestones...)
+		if resp.NextPage == 0 {
+			break
+		}
+		opts.Page = resp.NextPage
+	}


+	for {
+		branches, resp, err := client.Repositories.ListBranches(ctx, owner, repo, opts)
+		if err != nil {
+			return ghErrors.NewGitHubAPIErrorResponse(ctx, "failed to list branches", resp, err), nil, nil
+		}
+		allBranches = append(allBranches, branches...)
+		if resp.NextPage == 0 {
+			break
+		}
+		opts.Page = resp.NextPage
+	}


- issue-write: derive owner/name from full_name since search_repositories minimal output omits the owner object (mirrors pr-write) - pr-write/issue-write: clear available branch/label/assignee/milestone/type lists and filters in the toolInput reset effect so prefill effects can't match against the previous repo's stale data Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

mattdholloway · 2026-06-01T16:55:23Z

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts in this pull request

# Conflicts: # ui/src/apps/issue-write/App.tsx # ui/src/apps/pr-write/App.tsx

Copilot · 2026-06-01T16:59:06Z

@copilot resolve the merge conflicts in this pull request

Resolved the merge conflicts with main in 3e11e38. Both conflicts were in useCallback dependency arrays in ui/src/apps/pr-write/App.tsx and ui/src/apps/issue-write/App.tsx. I combined this branch's branch/metadata state (baseBranch/headBranch, selectedLabels/selectedAssignees/etc. and the filtered-list useMemos) with main's addition of toolInput to the dependency arrays. UI typecheck, Go build, and the pkg/github tests all pass.

tommaso-moro and others added 30 commits February 2, 2026 16:54

PoC full flow (hello world example)

67a4793

add avatar resource domain

7d2b463

add postmessage logic and richer UI

7606aec

add create issue ui

02ce9bf

update ui for issue creatioon

d53ff41

fix

e3d5db7

ignore banner

b149642

update docs after rebase

92aabf2

update toolsnap for get_me

8b55d08

new UI changes

06270c7

update docs

a770719

update workflows that need ui build

23de0bc

add UI diff

e2a8582

fix build ui step for windows runners to use git bash

5bb6228

fix UI diff

157ba4d

refactor issue creation UI

c927390

add AvatarWithFallback component and update UserCard to use it; enhan…

6d0eda6

…ce CreateIssueApp to manage existing issue data

fix formatting of button labels

2b0d8cc

add create pull request functionality with UI support and insiders

b8dc0d5

update docs

2d186da

add test for insiders mode handling in ServerTool schema

072f5c4

remove show_ui param for now

adc1053

make insiders mode metadata stripping generic

ee0a440

remove ui diff

2b8f062

Merge branch 'main' into mcp-ui-apps-3

6070471

Merge branch 'mcp-ui-apps-3' of https://github.com/github/github-mcp-…

d0f0334

…server into mcp-ui-apps-3

fix CI

37da563

remove redundant mention of old app name

8b23e49

add node types to fix ide issues for ts code

12af958

remove unused TriangleDownIcon import

e61c2d2

Copilot started work on behalf of mattdholloway June 1, 2026 13:12 View session

mattdholloway self-assigned this Jun 1, 2026

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into mcp-ui-apps-advanced

2a65fd3

# Conflicts: # ui/src/apps/issue-write/App.tsx # ui/src/apps/pr-write/App.tsx

Copilot finished work on behalf of mattdholloway June 1, 2026 13:20

mattdholloway changed the title ~~Mcp UI apps with extra functionality~~ MCP Apps with extra functionality Jun 1, 2026

mattdholloway and others added 4 commits June 1, 2026 14:29

Update ui_get toolsnap for app-only visibility

5698568

Regenerated via UPDATE_TOOLSNAPS to capture the new _meta.ui.visibility. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Assert ui_get declares app-only visibility

b5b87d5

Locks in the _meta.ui.visibility ["app"] contract so a future edit can't silently re-expose the UI data tool to the model. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

Add ui_get to insiders feature docs

f310291

Regenerated docs/feature-flags.md and docs/insiders-features.md to include the ui_get tool entry. Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

mattdholloway requested a review from Copilot June 1, 2026 13:53

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of mattdholloway June 1, 2026 13:53 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jun 1, 2026

View reviewed changes

mattdholloway and others added 2 commits June 1, 2026 15:08

mattdholloway requested a review from Copilot June 1, 2026 14:12

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of mattdholloway June 1, 2026 14:12 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jun 1, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread ui/src/apps/issue-write/App.tsx

Potential fix for pull request finding

6f6e826

Co-authored-by: Copilot Autofix powered by AI <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>

mattdholloway requested a review from Copilot June 1, 2026 14:23

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of mattdholloway June 1, 2026 14:23 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Jun 1, 2026

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of mattdholloway June 1, 2026 16:55 View session

Copilot AI added 2 commits June 1, 2026 16:58

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into mcp-ui-apps-advanced

3e11e38

# Conflicts: # ui/src/apps/issue-write/App.tsx # ui/src/apps/pr-write/App.tsx

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into mcp-ui-apps-advanced

064c9cc

Copilot finished work on behalf of mattdholloway June 1, 2026 16:59

Merge branch 'main' into mcp-ui-apps-advanced

064250e

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MCP Apps with extra functionality#1974

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mattdholloway commented Feb 9, 2026 •

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Summary

Why

What changed

MCP impact

Prompts tested (tool changes only)

Security / limits

Tool renaming

Lint & tests

Docs

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Copilot AI commented Jun 1, 2026

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mattdholloway commented Feb 9, 2026 •

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