Tool name `get_file_contents` conflicts with Claude Desktop built-in tool

[Baggydawg]

Summary

The tool get_file_contents is not exposed to Claude in Claude Desktop, despite the MCP server correctly returning it in the tools/list response. This appears to be a name collision with Claude Desktop's internal file-reading capability.

Environment

• Claude Desktop: Latest version (Feb 2026)
• github-mcp-server: Built from main branch
• Config: GITHUB_READ_ONLY=true

Symptoms

• Server returns get_file_contents in tools/list response (verified via direct stdio test)
• Other tools work fine (get_me, get_commit, list_branches, pull_request_read, etc.)
• get_file_contents specifically is not available to Claude in conversations
• No errors in MCP logs - the tool is simply not exposed

Root Cause

Claude Desktop appears to have a built-in tool with the same or similar name (get_file_contents or read_file), which shadows/filters the MCP server's version.

Solution

Renaming the tool from get_file_contents to fetch_repo_file immediately resolves the issue. After rebuilding with the renamed tool, Claude Desktop correctly exposes it.

Suggested Fix

Rename the tool in pkg/github/repositories.go:625 from:

Name: "get_file_contents",

to something like:

Name: "fetch_repo_file",

or:

Name: "get_repository_content",

This would be a breaking change for users relying on the current tool name, but it's necessary for Claude Desktop compatibility.

Additional Context

• Issue was debugged extensively, ruling out: completions capability bug, schema issues, read-only filtering, scope filtering
• The rename was the only change that fixed the issue
• Other MCP servers may have similar conflicts with generic tool names like read_file, get_file, etc.

[SamMorrowDrums]

Discussing directly with Anthropic, thanks for the excellent report!