github/github-mcp-server · error

failed to get issue ID: %w

Error message

failed to get issue ID: %w

What it means

getIssueID (pkg/github/issues.go:78) translates an issue number into a GraphQL node ID via repository(owner:,name:){ issue(number:){ id } }. This error means the GraphQL query itself failed: GitHub returned a GraphQL error payload ('Could not resolve to an Issue with the number of N', bad credentials, rate limit exceeded) or the transport failed. It fires before any issue mutation, when only the main issue ID is needed.

Source

Thrown at pkg/github/issues.go:78

	// Build query variables common to both cases
	vars := map[string]any{
		"owner":       githubv4.String(owner),
		"repo":        githubv4.String(repo),
		"issueNumber": githubv4.Int(issueNumber), // #nosec G115 - issue numbers are always small positive integers
	}

	if duplicateOf == 0 {
		// Only fetch the main issue ID
		var query struct {
			Repository struct {
				Issue struct {
					ID githubv4.ID
				} `graphql:"issue(number: $issueNumber)"`
			} `graphql:"repository(owner: $owner, name: $repo)"`
		}

		if err := gqlClient.Query(ctx, &query, vars); err != nil {
			return "", "", fmt.Errorf("failed to get issue ID: %w", err)
		}

		return query.Repository.Issue.ID, "", nil
	}

	// Fetch both issue IDs in a single query
	var query struct {
		Repository struct {
			Issue struct {
				ID githubv4.ID
			} `graphql:"issue(number: $issueNumber)"`
			DuplicateIssue struct {
				ID githubv4.ID
			} `graphql:"duplicateIssue: issue(number: $duplicateOf)"`
		} `graphql:"repository(owner: $owner, name: $repo)"`
	}

	// Add duplicate issue number to variables

View on GitHub (pinned to 0ea1f775a7)

Solutions

1. Verify the issue exists first with a cheap REST call: GET /repos/{owner}/{repo}/issues/{number}
2. Check token validity and that it can read the repo (repo scope for private repos, correct fine-grained repo access)
3. Check GraphQL rate limit (POST /graphql returns remaining points in headers) and wait if exhausted
4. For GHES, verify the GitHub API host configuration so the GraphQL endpoint resolves and is reachable

Example fix

// before
updateIssue(ctx, client, gqlClient, owner, repo, 4242, ...) // 4242 does not exist

// after
if _, _, err := client.Issues.Get(ctx, owner, repo, 4242); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("issue does not exist or is not visible: %w", err)
}
updateIssue(ctx, client, gqlClient, owner, repo, 4242, ...)

if issueNumber <= 0 {
    return fmt.Errorf("issue number must be positive")
}
if _, resp, err := client.Issues.Get(ctx, owner, repo, issueNumber); err != nil {
    return fmt.Errorf("pre-check failed, issue may not exist: %w", err)
} else {
    _ = resp.Body.Close()
}

if err := gqlClient.Query(ctx, &query, vars); err != nil {
    msg := err.Error()
    switch {
    case strings.Contains(msg, "Could not resolve to an Issue"):
        return fmt.Errorf("issue #%d not found in %s/%s", issueNumber, owner, repo)
    case strings.Contains(msg, "Bad credentials"):
        return fmt.Errorf("token invalid or expired")
    case strings.Contains(msg, "rate limit"):
        time.Sleep(waitForReset()) // then retry once
        return gqlClient.Query(ctx, &query, vars)
    default:
        return err
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling update_issue paths where the issue number does not exist in owner/repo (or is private and the token lacks access); expired/insufficient token (401); GraphQL rate limit exhausted; GHES api host configured without a working GraphQL endpoint; network failure to the GraphQL URL.

Common situations: Automations passing a wrong or stale issue number; fine-grained PATs or GitHub App tokens without access to the target repo; GHES deployments where the REST host works but the GraphQL host/URL is wrong; heavy scripting hitting the 5,000 points/hour GraphQL budget.

Related errors

• failed to query issue fields metadata: %w
• failed to get issue: %w
• failed to fetch raw content: %s
• %s: %w
• failed to fetch existing issue field values: %w

AI-assisted analysis of github/github-mcp-server@0ea1f775a7 (2026-08-15). Data as JSON: /api/errors/85ca71b8dc47bb0c. Report an issue: GitHub.