Skip to main content
Enterprise Server 3.1
English
� 
Authentication
Enterprise Server 3.1
English

� 

This version of GitHub Enterprise was discontinued on 2022-06-03. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Creating a personal access token

In this article

You can create a personal access token to use in place of a password with the command line or with the API.

Notes:

  • If you use GitHub CLI to authenticate to GitHub Enterprise Server on the command line, you can skip generating a personal access token and authenticate via the web browser instead. For more information about authenticating with GitHub CLI, see gh auth login.
  • Git Credential Manager is a secure, cross-platform alternative to using personal access tokens (PATs) and eliminates the need to manage PAT scope and expiration. For installation instructions, see Download and install in the GitCredentialManager/git-credential-manager repository.

Personal access tokens (PATs) are an alternative to using passwords for authentication to GitHub Enterprise Server when using the GitHub API or the command line.

A token with no assigned scopes can only access public information. To use your token to access repositories from the command line, select repo. For more information, see "Available scopes".

Creating a token

  1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click your profile photo, then click Settings.

    Settings icon in the user bar

  2. In the left sidebar, click Developer settings. Developer settings

  3. In the left sidebar, click Personal access tokens. Personal access tokens

  4. Click Generate new token. Generate new token button

  5. Give your token a descriptive name. Token description field

  6. Select the scopes, or permissions, you'd like to grant this token. To use your token to access repositories from the command line, select repo.

    Selecting token scopes

  7. Click Generate token. Generate token button

    Newly created token

    Warning: Treat your tokens like passwords and keep them secret. When working with the API, use tokens as environment variables instead of hardcoding them into your programs.

Using a token on the command line

Once you have a token, you can enter it instead of your password when performing Git operations over HTTPS.

For example, on the command line you would enter the following:

$ git clone https://hostname/username/repo.git
Username: your_username
Password: your_token

Personal access tokens can only be used for HTTPS Git operations. If your repository uses an SSH remote URL, you will need to switch the remote from SSH to HTTPS.

If you are not prompted for your username and password, your credentials may be cached on your computer. You can update your credentials in the Keychain to replace your old password with the token.

Instead of manually entering your PAT for every HTTPS Git operation, you can cache your PAT with a Git client. Git will temporarily store your credentials in memory until an expiry interval has passed. You can also store the token in a plain text file that Git can read before every request. For more information, see "Caching your GitHub credentials in Git."

Further reading