Authenticating with GitHub using `gh auth` (with examples)
GitHub authentication is essential for accessing and interacting with resources on the platform. The gh auth command is a powerful tool provided by the GitHub CLI (gh) that allows you to authenticate with a GitHub host in a convenient and secure way. In this article, we will explore different use cases of the gh auth command and provide code examples for each scenario.
Log in with interactive prompt
To log in using an interactive prompt, you can simply run the following command:
gh auth login
Motivation: This use case is suitable when you want to authenticate with GitHub interactively. It provides a streamlined and user-friendly experience by guiding you through the login process step by step.
Example Output:
? What account do you want to authenticate with? [Use arrows to move, type to filter]
> My GitHub Account
Another GitHub Account
Another GitHub Enterprise Server
After selecting the desired account, the command will prompt you to enter your username and password.
Log in with a token from stdin
If you have a personal access token generated from the GitHub website (https://github.com/settings/tokens ) and want to log in with it, you can use the following command:
echo your_token | gh auth login --with-token
Motivation: This use case is useful when you want to automate the authentication process or when you have a personal access token stored securely and want to use it for authentication.
Example Output:
✓ Logged in as <your_username>
The command will log you in using the provided personal access token.
Check if you are logged in
To check if you are currently logged in with gh, you can execute the following command:
gh auth status
Motivation: It is important to verify the authentication status to ensure that you have the necessary permissions to perform actions on GitHub. The gh auth status command allows you to quickly check if you are logged in and if the authentication is active.
Example Output:
✓ Logged in as <your_username>
If you are logged in, the output will indicate the username associated with the authentication.
Log out
To log out from the current GitHub authentication, you can use the following command:
gh auth logout
Motivation: Logging out is necessary when you want to switch accounts or revoke access to your GitHub account from the CLI. It ensures that the session is terminated and prevents unauthorized access to your GitHub resources.
Example Output:
✓ Logged out
The command will log you out and display a success message.
Log in with a specific GitHub Enterprise Server
If you want to authenticate with a GitHub Enterprise Server instead of the default GitHub host, you can use the following command:
gh auth login --hostname github.example.com
Motivation: Sometimes, organizations use their own self-hosted GitHub Enterprise Server for enhanced security and control. This use case allows you to authenticate with a specific GitHub Enterprise Server instead of the default GitHub host.
Example Output:
? What account do you want to authenticate with? [Use arrows to move, type to filter]
> My GitHub Enterprise Account
Another GitHub Enterprise Account
GitHub.com
The command presents a list of accounts to choose from, including GitHub Enterprise accounts and the default GitHub.com.
Refresh the session to ensure authentication credentials have the correct minimum scopes
To refresh the session and ensure that your authentication credentials have the correct minimum scopes, you can use the following command:
gh auth refresh
Motivation: By refreshing the session, you can guarantee that your authentication has the necessary scopes to perform actions that require specific permissions. This is crucial when accessing resources that require additional privileges.
Example Output:
✓ Token refreshed and updated scopes
The command will refresh the authentication session and update the scopes as necessary.
Expand the permission scopes
To expand the permission scopes for the authentication, you can specify the desired scopes using the --scopes option. For example:
gh auth refresh --scopes repo,admin:repo_hook,admin:org,admin:public_key,admin:org_hook,...
Motivation: Specific actions on GitHub require certain scopes or permissions. By expanding the permission scopes, you can ensure that your authentication has the necessary privileges to perform actions like creating repositories, managing repository hooks, and managing organizations.
Example Output:
✓ Token refreshed with updated scopes: repo, admin:repo_hook, admin:org, admin:public_key, ...
The command will refresh the authentication session and update the scopes according to your specified values.
Conclusion
The gh auth command provides a versatile set of options to authenticate with GitHub efficiently. By exploring different use cases and utilizing the code examples provided in this article, you can easily authenticate with GitHub using the GitHub CLI (gh) and ensure secure access to your resources.
