Github clone with oauth access token

git github oauth
Stephan-v picture Stephan-v · Feb 10, 2017 · Viewed 84.2k times · Source

Inside a script I am trying to clone a Github repository with an oauth token.

According to this tutorial:

https://github.com/blog/1270-easier-builds-and-deployments-using-git-over-https-and-oauth

I should be able to build a command for it like this:

git clone https://<token>@github.com/owner/repo.git

If I try this manually with a proper access token, it still asks for my password.

If I try it on the commandline I am simply getting a repository not found error.

The article is from 2012 and I cannot find any API documentation for this. So I am wondering if this still works.

Answer

Stephan-v picture Stephan-v · Feb 11, 2017

I turned out to be a scope issue. I of course needed full repo scope since I was trying to clone a private repository.

It's a shame Github does not have some clearer error messages for these kind of things, but security wise I understand why.

For anyone trying to figure out what is wrong when trying out something like this, I would suggest to create a personal access token with full access to everything:

settings > developer settings > personal access tokens > generate new token

This way you can easily test if it is a scope issue by comparing your token with a personal access token that has access rights for everything.

Thanks for anyone who still took the time to read this.

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