GitHub Authentication

Instructions

Credential Location

• Credentials are stored in the project root

  .env

  file
• Cross-platform path examples:
  • Linux/macOS:

    ~/apps/your_claude_skills/.env

    or use relative path:

    ./.env

  • Windows:

    %USERPROFILE%\apps\your_claude_skills\.env

    or relative:

    .\.env

• Load credentials:
  bash

  # Linux/macOS:
  source ./.env
  
  # Windows PowerShell:
  # Get-Content .\.env | ForEach-Object { if ($_ -match '^([^=]+)=(.*)$') { [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($matches[1], $matches[2]) } }

• Access in scripts:
  bash

  # Linux/macOS:
  GITHUB_USERNAME=$(grep GITHUB_USERNAME ./.env | cut -d= -f2)
  GITHUB_PAT=$(grep GITHUB_PAT ./.env | cut -d= -f2)
  
  # Windows PowerShell:
  # $GITHUB_USERNAME = (Get-Content .\.env | Select-String "GITHUB_USERNAME").Line.Split("=")[1]
  # $GITHUB_PAT = (Get-Content .\.env | Select-String "GITHUB_PAT").Line.Split("=")[1]

GitHub API Operations

# Authenticate gh with stored PAT
echo "$GITHUB_PAT" | gh auth login --with-token

# Or use API directly with curl
curl -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_PAT" https://api.github.com/user/repos

Git Operations with Authentication

# Setup SSH key for GitHub (one-time setup)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub  # Add this to GitHub Settings > SSH Keys

# Clone with SSH (RECOMMENDED)
git clone git@github.com:owner/repo.git

# Add SSH remote
git remote add origin git@github.com:owner/repo.git

# Configure git credential helper (stores credentials securely)
git config --global credential.helper store

# First time will prompt for credentials, then stores them securely
git clone https://github.com/owner/repo.git

# WARNING: Credentials in URLs can leak in logs/history
# Only use in secure, automated environments
git clone https://$GITHUB_USERNAME:$GITHUB_PAT@github.com/owner/repo.git

Common GitHub Operations

1. Create Repository
   bash

   gh repo create owner/repo --private --description "Description"

2. List Repositories
   bash

   gh repo list

3. Create Pull Request
   bash

   gh pr create --title "Title" --body "Description"

4. Manage Issues
   bash

   gh issue create --title "Issue" --body "Description"
   gh issue list

5. Release Management
   bash

   gh release create v1.0.0 --title "Release 1.0.0" --notes "Release notes"

Security Best Practices

1. Never Echo or Display PAT
   • Never use

     echo $GITHUB_PAT

     or display the token
   • Use it directly in commands or pipe to stdin
   • Keep .env file permissions restricted (chmod 600)
2. Use gh CLI When Possible
   • Prefer

     gh

     commands over raw API calls
   • gh stores credentials securely
   • Better error handling and user-friendly output
3. Never Put Credentials in Git URLs
   • Credentials in URLs can leak in git history, logs, and error messages
   • Use SSH keys or git credential helper instead
   • Only use URL credentials in secure CI/CD environments
4. Verify .env is Gitignored
   • Always check .gitignore includes .env
   • Never commit credentials to git
   • Use .env.example for documentation
5. Rotate Tokens Regularly
   • GitHub PATs should be rotated periodically
   • Revoke old tokens after rotation
   • Update .env file with new token

Error Handling

1. Verify PAT is valid in .env file
2. Check PAT has required scopes (repo, workflow, etc.)
3. Verify PAT hasn't expired
4. Test with:

   gh auth status

Examples

Example 1: Create and Push to New Repo

# Load credentials (Linux/macOS):
source ./.env

# Load credentials (Windows PowerShell):
# Get-Content .\.env | ForEach-Object { if ($_ -match '^([^=]+)=(.*)$') { [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($matches[1], $matches[2]) } }

# Create private repository
gh repo create yourusername/my-new-repo --private --description "My new project"

# Initialize local repo and push
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin https://github.com/yourusername/my-new-repo.git
git push -u origin main

Example 2: Clone Private Repo (SSH - RECOMMENDED)

# Clone with SSH (most secure)
git clone git@github.com:yourusername/private-repo.git

Example 2b: Clone with Credential Helper

# First time setup (one-time)
git config --global credential.helper store

# Clone - will prompt for credentials first time, then cache
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/private-repo.git

Example 3: API Request

# Load credentials (Linux/macOS):
source ./.env

# Load credentials (Windows PowerShell):
# Get-Content .\.env | ForEach-Object { if ($_ -match '^([^=]+)=(.*)$') { [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable($matches[1], $matches[2]) } }

# List user's repositories (Linux/macOS):
curl -s -H "Authorization: token $GITHUB_PAT" \
  https://api.github.com/user/repos | jq -r '.[].full_name'

# Windows PowerShell:
# $headers = @{ Authorization = "token $env:GITHUB_PAT" }
# (Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.github.com/user/repos" -Headers $headers).full_name

Notes

• GitHub CLI (gh) is the recommended method for GitHub operations
• The PAT should have appropriate scopes based on operations needed
• Credentials file is protected by .gitignore
• For CI/CD, use GitHub Actions secrets instead of .env file
• Consider using SSH keys for git operations as an alternative to HTTPS with PAT