Authentication
- Git course
- Expert
- Lesson 22/32
- 4 min
Learn token-based authentication.
GitHub API authentication
The GitHub API allows access to some public resources without authentication. Authentication is required to access private resources or benefit from higher request limits.
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_TOKENA token is used to authenticate your identity in an API request. You should never add token values to public repositories or source code.
Using a Personal Access Token
A Personal Access Token (PAT) allows you to perform API operations on behalf of your GitHub account with specific permissions. Granting only the required permissions when creating a token is important for security.
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
https://api.github.com/userKeeping the token in an environment variable is safer than writing it directly into a script. If a token is exposed, revoke its access and create a new one.
Practice Request user information with a token
Use the GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable to send a request to the GitHub user endpoint. Use Bearer token authentication and the GET method. Print the HTTP response status code.
Starter code
# Token ile kimlik doğrulaması yaparak kullanıcı bilgilerini iste
# HTTP durum kodunu gösterSample solution
curl -sS -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}
" -X GET -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" https://api.github.com/userExpected output
200
Questions and answers
Review the lesson questions together with their answers. To test yourself, solve the lesson interactively.
1 Which HTTP header is used to securely send a personal access token in an API request?
- Accept-Language
- User-Agent
- Content-Type
- Authorization Correct answer
Explanation: The <code>Authorization</code> header carries token-based authentication credentials.
2 Define the PAT variable
export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_example_token____export GITHUB_TOKEN=ghp_example_tokenGITHUB_TOKENExplanation: You can store the token value in the GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable.
3 Token security concepts
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
PAT |
Personal access token |
Bearer |
Token transmission scheme |
Scope |
Token permission scope |
Environment variable |
Stores a secret value in the environment |