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Personal access token for Git repositories

Popular Git repository hosting services such as Bitbucket and GitLab, do not allow applications authorized with account passwords to access version control facilities.

To create new projects in externally hosted repositories, you will need to issue a personal access token. This is a secure alternative to passwords, which only grants permissions to specifically authorized applications and limits the scope of allowed actions.

When creating a new project stored in an external repository, issue a personal access token according to the appropriate step-by-step guide below and use it instead of a password.

tip
JAICP has a built-in integration with GitHub and Bitbucket, which allows using them for project storage without a personal access token. For such projects, you need the personal access token only for editing settings.

Bitbucket​

  1. Click your profile photo in the top right corner of the page, then go to Personal settings.
  2. From the sidebar, go to App passwords.
  3. Click Create app password.
    1. Give a short explanation of what the token does in the Label field.
    2. Tick the Repositories > Write permission.
  4. Click Create. Copy the token and save it somewhere secure.
tip
Learn more in Bitbucket documentation

GitHub​

  1. Verify your email address if it hasn’t been verified yet.
  2. Click your profile photo in the top right corner of the page, then go to Settings.
  3. From the sidebar, go to Developer settings > Personal access tokens.
  4. Click Generate new token. Enter your password if prompted.
    1. Give a short explanation of what the token does in the Note field.
    2. Select the token expiry time in the Expiration drop-down list.
    3. Select the scope of actions authorized by using this token.
      • Tick repo if there are private repositories among those you need to work with.
      • Otherwise, public_repo is sufficient.
  5. Click Generate token. Copy the token and save it somewhere secure.
tip
Learn more in GitHub documentation

GitLab​

  1. Click your profile photo in the top right corner of the page, then go to Preferences.
  2. From the sidebar, go to Access Tokens.
  3. Create a new personal access token:
    1. Give a short explanation of what the token does in the Token name field.
    2. Optionally, you can enter the token Expiration date.
    3. Tick the write_repository permission scope.
  4. Click Create personal access token. Copy the token and save it somewhere secure.
tip
Learn more in GitLab documentation