gh-auth
manage GitHub CLI authentication and credentials
TLDR
Login to GitHub
$ gh auth login
Login with specific host$ gh auth login --hostname [github.example.com]
Check authentication status$ gh auth status
Logout from GitHub$ gh auth logout
Refresh authentication$ gh auth refresh
SYNOPSIS
gh auth command [options]
DESCRIPTION
gh auth manages authentication for the GitHub CLI. It handles OAuth device flow, personal access tokens, and SSH key authentication across multiple GitHub hosts.The command stores credentials securely in the system keychain when available, falling back to encrypted file storage. It supports github.com and GitHub Enterprise Server instances simultaneously.gh auth provides the foundation for all authenticated gh operations.
PARAMETERS
login
Authenticate with a GitHub host.logout
Log out of a GitHub host.status
View authentication status.refresh
Refresh stored credentials.token
Print authentication token.--hostname HOST
GitHub hostname (for Enterprise).--web
Open browser for authentication.--with-token
Read token from stdin.--help
Display help information.
CONFIGURATION
~/.config/gh/hosts.yml
Stores authentication tokens and host-specific settings for each GitHub instance.
INSTALL
sudo apt install gh
sudo dnf install gh
sudo pacman -S github-cli
sudo apk add github-cli
sudo zypper install gh
brew install gh
nix profile install nixpkgs#gh
CAVEATS
Token scopes affect available commands. Enterprise instances may require SSO authentication. Credentials stored in keychain or config file.
HISTORY
gh auth is part of the GitHub CLI, providing secure authentication workflows designed for both interactive and scripted use cases.
