git-credential

Retrieve and store authentication credentials for Git

TLDR

Get credentials for a URL

$ echo "url=https://github.com" | git credential fill

Store credentials in configured helpers

$ url=https://github.com
username=user
password=token
EOF```

**Reject (erase) stored credentials**

url=https://github.comusername=userpassword=tokenEOF```

git credential is a low-level interface for storing and retrieving credentials using Git's credential helper system. It interfaces with configured helpers (cache, store, osxkeychain, manager, etc.) to retrieve, store, and erase credentials.The command is typically invoked automatically by Git during push/pull operations when authentication is needed. Direct use is primarily for debugging credential issues or scripting authentication workflows. Input and output use a key=value format on stdin/stdout with attributes like protocol, host, username, and password.Credential helpers are configured via git config credential.helper.

PARAMETERS

fill

Read credential attributes from stdin, look up matching credentials via configured helpers, and output the result including username and password.

approve

Send credential attributes to all configured helpers for storage. No output is emitted.

reject

Notify all configured helpers to erase matching credentials. No output is emitted.

--help

Display help information.

INPUT ATTRIBUTES

protocol

The protocol over which the credential will be used (e.g., https, ssh).

host

The remote hostname for which the credential is used.

username

The credential's username, if already known.

password

The credential's password, if being provided or returned.

path

The path with which the credential will be used (e.g., for accessing remote https repositories).

CAVEATS

Usually called internally by Git, not directly by users. Credential helpers must be configured via git config for this command to be useful. The reject action requires the same credential attributes that were originally stored. Sensitive credentials may be exposed on stdin/stdout.

HISTORY

The git credential subsystem was introduced in Git 1.7.9 (2012) to standardize credential management across helpers, replacing the earlier ad-hoc authentication handling.