GitHub CLI Authentication

Automatically authenticate gh CLI using the token from .gh-token.txt in the repository root.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

•Seeing authentication errors: "gh auth login", "GH_TOKEN environment variable", "not logged into any GitHub hosts"
•Before running gh commands if auth status is uncertain
•User explicitly requests GitHub authentication

Authentication Steps

1. Get repo root and authenticate

bash

REPO_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)
gh auth login --with-token < "$REPO_ROOT/.gh-token.txt"

2. Verify success

bash

gh auth status

Should show: ✓ Logged in to github.com account <username>

3. Proceed with original task

If authentication was triggered by a failed command, retry that command.

Error Handling

Missing .gh-token.txt:

code

ERROR: .gh-token.txt not found in repository root

Create it:
1. Generate token: https://github.com/settings/tokens
2. Save to .gh-token.txt in repo root
3. File is git-ignored

Invalid token format:

code

ERROR: Invalid token format

Tokens should start with github_pat_ or ghp_
Check .gh-token.txt for correct token

Already authenticated: If gh auth status shows active authentication, skip to the original task.

Example

User: "List pull requests"

Action:

•Run gh pr list → authentication error
•Detect error → activate skill
•Run: REPO_ROOT=$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel) && gh auth login --with-token < "$REPO_ROOT/.gh-token.txt"
•Verify: gh auth status → success
•Retry: gh pr list → returns PR list

Security

•Token read via stdin (never in command args or history)
•.gh-token.txt should be in .gitignore
•Tokens masked in gh auth status output