Using Generated Tokens

Once you've generated a token, here's how to use it with various tools.

With GitHub CLI (gh)

The most common integration is with the GitHub CLI:

- name: Use token with gh CLI
  env:
    GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
  run: |
    gh api /repos/${{ github.repository }}/issues

Environment Variable: GH_TOKEN is automatically recognized by gh

With Git Operations

For git clone, push, and other operations:

- name: Clone repository with Core App
  env:
    GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
  run: |
    gh repo clone org/repository target-dir

- name: Configure git authentication
  working-directory: target-dir
  env:
    GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
  run: |
    git config --local credential.helper \
      '!f() { echo "username=x-access-token"; echo "password=$GH_TOKEN"; }; f'

With actions/checkout

Use the token with the checkout action:

- name: Checkout repository
  uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    token: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
    repository: org/target-repo

Advantage: Subsequent git operations use the Core App token

With GraphQL API

Query organization data using GraphQL:

- name: Query organization
  env:
    GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
  run: |
    gh api graphql -f query='
    {
      organization(login: "your-org") {
        repositories(first: 10) {
          nodes {
            name
            url
          }
        }
      }
    }'

With REST API

Use the token with REST API calls:

- name: Call REST API
  env:
    GH_TOKEN: ${{ steps.app_token.outputs.token }}
  run: |
    gh api /orgs/your-org/repos --jq '.[].name'