A Beginner’s Guide to Changing Your Personal Access Token in Git

A Beginner’s Guide to Changing Your Personal Access Token in Git

Git is a version control system that allows software developers to collaborate on projects. It ensures that changes made to code can be tracked and that project code can be rolled back to a previous version if needed. Git is also a popular tool used by businesses and individuals for other purposes, such as document versioning and collaboration.

To interact with Git repositories, developers will require authentication. Authentication is achieved through the use of access tokens. Access tokens are a way of proving that a user is who they claim to be, and they provide a level of security when working with Git that passwords do not provide.

If you’re using Git, you’ll need to know how to create and change your personal access tokens. This guide will take you through the steps involved in changing your personal access token in Git.

Why change your Personal Access Token?

Your personal access token is a vital element of your Git experience. It ensures that you are secure when working with Git, and it is unique to you. However, there are a few reasons why you might want to change your personal access token. Firstly, you may suspect that someone else has gained access to it. Secondly, you may have shared it unintentionally, or you may want to restrict access to a specific repository. Finally, your access token may have expired, and it’s time for a new one.

What is a Personal Access Token (PAT)?

A Personal Access Token (PAT) is a substitute for your password in Git or any other service that requires authentication, such as GitHub or Azure DevOps. A PAT is a string of characters that serves as your authentication credentials when working with Git. Authentication tokens aren’t easily guessable, making them more secure in comparison to other options like passwords or public key authentication.

Generating a New PAT

To generate a new personal access token, you first need to have an existing Git account. Once you are logged into your Git account, you can navigate to the ‘settings’ tab, click on the ‘developer settings’, then the ‘personal access tokens’ tab. From here, you can generate a new token by clicking on the ‘generate token’ button.

You will be required to give a name for your token to help you remember its purpose. You can also specify different permissions and scopes for your token. Be sure to select the appropriate scopes, so the token can access the resource you need.

Changing your Personal Access Token

To change your personal access token in Git, follow the below steps:

Step 1: Log in to your account and select the ‘developer settings’ option from the settings menu.

Step 2: Click on ‘personal access tokens’ and select the token you want to change.

Step 3: Click on ‘regenerate token’ to generate a new token.

Step 4: Follow the prompts to edit the token’s permissions and scopes, then click ‘update token’ to save.

You should also consider replacing any reference to the old token with the new one, such as updating the credentials in your Git client.

Conclusion

Access tokens are an essential aspect of Git, and they help keep data and code secure. They are also necessary when collaborating on code projects and document versioning. Changing your personal access token is a straightforward process that ensures the continued security of your Git account while also giving you greater control over it. By following these steps, you can replace your old tokens with new ones quickly. Don’t forget to update any references to the old token in your Git workflows.