Follow these simple steps to set up GitHub authentication with a personal access token:

1. Open a command line window on your PC or Terminal on Mac

2. Set the current directory to your project root

   cd C:\Users\Giddy\source\repo\MySampleProject
   

3. Run the command to set remote access via a token

   git remote set-url origin https://username:token@github.com/username/repository.git
   

   Example:

   git remote set-url origin https://sampleuser:a7b19929***58fe65d1c@github.com/sampleuser/sampleproject.git
   

Update (March 2025)

GitHub now requires fine-grained personal access tokens (PATs) for most new workflows. Classic tokens still work if you already created them, but new tokens should be generated as fine-grained for better security.

Steps:

1. Generate a fine-grained token from your GitHub account:

   • Go to Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Fine-grained tokens.
   • Choose the repository or scope permissions you need.
   • Copy the token (you won’t be able to see it again).

2. In Visual Studio Code, the recommended way is to use the built-in GitHub authentication instead of embedding tokens in remotes:

   • Press F1 → "GitHub: Sign in" → follow the browser login flow → paste your token if prompted.
   • VS Code stores the token securely in the system keychain/credential manager.
   • Done.

3. If you still want to update your remote manually with the token (not recommended for long-term use):

   Use with AIgit remote set-url origin https://<USERNAME>@github.com/<USERNAME>/<REPOSITORY>.git
   

   Then push/pull, and when Git asks for a password, use your personal access token instead of your GitHub password.

   Note: Avoid putting the token directly in the remote URL (as in the older example). This is insecure and may expose your token in logs or config files.