Quickly Generate a GitHub Personal Access Token

Need a GitHub personal access token fast? Follow the steps below to generate one in under a minute.

Quick Links

• Sign in to GitHub
• Open Developer Settings
• Create a Fine-grained Token
• Create a Classic Token

Step-by-Step

1. Open your profile menu (top-right) and click Settings.
2. Click Developer Settings from the left menu.
3. Click on “Personal Access Tokens” from the left menu.
4. Choose Tokens (classic) or Fine-grained tokens
5. Click Generate new token
6. Add a name, expiration, and required permissions.
7. Click Generate token
8. Copy and store it securely, then enter it into your app

Your app will generally validate the token immediately and let you know if permissions aren’t correct.

Visual Walkthrough

Having trouble finding the settings? Here’s a visual walk-through.

Finding the Profile Menu and Settings

Your profile is on the top-right, with a Settings menu in the dropdown.

Finding the Developer Settings

When in Profile Settings, in the left sidebar, you’ll see an option for Developer Settings. This is demonstrated in the video below.

Token Types

GitHub provides two types of personal access tokens:

• Fine-grained tokens (recommended)
  Limit access to specific repositories and permissions.
• Classic tokens
  Provide broader access and are typically used for legacy integrations.

Expiration Types

Some tokens can be long-lived, but GitHub increasingly encourages setting an expiration date for security reasons.

Depending on your setup, non-expiring tokens may not be available.

Further Reading

• Managing Your Personal Access Tokens
• Setting Personal Access Token Permissions for Your Organization

Once you’ve generated your GitHub personal access token, you can use it to power integrations and displays. For example, our free plugin WP Plugin Info Card uses tokens to feature GitHub repositories directly on your WordPress site.