Personal access token
A user-created token that authenticates an application or command-line tool as that user, usually with selectable scopes and an explicit expiration or revocation lifecycle.
What it is
A personal access token is a credential issued to a person for API or Git operations without sharing the person's password. It commonly acts like a bearer secret, so its scopes, expiry, storage, and audit trail matter: anyone who obtains it may use the permissions it carries until it expires or is revoked.
How it relates to Orbit
Orbit’s Vault can hold a provider access token used by a connected service. See /docs/reference/vault-secrets/ for details.
When you would use it
You use a personal access token for an automation or developer tool that needs delegated access tied to a user account but should not receive that user's password.
Common operations
- Authenticating Git or API tooling when an interactive login is not practical.
- Creating a narrowly scoped token, storing it outside the repository, and revoking it when its purpose ends.
Related terms
Where this is taught
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