Git credentials automation — non-interactive push for agents

Problem

git push hangs waiting for a username/password in cron or agent loops. Jobs timeout with empty remote.

Root Cause

Interactive credential helpers (manager, terminal prompt) do not work headless. HTTPS remotes need a stored token or SSH key with no passphrase prompt.

Solution

Prefer fine-scoped PAT + store (mode 600):

# never commit the token
git config --global credential.helper store
printf 'https://USERNAME:TOKEN@github.com\n' > ~/.git-credentials
chmod 600 ~/.git-credentials

git remote -v
git ls-remote origin
git push

Safer alternative: SSH deploy key:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/gh_agent -N ''
# add gh_agent.pub as deploy key (write) on the fork
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:USER/REPO.git

gh auth login with a token also configures git:

gh auth login --with-token < token.txt
gh auth setup-git

Verification

GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 git ls-remote origin
GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 git push

Notes

Scope: repo (and workflow if Actions needed).
Rotate tokens if leaked; never put tokens in lesson bodies as real secrets.
DCO still requires git commit -s on MisakaNet PRs.

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git-credentials-automation.md

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