glab-auth

glab auth

Manage GitLab CLI authentication.

Quick start

# Interactive login
glab auth login

# Browser/OAuth login without the prompt
glab auth login --hostname gitlab.com --web

# Check current auth status
glab auth status

# Login to different instance
glab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com

# Logout
glab auth logout

Workflows

Machine-readable authentication status

glab auth status --hostname gitlab.example.com --output json
glab auth status --all --output json
glab auth status --all --output json --jq '.hosts[] | {host, state, user}'

JSON contains a hosts array with per-host state, user (when available), endpoint, protocol, token-source, warning, and error metadata. It never contains the token itself; --show-token is rejected with JSON output. Omitted optional fields should not be mistaken for empty credentials. Check both exit status and each host's state before any write, and verify the intended actor independently with glab api user. Keep --jq paired with --output json.

First-time setup

1. Run glab auth login
2. Choose authentication method (token or browser)
3. Follow prompts for your GitLab instance
4. Verify with glab auth status

glab auth login supports a complete setup flow: - --api-host to explicitly set a different API/Web endpoint for self-hosted instances - --ssh-hostname to explicitly set a different SSH endpoint for self-hosted instances - --web to skip the login-type prompt and go straight to browser/OAuth auth - --container-registry-domains to preconfigure registry / dependency-proxy domains during login Example: API hostname gitlab.company.com, SSH hostname ssh.company.com

For personal access tokens, glab requires at least api and write_repository. GitLab 18.9 introduced https://<host>/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens/legacy/new?scopes=api,write_repository; that route does not exist on earlier releases. GitLab 18.8 and earlier use https://<host>/-/user_settings/personal_access_tokens?scopes=api,write_repository instead. Use the URL for the target instance rather than assuming the current GitLab.com route exists on an older self-managed server.

In non-interactive login, omitting --hostname resolves the target in this order: the base repository's GitLab remote, GITLAB_HOST, the configuration host, then gitlab.com. For credential writes, prefer an explicit --hostname when the surrounding repository or environment is not intentionally authoritative.

In interactive login, environment-backed configuration values pre-answer their matching setup questions only on the matching path. GITLAB_HOST selects the instance before remote detection. GITLAB_API_HOST and GITLAB_SSH_HOST skip the matching endpoint prompts when the hostname comes from --hostname or GITLAB_HOST; if you choose the instance-menu "GitLab Self-Managed or GitLab Dedicated instance" path, glab still prompts for endpoint hostnames unless you supply --api-host and --ssh-hostname. GLAB_CONTAINER_REGISTRY_DOMAINS, GLAB_GIT_PROTOCOL, and GLAB_API_PROTOCOL skip their own registry-domain and protocol prompts. Explicit command flags remain clearer for one-off credential writes and should be preferred when shell state is not tightly controlled.

For browser/OAuth login to GitLab Self-Managed or GitLab Dedicated, glab now guides interactive setup when no OAuth application ID is configured. Choose either to paste an existing Application ID or to print the exact registration values for an instance/group administrator. The "show me what an admin needs to create" choice only prints the redirect URI, scopes, and Confidential: off requirement, then exits the login attempt non-zero with the same "set client_id first" error. After the admin creates the application, rerun login after either saving the ID with glab config set client_id <client_id> -g --host <hostname> or exporting GITLAB_CLIENT_ID; printing the registration values is not a way to continue the same login attempt. Never paste an application secret into the Application ID prompt. A newly pasted ID is persisted only after a successful OAuth round trip. In non-interactive environments, preconfigure it explicitly with glab config set client_id <client_id> -g --host <hostname> or supply GITLAB_CLIENT_ID.

Login flag examples

Token login through --token or --stdin persists container-registry domains for the selected host too. Resolution prefers an explicit --container-registry-domains, then the configured value (including environment-backed configuration), then hostname-derived defaults. This preserves custom domains on re-login and makes them available to the Docker credential helper. Verify with glab config get container_registry_domains --host <hostname> before configuring Docker. This persistence behavior applies to the personal-token path; do not assume the separate --job-token path has the same setup behavior.

# Personal-token login with explicit registry domains; keep the token file outside Git
glab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com --stdin \
  --api-protocol https --git-protocol ssh \
  --container-registry-domains "registry.gitlab.company.com,gitlab.company.com" \
  < approved-token-file
glab config get container_registry_domains --host gitlab.company.com

# Self-managed GitLab with separate API and SSH endpoints
glab auth login \
  --hostname gitlab.company.com \
  --ssh-hostname ssh.company.com

# Skip prompts and go straight to browser/OAuth auth
glab auth login --hostname gitlab.com --web

# Preconfigure multiple registry / dependency proxy domains during login
glab auth login \
  --hostname gitlab.com \
  --web \
  --container-registry-domains "registry.gitlab.com,gitlab.com"

# Supply every self-managed endpoint so only browser authorization remains interactive
glab auth login --hostname gitlab.example.com --web \
  --api-host gitlab.example.com --ssh-hostname gitlab.example.com \
  --api-protocol https --git-protocol ssh \
  --container-registry-domains registry.gitlab.example.com

# Explicitly opt out of keyring storage (stores the token as plaintext)
glab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com --insecure-storage \
  --stdin < approved-token-file

Credential storage

On a normal workstation, glab auth login stores credentials in the operating system keyring by default when one is available: macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, or Linux Secret Service. The old --use-keyring flag is deprecated because keyring storage is now the default. Re-running login migrates a credential previously stored as plaintext in the config file into the keyring.

Use --insecure-storage only when plaintext config-file storage is explicitly required and its risk is accepted. If no keyring backend is available, glab warns and falls back to the config file. In CI (GITLAB_CI or CI is set), glab defaults to config-file storage because keyrings are usually unavailable or ephemeral; prefer environment credentials rather than persisting a login there.

If a keyring is locked, unavailable, or denies access, glab reports the credential-read failure directly. Fix keyring access or re-authenticate instead of treating the resulting error as an invalid token.

glab checks whether refreshed OAuth credentials can be saved before it refreshes the token, and serializes credential writes across concurrent glab processes. If multiple agents or shells share one config directory, prefer separate config directories per actor for isolation, but do not add external file locks around glab itself.

OAuth access tokens are refreshed with a five-minute grace period instead of waiting until they are effectively expired. If the token is still usable but refreshed credentials cannot be saved, glab keeps using the current token rather than turning the save probe into an immediate outage. For a self-managed instance under a subfolder, refresh requests use the configured subfolder; keep the exact subfolder host setting when diagnosing token refresh URLs.

In a sandbox such as Claude Code, glab must be allowed to write the directory from glab config path --dir, not only the config.yml file. glab writes a temporary file beside the config and then replaces the original. On snap installs, connect keyring access with sudo snap connect glab:password-manager-service if encrypted credential storage is required; otherwise glab auth login can fall back to plaintext config storage.

When re-authenticating interactively, glab preserves saved per-host values such as a custom API host, SSH host, and container-registry domains unless you explicitly override them with flags or prompts. Verify these values after re-authentication instead of deleting the config preemptively:

glab config get api_host --host gitlab.company.com
glab config get ssh_host --host gitlab.company.com
glab config get container_registry_domains --host gitlab.company.com

Non-interactive login also persists explicitly supplied --git-protocol and --api-protocol values in the host configuration. This applies to token/stdin and other prompt-free login paths, so automation can configure the protocols in the same login operation instead of requiring a later config edit. Verify the resulting host entry before relying on it:

glab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com --stdin \
  --git-protocol ssh --api-protocol https < approved-token-file
glab config get git_protocol --host gitlab.company.com
glab config get api_protocol --host gitlab.company.com

Keep token files outside version control and do not print their contents.

CI auto-login: GLAB_ENABLE_CI_AUTOLOGIN=true lets glab use CI_JOB_TOKEN in GitLab CI/CD without a stored login. GITLAB_TOKEN, GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN, and OAUTH_TOKEN still take precedence, so leave them unset when the intended credential is CI_JOB_TOKEN. Use explicit env tokens instead when a command needs a project, group, or personal access token.

Agentic and multi-account setups

If you need different agents to show up as different GitLab users, use distinct GitLab bot/service accounts. Multiple PATs on one GitLab user are useful for rotation or scope separation, but they do not create distinct visible identities.

Use the Actor identity for actor-authored GitLab comments, replies, approvals, and other writes. Use an agent identity only when the GitLab action is explicitly that agent's own work product. Pick the intended visible actor before the first write.

A good operational pattern is one env file per actor:

# ~/.config/openclaw/env/gitlab-reviewer.env
GITLAB_TOKEN=glpat-...
GITLAB_HOST=gitlab.com

Keep these env files outside version control, restrict their permissions (for example chmod 600), be mindful of backup exposure, and prefer least-privilege bot/service-account tokens. In a reused shell, clear stale GitLab auth vars first or start a fresh shell.

If the file uses plain KEY=value lines, load it with exported vars before running glab:

unset GITLAB_TOKEN GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN OAUTH_TOKEN GITLAB_HOST
set -a
source ~/.config/openclaw/env/gitlab-<actor>.env
set +a

Why this matters:

• plain source does not necessarily export variables to child processes
• glab only sees env vars that are exported
• if glab cannot see the env token, it may silently fall back to shared stored auth in the active global config file
• if another env file was sourced earlier in the same shell/session, identity can be sticky in ways that are unsafe for writes unless you deliberately switch and verify

That fallback/shared-auth behavior is convenient for humans, but in multi-agent automation it can cause the wrong GitLab account to post comments, create MRs, or approve work.

Required pre-flight before any GitLab write

Run this immediately before any GitLab write, including glab mr note, review submission or approval, thread replies, and any glab api POST/PATCH/PUT/DELETE call:

glab auth status --hostname "$GITLAB_HOST"
glab api --hostname "$GITLAB_HOST" user

This assumes the target actor env file set GITLAB_HOST for the exact GitLab instance you intend to modify. Do not write until both commands clearly show the intended visible actor on that host.

Wrong-identity remediation

If a comment or reply was posted under the wrong identity:

1. Stop posting.
2. Delete the mistaken comment or reply if cleanup is needed.
3. unset GITLAB_TOKEN GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN OAUTH_TOKEN GITLAB_HOST or start a fresh shell.
4. Source the correct env file with set -a; source ...; set +a.
5. Rerun glab auth status --hostname "$GITLAB_HOST" and glab api --hostname "$GITLAB_HOST" user.
6. Repost under the correct actor.
7. Verify the thread no longer shows the wrong visible author for the replacement message.

If the wrong-identity write changed state beyond a comment or reply, re-auth as above and then use the matching GitLab reversal for that write under the correct actor and host, such as unapproving an MR or issuing the compensating glab api --hostname "$GITLAB_HOST" mutation for the exact resource that was changed.

Switching accounts/instances

1. Logout from current:

   glab auth logout

1. Login to new instance:

   glab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com

1. Verify:

   glab auth status --hostname gitlab.company.com

Docker registry access

1. Configure Docker helper:

   glab auth configure-docker

1. Verify Docker can authenticate:

   docker login registry.gitlab.com

1. Pull private images:

   docker pull registry.gitlab.com/group/project/image:tag

configure-docker adds glab only for the configured GitLab registry domains. It preserves unrelated Docker credential helpers and refuses to replace a different helper already assigned to the same domain. If a domain has legacy credentials from docker login, glab warns that the helper takes precedence; after verifying helper-based access, use the exact suggested docker logout <domain> command to remove the shadowed entry. Back up and review $DOCKER_CONFIG/config.json before repairing conflicts manually.

glab normally installs the helper script beside the glab binary. If that directory is not writable, it falls back to ~/.local/bin, then another writable directory already on PATH; if the chosen directory is not on PATH, follow the reported path instruction before testing Docker. Do not make the glab installation directory broadly writable just to place the helper there.

Troubleshooting

"401 Unauthorized" errors:

• Check status: glab auth status
• Verify token hasn't expired (check GitLab settings)
• Re-authenticate: glab auth login

Re-login still looks stuck after changing auth method:

• If you switched from browser/OAuth login to token-based login and glab still appears to use stale stored credentials, run glab auth login again instead of assuming the config must be edited manually.
• After re-login, verify with glab auth status before retrying the failing command.

Env-token auth failures:

• If GITLAB_TOKEN, GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN, or OAUTH_TOKEN is exported, it overrides stored credentials.
• GITLAB_TOKEN and GITLAB_ACCESS_TOKEN are treated as personal access tokens independently of a stored OAuth profile, so a temporary PAT does not inherit or refresh saved OAuth state.
• If the host is configured for OAuth but an environment variable contains an OAuth access token, set GLAB_IS_OAUTH2=true; otherwise glab sends the environment token as a personal access token. glab auth status reports this scheme mismatch after a 401.
• If auth suddenly fails, check whether an env token is being picked up before assuming your saved login is broken. glab auth login and glab auth status warn when this precedence applies.
• Run type glab to distinguish a wrapper that intentionally injects a token (for example, a 1Password shell plugin alias) from a plain executable path. A wrapper can be expected and need no action; a plain path means the token came from the shell profile, current environment, or CI variables.
• These failures can affect both read operations and writes, not just write pre-flight checks.
• Verify the active actor and token path with glab auth status and glab api user before any GitLab write.
• In multi-agent shells, deliberately re-source the intended env file with set -a; source ...; set +a before retrying.

Self-managed OAuth URL or refresh problems:

• Re-authenticate with the full configured host/subfolder; browser OAuth includes the configured subfolder in its authorization URL.
• OAuth token refresh also uses the configured subfolder; verify glab config get subfolder --host <host> before assuming the token endpoint is at the host root.
• A stored OAuth token inside the five-minute expiry grace period is proactively refreshed when credentials can be saved.
• A re-authentication response that omits a replacement refresh token preserves the existing refresh token instead of clearing it.
• If refresh fails with invalid_grant, re-run glab auth login; a revoked/expired OAuth grant or an earlier failed credential save can leave stored OAuth credentials stale.
• If OAuth refresh fails inside a sandbox with a credential-save error, grant write access to glab config path --dir and re-authenticate. Retrying the same stale token normally will not repair the saved credential.
• Docker and other helpers skip OAuth refresh for hosts authenticated with personal access tokens; check the token type before debugging OAuth state.

Multiple instances:

• Use --hostname flag to specify instance
• Each instance maintains separate auth

Docker authentication fails:

• Re-run: glab auth configure-docker
• Check Docker config: cat ~/.docker/config.json
• Verify helper is set: "credHelpers": { "registry.gitlab.com": "glab-cli" }

Subcommands

See references/commands.md for detailed flag documentation:

• login - Authenticate with GitLab instance
• logout - Log out of GitLab instance
• status - View authentication status
• configure-docker - Configure Docker to use GitLab registry
• docker-helper - Docker credential helper
• dpop-gen - Generate DPoP token

Related Skills

Initial setup:

• After authentication, see glab-config to set CLI defaults
• See glab-ssh-key for SSH key management
• See glab-gpg-key for commit signing setup

Repository operations:

• See glab-repo for cloning repositories
• Authentication required before first clone/push