If for any reason, your workflow needs to access another GitHub repository different than its source, for example:

1. Pulling application code from CodeBuild, or

2. Pulling manifests from a separate repo than the application code.

In these cases, the CI/CD workflow will require a Personal Access Token with the correct permissions set as a secret in the workflow source.

To generate a personal access token (PAT)

1. Sign in as the CI GitHub user (stored in GitHub)

2. Access Settings via the user picture dropdown in the upper right corner

3. From the left navigation menu, access <> Developer settings(all the way at the bottom at time of writing)

4. From the left navigation menu in Developer settings, access Personal Access Token

   1. If presented with a dropdown, select Tokens (classic)

5. You may now generate a new PAT with the Generate new token button above the list of PATs already in existence

6. In the popup:

   1. Notate the purpose of the token

   2. Choose its expiration timeframe

   3. Ensure that the token has the correct permissions by selecting the checkbox next to repo

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d. Click the Generate token green button at the bottom

Setting the token secret

GitHub Actions

1. In the repo that is running the CI/CD workflow, navigate to Settings with the horizontal navigation menu

2. From the left navigation menu, go to Security > Secrets > Actions

   1. Image Removed

3. Create a New repository secret with the green button at the top

4. Fill in the name and value of your token

5. Once saved, you’ll be able to retrieve the value with secrets.NAME_OF_SECRET

CodeBuild

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