Authentication

glance and kickstart need a GitHub token to call the GitHub API. You can authenticate in three ways.

Preferred: GitHub CLI

Install GitHub CLI and sign in once:

gh auth login

After that, dn uses gh’s token automatically. No PAT or env var is required.

• Install GitHub CLI

Alternative: Browser login

Run:

dn auth

Your browser opens; complete sign-in there. The token is stored (e.g. ~/.config/dn/github_token) and reused by dn kickstart, glance, etc. You only need to run this once, or again when the cached token expires.

Note: Device flow requires a GitHub OAuth App client ID. Set DN_GITHUB_DEVICE_CLIENT_ID (or GITHUB_DEVICE_CLIENT_ID) to your app’s client ID. Create an OAuth App at GitHub Developer Settings, enable Device flow in the app settings, and use the Client ID as the env value.

• GitHub OAuth Device flow

Advanced / CI: Personal Access Token

For scripts and CI (e.g. GitHub Actions), set the GITHUB_TOKEN environment variable with a Personal Access Token. Fine-grained PATs are recommended: they are scoped to specific repositories and permissions.

export GITHUB_TOKEN="ghp_your_token_here"

Prefer GitHub CLI or browser auth for normal use; use a PAT only when needed (CI, scripts, headless). See GitHub token setup for detailed PAT instructions and security notes.

Summary

Method	Use case	Setup
GitHub CLI	Normal use	gh auth login
Browser (dn auth)	No gh installed	dn auth (once) + client ID
GITHUB_TOKEN	CI / scripts	Set env var with PAT (fine-grained recommended)