Permissions and token types

The GitHub integration guide lists the exact permissions each token needs, which token types work, and the current setup steps. Where this page and that guide differ, follow the guide.

GitHub Integration

Connect your GitHub repositories to Safeguard for SBOM generation and vulnerability scanning.

Prerequisites

A GitHub account
For private repositories: Personal Access Token with appropriate permissions

Public Repositories

Step 1: Navigate to Integrations

Go to Integrations from the sidebar and click Connect on the GitHub card.

Step 2: Enter Repository URL

Select the Public tab
Enter a Name for this configuration
Optionally add a Description
Enter the public GitHub repository URL (e.g., https://github.com/facebook/react)
Click Add to add the URL to the list

Step 3: Review & Connect

Review the added repository URLs
Click Next to proceed
Configure Branch/Tag, Project Name, and Version for each repository
Click Connect to complete

Private Repositories

Step 1: Navigate to Integrations

Go to Integrations from the sidebar and click Connect on the GitHub card.

Step 2: Enter Credentials

Select the Private tab
Enter a Name for this configuration
Optionally add a Description
Enter your Personal Access Token
Click Verify Credentials

Step 3: Select Repositories

Once credentials are verified, select the organization/user
Browse and select repositories to scan
Configure Branch/Tag, Project Name, and Version
Click Connect to complete

Creating a Personal Access Token

To connect private repositories, you need a GitHub Personal Access Token.

Steps to Create Token

Go to github.com and sign in
Click your profile picture then Settings
Scroll down and click Developer settings
Click Personal access tokens then Tokens (classic) or Fine-grained tokens
Click Generate new token
Enter a token name (e.g., "Safeguard Integration")
Set an expiration date
Select the required scopes:

Required Permissions

Scope	Description
`repo`	Full control of private repositories (for private repos)
`read:org`	Read organization membership (if accessing org repos)
`read:user`	Read user profile data

For fine-grained tokens, grant:

Repository access: Select repositories or all repositories
Permissions: Contents (Read-only), Metadata (Read-only)

Click Generate token
Copy the token immediately (it won't be shown again)

Troubleshooting

"Credentials verification failed"

Ensure the token has not expired
Verify the token has the required permissions
Check if the token was copied correctly (no extra spaces)

"Repository not found"

For private repos, ensure the token has access to that repository
Verify the repository URL is correct
Check if the repository still exists

"Rate limit exceeded"

GitHub has API rate limits; wait and try again
Consider using a token with higher rate limits

GitHub

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