Git Host Access Credentials

This page describes how to create credentials for your Git host (GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Bitbucket, or Azure DevOps)

that Atlantis will use to make API calls.

Create an Atlantis user (optional)

We recommend creating a new user named @atlantis (or something close) or using a dedicated CI user.

This isn't required (you can use an existing user or github app credentials), however all the comments that Atlantis writes will come from that user so it might be confusing if its coming from a personal account.

Example Comment

An example comment coming from the @atlantisbot user

Generating an Access Token

Once you've created a new user (or decided to use an existing one), you need to generate an access token. Read on for the instructions for your specific Git host:

GitHub user

WARNING

Your Atlantis user must also have "Write permissions" (for repos in an organization) or be a "Collaborator" (for repos in a user account) to be able to set commit statuses: Atlantis status

GitHub app

Create the GitHub App Using Atlantis

WARNING

Available in Atlantis versions newer than 0.13.0.

  • Start Atlantis with fake github username and token (atlantis server --gh-user fake --gh-token fake --repo-allowlist 'github.com/your-org/*' --atlantis-url https://$ATLANTIS_HOST). If installing as an Organization, remember to add --gh-org your-github-org to this command.

  • Visit https://$ATLANTIS_HOST/github-app/setup and click on Setup to create the app on GitHub. You'll be redirected back to Atlantis

  • A link to install your app, along with its secrets, will be shown on the screen. Record your app's credentials and install your app for your user/org by following said link.

  • Create a file with the contents of the GitHub App Key, e.g. atlantis-app-key.pem

  • Restart Atlantis with new flags: atlantis server --gh-app-id <your id> --gh-app-key-file atlantis-app-key.pem --gh-webhook-secret <your secret> --write-git-creds --repo-allowlist 'github.com/your-org/*' --atlantis-url https://$ATLANTIS_HOST.

    NOTE: Instead of using a file for the GitHub App Key you can also pass the key value directly using --gh-app-key. You can also create a config file instead of using flags. See Server Configuration.

WARNING

Only a single installation per GitHub App is supported at the moment.

NOTE

GitHub App handles the webhook calls by itself, hence there is no need to create webhooks separately. If webhooks were created manually, those should be removed when using GitHub App. Otherwise, there would be 2 calls to Atlantis resulting in locking errors on path/workspace.

Manually Creating the GitHub app

  • Create the GitHub app as an Administrator

  • Create a file with the contents of the GitHub App Key, e.g. atlantis-app-key.pem

  • Start Atlantis with the following flags: atlantis server --gh-app-id <your id> --gh-installation-id <installation id> --gh-app-key-file atlantis-app-key.pem --gh-webhook-secret <your secret> --write-git-creds --repo-allowlist 'github.com/your-org/*' --atlantis-url https://$ATLANTIS_HOST.

    NOTE: Instead of using a file for the GitHub App Key you can also pass the key value directly using --gh-app-key. You can also create a config file instead of using flags. See Server Configuration.

NOTE

Manually installing the GitHub app means that the credentials can be shared by many Atlantis installations. This has the benefit of centralizing repository access for shared modules / code.

NOTE

Repositories must be manually registered with the created GitHub app to allow Atlantis to interact with Pull Requests.

NOTE

Webhooks must be created manually for repositories that trigger Atlantis.

NOTE

Passing the additional flag --gh-app-slug will modify the name of the App when posting comments on a Pull Request.

Permissions

GitHub App needs these permissions. These are automatically set when a GitHub app is created.

NOTE

Since v0.19.7, a new permission for Administration has been added. If you have already created a GitHub app, updating Atlantis to v0.19.7 will not automatically add this permission, so you will need to set it manually.

Since v0.22.3, a new permission for Members has been added, which is required for features that apply permissions to an organizations team members rather than individual users. Like the Administration permission above, updating Atlantis will not automatically add this permission, so if you wish to use features that rely on checking team membership you will need to add this manually.

TypeAccess
AdministrationRead-only
ChecksRead and write
Commit statusesRead and write
ContentsRead and write
IssuesRead and write
MetadataRead-only (default)
Pull requestsRead and write
WebhooksRead and write
MembersRead-only

GitLab

Gitea

  • Go to "Profile and Settings" > "Settings" in Gitea (top-right)
  • Go to "Applications" under "User Settings" in Gitea
  • Create a token under the "Manage Access Tokens" with the following permissions:
    • issue: Read and Write
    • repository: Read and Write
    • user: Read
  • Record the access token

Bitbucket Cloud (bitbucket.org)

Bitbucket Server (aka Stash)

  • Click on your avatar in the top right and select Manage account

  • Click Personal access tokens in the sidebar

  • Click Create a token

  • Name the token atlantis

  • Give the token Read Project permissions and Write Pull request permissions

  • Click Create and record the access token

    NOTE: Atlantis will send the token as a Bearer Auth to the Bitbucket APIopen in new window instead of using Basic Auth.

Azure DevOps

Next Steps

Once you've got your user and access token, you're ready to create a webhook secret. See Creating a Webhook Secret.

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