[SOLVED] Difference between github.token vs secrets.github

Difference between github.token vs secrets.github_token?

When configuring workflows for GitHub Actions there exists the option to pass a GitHub token to authenticate towards GitHub in the workflow.

I have seen both of the following ways to get said token:

github.token
secrets.github_token

Is there any functional difference between the two? Or are these simply two ways to get the same token?

Solution

Both are equivalent.

github.token is the syntax from the Github context, which contains information about the workflow run and the event that triggered the run (source).
secrets.github_token is the syntax referring to the GITHUB_TOKEN secret that GitHub automatically creates to use in your workflow. You can use the GITHUB_TOKEN to authenticate in a workflow run (source).

Note that these tokens have specific permissions, and that depending on what you want to do, you may need to create a Personal Access Token (PAT) and add it as a secret (ex: ACCESS_TOKEN) to use in your workflow.