Connecting GitHub to Bicycle
Learn how to create a personal access token and connect your GitHub account to Bicycle.
Requirements
To follow the steps in this guide, you'll need:
- Permission to create connectors in Bicycle
- A GitHub account on GitHub.com or GitHub Enterprise
- Permission to create a personal access token with access to the repositories Bicycle should use
Prepare GitHub access
Create a personal access token
- In GitHub, go to Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens.
- Create a fine-grained token or classic token for Bicycle.
- Grant the scopes Bicycle needs. Follow least privilege.
Classic token scopes:
repo— Access repositories (contents, issues, pull requests, and related data)read:org— Read organization and team membershipread:user— Read user profile data
Fine-grained token permissions (enable on the repositories Bicycle should use):
- Contents — Read repository contents
- Issues — Read issues (enable write if Bicycle should create or update issues)
- Pull requests — Read pull requests (enable write if Bicycle should create or update pull requests)
- Actions — Read GitHub Actions workflows and runs (if Bicycle should inspect CI)
Keep the token secure. It is shown only once when created.
Setup in Bicycle
Open Connectors and select GitHub
In Bicycle, go to Connectors. Find GitHub and click + Connect.
Choose API key
Enter a connection name that identifies the environment, such as GitHub Production. Select API key as the Connector method, then click Next.
Configure MCP
On the Configure MCP step, paste your GitHub personal access token.
Personal Access TokenRequiredPersonal access token from GitHub Developer settings
Test the connection
Click Test connection. Bicycle validates the token against the GitHub API. When the test succeeds, you will see Connection verified successfully.
Save the connection
Click Save connection. When the connection is created successfully, you will see Connection successfully added! with the connection name, ID, and method (API key). Click Close to return to the Connectors page.
Troubleshooting
If Test connection fails, check the following.
| Error or symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication failed | Invalid or expired token | Create a new personal access token and paste the updated value |
| Authorization failed | Token lacks required repository or org scopes | Update the token scopes in GitHub to match the repositories Bicycle should access |
| Connection test fails for a valid token | Organization SSO or token approval required | Authorize the token for your organization in GitHub |