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"Quickstart for Actions Runner Controller" recommends using a legacy user PAT for setting up ARC, which is poor practice #37288

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#44450
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"Quickstart for Actions Runner Controller" recommends using a legacy user PAT for setting up ARC, which is poor practice#37288
#44450
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SME reviewedAn SME has reviewed this issue/PRcontentThis issue or pull request belongs to the Docs Content teamgithub_actionsPull requests that update GitHub Actions contenthelp wantedAnyone is welcome to open a pull request to fix this issue

Description

@paul-civitas
paul-civitas
opened on Apr 3, 2025

Code of Conduct

What article on docs.github.com is affected?

https://github.com/github/docs/blob/main/content/actions/hosting-your-own-runners/managing-self-hosted-runners-with-actions-runner-controller/deploying-runner-scale-sets-with-actions-runner-controller.md

What part(s) of the article would you like to see updated?

Reading the helm values for the gha-runner-scale-set chart, the helm chart supports authenticating via github app, which is a more secure and production grade method of configuring ARC than using a user's personal access token.

The docs should be updated to nudge people towards the more proper way of doing things.

Additional information

I know github is trying to phase out classic PATs so it was unexpected to see official docs instructing to use a PAT, especially when other methods are supported.

Activity

  1. paul-civitas
    added
    contentThis issue or pull request belongs to the Docs Content team
    on Apr 3, 2025

  2. welcome commented on Apr 3, 2025

    @welcome
    welcomebot
    on Apr 3, 2025 – with Welcome

    Thanks for opening this issue. A GitHub docs team member should be by to give feedback soon. In the meantime, please check out the contributing guidelines.

  3. github-actions
    added
    triageDo not begin working on this issue until triaged by the team
    on Apr 3, 2025

  4. Sharra-writes commented on Apr 3, 2025

    @Sharra-writes
    Sharra-writes
    on Apr 3, 2025
    Contributor

    Thanks so much for opening an issue! I'll get this triaged for review.

  5. Sharra-writes
    added
    actionsThis issue or pull request should be reviewed by the docs actions team
    github_actionsPull requests that update GitHub Actions content
    and removed
    triageDo not begin working on this issue until triaged by the team
    actionsThis issue or pull request should be reviewed by the docs actions team
    on Apr 3, 2025

  6. brambhattabhishek commented on Apr 4, 2025

    @brambhattabhishek
    brambhattabhishek
    on Apr 4, 2025 · Hidden as off-topic
  7. Sharra-writes
    added
    needs SMEThis proposal needs review from a subject matter expert
    on Apr 8, 2025

  8. github-actions commented on Apr 8, 2025

    @github-actions
    github-actionsbot
    on Apr 8, 2025 – with GitHub Actions
    Contributor

    Thanks for opening an issue! We've triaged this issue for technical review by a subject matter expert 👀

  9. Sharra-writes commented on Apr 9, 2025

    @Sharra-writes
    Sharra-writes
    on Apr 9, 2025
    Contributor

    @paul-civitas Looking into this, it appears there is room to make this documentation better. If you or anyone else want to open a PR to improve it, we would appreciate the help. 💛

  10. Sharra-writes
    added
    help wantedAnyone is welcome to open a pull request to fix this issue
    SME reviewedAn SME has reviewed this issue/PR
    and removed
    needs SMEThis proposal needs review from a subject matter expert
    on Apr 9, 2025

  11. sylwek78 commented on Apr 28, 2025

    @sylwek78
    sylwek78
    on Apr 28, 2025 · Hidden as spam

  12. Increderoy commented on May 5, 2025

    @Increderoy
    Increderoy
    on May 5, 2025 · Hidden as spam

  13. Increderoy commented on May 7, 2025

    @Increderoy
    Increderoy
    on May 7, 2025 · Hidden as spam

  14. emrkonya commented on Aug 4, 2025

    @emrkonya
    emrkonya
    on Aug 4, 2025 · Hidden as spam

  15. ayushmank commented on Nov 21, 2025

    @ayushmank
    ayushmank
    on Nov 21, 2025

    Hi @Sharra-writes i want to contribute in this issue if it opens please let me know !!
    thanks

  16. Sharra-writes commented on Nov 22, 2025

    @Sharra-writes
    Sharra-writes
    on Nov 22, 2025
    Contributor

    @ayushmank If you want to update the wording, please feel free to open a PR. I'll run it by the ARC team and possibly our writers, depending on how substantial the changes are.

  17. Syqens commented on Apr 22, 2026

    @Syqens
    Syqens
    on Apr 22, 2026
    Contributor

    I’d like to take this on.

    My plan is to keep the change small and focused:

    • add a short note near the PAT-based quickstart example
    • clarify that GitHub App authentication is recommended for repository- and organization-level runners
    • link to the existing ARC authentication guidance instead of rewriting the full quickstart flow
    • note that enterprise-level runners still require PAT classic authentication

    That should address the gap without expanding the scope of the article too much.

  18. subatoi commented on Sep 8, 2026

    @subatoi
    subatoi
    on Sep 8, 2026
    Contributor

    I've just approved #44450, and this will close out shortly. Thank you everybody for your interest in the GItHub docs

  19. subatoi
    closed this as completedin #44450on Sep 8, 2026
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