Missing Repository Context in GCM OAuth Login Prompts

[Lentolo]

Hello all,

We maintain a codebase distributed across multiple GitHub repositories, which are hosted under different GitHub accounts due to historical reasons.

During development, we clone and open multiple repositories simultaneously within VSCode, organizing them under a common local directory.

When Git Credential Manager (GCM) prompts for authentication, the login dialog lacks any contextual information indicating which repository or remote URL is triggering the request. Similarly, GitHub’s OAuth authorization page does not display details about the specific repository or account involved.

We have attempted to extract repository identification from the OAuth URL parameters, but found no actionable metadata to correlate the authentication prompt with the local repository.

For improved user experience and troubleshooting, it would be highly beneficial if the authentication prompt—both in GCM and/or on GitHub’s OAuth page—provided clear identification of the local repository path or remote repository URL that initiated the login request.

What do you think about?

[hickford]

Please could you describe an individual developer's workflow?

Do you use multiple GitHub accounts? If so, it would help to set Git config key credential.username in each local repository, so that the OAuth consent page suggests the desired user (eg. "Git Credential Manager has suggested you sign in as tim"). You should see login= in the auth URL. https://docs.github.com/en/apps/oauth-apps/building-oauth-apps/authorizing-oauth-apps#1-request-a-users-github-identity

[Lentolo]

Hello,
yes, we use multiple GitHub accounts within our development workflow. Our codebase is organized into several libraries, primarily implemented in C#, alongside React and TypeScript components. During development, we clone all repositories into a shared root directory and link the library projects accordingly.

The directory structure is as follows:

BaseFolder
├─ Lib1 (Repo1 - Account1)
├─ Lib2 (Repo2 - Account1)
├─ Lib3 (Repo1 - Account2)
└─ Application (Repo2 - Account2)

We open the BaseFolder workspace in Visual Studio Code, which automatically detects the repositories. Occasionally, VS Code prompts for credentials; however, the authentication dialog does not display any contextual information regarding the associated repository or user account.

In any case, we’ll check whether credentials.username helps us distinguish between accounts.
Thank you.

[Lentolo]

Hello,

I have tested the suggested approach, but it does not work in our environment. Setting credential.username does not influence the GitHub login page behavior. The page displays the account currently logged into the browser and other available accounts, rather than the one associated with the specified username or email.

To improve the user experience and clarity during authentication, I suggest adding the local repository path somewhere within the dialog that the Git Credential Manager (GCM) opens when redirecting to the GitHub login page. This would help users identify which repository the login request is related to.

For reference, this is the dialog in question:

What do you think?

[hickford]

I don't think the GUI supports this feature. It works as expected with the GUI disabled:

printf "protocol=https\nhost=github.com\nusername=tim" | git -c credential.helper= -c credential.helper=manager -c credential.guiPrompt=false -c credential.credentialStore=none -c credential.gitHubAuthModes=browser credential fill

Look for "Git Credential Manager has suggested you sign in as tim"

[Lentolo]

Yes, I assumed that the GitHub login form cannot be customized. I initially thought the first prompt—referenced in my previous message—was generated by Git Credential Manager, and therefore potentially subject to modification.
That said, I believe we can agree that being prompted for authentication without knowing which repository the request pertains to is somewhat inconvenient.
If there are no further options available, I believe we can consider this discussion closed.

Thank you for your support.
Ciao, Stefano.

[hamizahyaakop-dev]

Hello all,

We maintain a codebase distributed across multiple GitHub repositories, which are hosted under different GitHub accounts due to historical reasons.

During development, we clone and open multiple repositories simultaneously within VSCode, organizing them under a common local directory.

When Git Credential Manager (GCM) prompts for authentication, the login dialog lacks any contextual information indicating which repository or remote URL is triggering the request. Similarly, GitHub’s OAuth authorization page does not display details about the specific repository or account involved.

We have attempted to extract repository identification from the OAuth URL parameters, but found no actionable metadata to correlate the authentication prompt with the local repository.

For improved user experience and troubleshooting, it would be highly beneficial if the authentication prompt—both in GCM and/or on GitHub’s OAuth page—provided clear identification of the local repository path or remote repository URL that initiated the login request.

What do you think about?