Personal Access Token (PAT)
A generated token typed instead of a password for HTTPS Git operations.
- GitHub removed password auth for Git in August 2021.
- Needs the repo scope to push to private repositories.
- A scope-less token authenticates but returns a confusing 403.
When to use: Any remote whose URL starts with https:// rather than git@.
Example: git remote -v shows https://..., so paste the token at the password prompt.