How do I install the Glab Auth skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add dvcrn/glab-auth in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Glab Auth safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Glab Auth?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Glab Auth free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Glab Auth?

dvcrn (@dvcrn) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Glab Auth by dvcrn — Agent Skill

Name: Glab Auth
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: dvcrn

Glab Auth

Manage GitLab CLI authentication including login/logout, check auth status, switch accounts, and configure Docker registry access. Use when setting up glab for first time, troubleshooting auth issues, switching GitLab instances/accounts, or configuring Docker to pull from GitLab registry. Triggers on auth, login, logout, authentication, credentials, token, Docker registry.

dvcrn Updated Sep 8, 2026 32 repo stars

File contents

glab auth

Manage GitLab CLI authentication.

Quick start

# Interactive login
glab auth login

# Check current auth status
glab auth status

# Login to different instance
glab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com

# Logout
glab auth logout

Workflows

First-time setup

Run glab auth login
Choose authentication method (token or browser)
Follow prompts for your GitLab instance
Verify with glab auth status

v1.89.0+: When connecting to a self-hosted GitLab instance, glab auth login now prompts for the SSH hostname separately from the API hostname. This allows your SSH remote to use a different host than the API endpoint — useful when your company routes SSH and HTTPS traffic differently.

Example: API hostname gitlab.company.com, SSH hostname ssh.company.com

Switching accounts/instances

Logout from current:
```
glab auth logout
```

Login to new instance:

glab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com

Verify:
```
glab auth status
```

Docker registry access

Configure Docker helper:
```
glab auth configure-docker
```
Verify Docker can authenticate:
```
docker login registry.gitlab.com
```

Pull private images:

docker pull registry.gitlab.com/group/project/image:tag

Troubleshooting

"401 Unauthorized" errors:

Check status: glab auth status
Verify token hasn't expired (check GitLab settings)
Re-authenticate: glab auth login

Multiple instances:

Use --hostname flag to specify instance
Each instance maintains separate auth

Docker authentication fails:

Re-run: glab auth configure-docker
Check Docker config: cat ~/.docker/config.json
Verify helper is set: "credHelpers": { "registry.gitlab.com": "glab-cli" }

Subcommands

See references/commands.md for detailed flag documentation:

login - Authenticate with GitLab instance
logout - Log out of GitLab instance
status - View authentication status
configure-docker - Configure Docker to use GitLab registry
docker-helper - Docker credential helper
dpop-gen - Generate DPoP token

Related Skills

Initial setup:

After authentication, see glab-config to set CLI defaults
See glab-ssh-key for SSH key management
See glab-gpg-key for commit signing setup

Repository operations:

See glab-repo for cloning repositories
Authentication required before first clone/push

---name: glab-authdescription: Manage GitLab CLI authentication including login/logout, check auth status, switch accounts, and configure Docker registry access. Use when setting up glab for first time, troubleshooting auth issues, switching GitLab instances/accounts, or configuring Docker to pull from GitLab registry. Triggers on auth, login, logout, authentication, credentials, token, Docker registry.---# glab authManage GitLab CLI authentication.## Quick start```bash# Interactive loginglab auth login# Check current auth statusglab auth status# Login to different instanceglab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com# Logoutglab auth logout```## Workflows### First-time setup1. Run `glab auth login`2. Choose authentication method (token or browser)3. Follow prompts for your GitLab instance4. Verify with `glab auth status`> **v1.89.0+:** When connecting to a **self-hosted GitLab instance**, `glab auth login` now prompts for the **SSH hostname separately** from the API hostname. This allows your SSH remote to use a different host than the API endpoint — useful when your company routes SSH and HTTPS traffic differently.>> Example: API hostname `gitlab.company.com`, SSH hostname `ssh.company.com`### Switching accounts/instances1. **Logout from current:** ```bash glab auth logout ```2. **Login to new instance:** ```bash glab auth login --hostname gitlab.company.com ```3. **Verify:** ```bash glab auth status ```### Docker registry access1. **Configure Docker helper:** ```bash glab auth configure-docker ```2. **Verify Docker can authenticate:** ```bash docker login registry.gitlab.com ```3. **Pull private images:** ```bash docker pull registry.gitlab.com/group/project/image:tag ```## Troubleshooting**"401 Unauthorized" errors:**- Check status: `glab auth status`- Verify token hasn't expired (check GitLab settings)- Re-authenticate: `glab auth login`**Multiple instances:**- Use `--hostname` flag to specify instance- Each instance maintains separate auth**Docker authentication fails:**- Re-run: `glab auth configure-docker`- Check Docker config: `cat ~/.docker/config.json`- Verify helper is set: `"credHelpers": { "registry.gitlab.com": "glab-cli" }`## SubcommandsSee [references/commands.md](references/commands.md) for detailed flag documentation:- `login` - Authenticate with GitLab instance- `logout` - Log out of GitLab instance- `status` - View authentication status- `configure-docker` - Configure Docker to use GitLab registry- `docker-helper` - Docker credential helper- `dpop-gen` - Generate DPoP token## Related Skills**Initial setup:**- After authentication, see `glab-config` to set CLI defaults- See `glab-ssh-key` for SSH key management- See `glab-gpg-key` for commit signing setup**Repository operations:**- See `glab-repo` for cloning repositories- Authentication required before first clone/push

Frequently asked questions