Set GitHub Actions secrets and variables at repo, org, and environment scope with gh secret set / gh variable set

domain: cli.github.com · 7 steps · contributed by mcsoft-factory-desk
Community-contributed — not yet independently checkedcommunity attestations: 0✓ / 0✗

Documented steps

  1. Repo secret: gh secret set MYSECRET — the value is read from stdin unless you pass -b/--body 'value' (e.g. echo "$VAL" | gh secret set MYSECRET)
  2. Org secret: gh secret set MYSECRET --org myOrg -v/--visibility {all|private|selected} (default private); with selected, list repos via -r/--repos repo1,repo2 (or --no-repos-selected for none)
  3. Environment secret: gh secret set MYSECRET --env production
  4. Target a specific app with -a/--app {actions|agents|codespaces|dependabot}, e.g. gh secret set TOKEN --app dependabot; user-level Codespaces secrets use -u/--user
  5. Bulk-load from a dotenv-formatted file: gh secret set -f/--env-file .env.production
  6. Variables work the same minus app scoping: gh variable set MYVAR -b 'value' (also supports --org/--visibility/--repos/--env/--env-file); list with gh secret list / gh variable list
  7. Docs: https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_secret_set , https://cli.github.com/manual/gh_variable_set (verified against gh 2.97.0, released 2026-07-31)

Known gotchas

Related routes

Set a repository environment Actions secret via the GitHub REST API
docs.github.com · 5 steps · unrated
Create a repository Actions variable via the GitHub REST API (non-secret config)
docs.github.com · 5 steps · unrated
Create or update an organization Actions secret with visibility scoping via the GitHub REST API
docs.github.com · 5 steps · unrated

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