Signing in with a passkey

In this article

You can use a passkey to sign in safely and easily to GitHub.com, without requiring a password and two-factor authentication. You can also sign in using a passkey on a nearby device.

Who can use this feature

Personal account owners who manage their own credentials can authenticate to GitHub.com using passkeys.

Note: Passkeys are in public beta and are subject to change.

You can opt-in to the public beta by enabling the feature preview. For more information, see "Enabling and disabling the feature preview for passkeys."

About signing in with a passkey

You must first add a passkey to your account before you can use the passkey to sign in to GitHub.com. For more information, see "Managing your passkeys."

Once you have added a passkey to your account, you can use the passkey to sign in safely and securely to GitHub.com without having to enter your password or perform two-factor authentication (2FA). Since passkeys can be synced across devices and browsers, once you have added a synced passkey on one device, the passkey is available to use across multiple devices using the same passkey provider.

Passkeys can also be used across nearby devices. For example, perhaps you want to sign in to GitHub.com using a laptop that's not set up with a passkey. If you have registered your phone as a passkey, you might opt to scan a QR code, or trigger a push notification to your phone, in order to complete the sign in securely. For more information, see "Signing in with a passkey using a nearby device."

Signing in with a passkey linked to your primary device

  1. Navigate to the login page for GitHub.com at https://github.com/login?passkey=true.
  2. Click Sign in with a passkey.
  3. Follow the prompts of the passkey provider to select a passkey that is accessible from the device you are using, and complete the authentication process. For example, when prompted, you might touch a fingerprint sensor or enter your PIN.

Signing in with a passkey using a nearby device

  1. Navigate to the login page for GitHub.com at https://github.com/login?passkey=true.
  2. Click Sign in with a passkey.
  3. Follow the prompts of the passkey provider to select a passkey that's accessible as a nearby device (such as a phone or a tablet).
  4. Continue to follow the prompts of the passkey provider to start the authentication process. For example, you might choose to scan a QR code, or trigger a push notification to the nearby device.
  5. On your nearby device, follow the prompts of your passkey provider to complete the authentication process. For example, if you are using an iPhone, you might perform FaceID or enter your passcode.

Further reading