glab(1)

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version 1.128.0 · 3 versions
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💅 glab-artifact-registry-login — the glab(1) glow-up

okay bestie, sit down, we're doing the glab manual page and honestly? it's giving "niche but iconic." this one's the glab-artifact-registry-login command: Authenticate a package manager against the GitLab Artifact Registry. and yes, it's marked (EXPERIMENTAL) — we'll get to that, don't worry 🫶

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

glab artifact-registry login [flags]

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so what this does: it configures a package manager to authenticate against the GitLab Artifact Registry, and it does it using a short-lived access token that it exchanges from your GitLab session. cute, right? one session, temp token, no long-term secrets lying around (well. mostly. keep reading).

you pick your package manager with the flag — that's the whole vibe:

  • --docker: registers glab as a Docker credential helper for the registry. set it and forget it energy.
  • --maven: writes a <server> block in ~/.m2/settings.xml, or in whatever you pass with --config-file, keyed by --registry-alias. you reference it from a <repository> carrying the same <id>. ⚠️ the token is written in plain text, so keep a --config-file out of version control. like, fr fr, don't commit it.
  • --gradle: writes {alias}Url, {alias}Username, and {alias}Password in ~/.gradle/gradle.properties, where {alias} is --registry-alias.
  • --npm: writes a //{host}{path}/:_authToken entry in ~/.npmrc. that's not the whole story though — you still need to point npm at the registry, with a registry= or @scope:registry= line.
  • --yarn: writes an npmRegistries entry with npmAuthToken and npmAlwaysAuth in ~/.yarnrc.yml, for Yarn 2 and later. set an npmRegistryServer that matches --registry. heads up: rewriting the file can change its formatting — indentation, blank lines, line endings, all of it 🙈.
  • --sbt: writes a credentials += line in ~/.sbt/1.0/credentials.sbt, which sbt 1.x reads, and the same line in 2/credentials.sbt in the sbt 2.x global base, which sbt 2.x reads. that base is ~/.config/sbt, or %LOCALAPPDATA%\sbt on Windows, unless SBT_CONFIG_HOME or XDG_CONFIG_HOME moves it. on Windows it also writes %LOCALAPPDATA%\sbt\credentials.sbt. the sbt.bat of sbt 2.x points every build it starts, on either version, at that file only — even when SBT_CONFIG_HOME is set. the sbt.version in a project's project/build.properties decides which file its build reads. an sbt started with any other -Dsbt.global.base reads none of them 💀. and an sbt shell or sbt 2.x server that's already running keeps the credentials it loaded, so run reload in it, or sbt shutdown, after you log in. to write a different file, pass it with --config-file. it must be a .sbt file that sbt loads — not a properties file such as ~/.sbt/.credentials.

🎀 token lifetime

  • --docker exchanges a fresh token on every pull or push, so --duration does not apply. main character behavior honestly.
  • every other flag writes one token, and nothing refreshes it. run the command again before --duration elapses. the default is 15 minutes and the maximum is 12 hours. set a reminder bestie 😭

🦋 credential resolution

  • Docker runs the credential helper as its own subprocess, which reads your credentials from the configuration file and ignores GITLAB_TOKEN. this command verifies the login the same way, so run glab auth login first if no token is stored for the host.
  • every other flag does read GITLAB_TOKEN. glab writes the token into each file itself, so the tool can read it without fetching credentials itself.

🌈 registry and alias selection

  • use --registry only for a registry the Artifact Registry actually backs. if you name a container registry here, it receives the wrong token and the error only surfaces on the next pull. like, it will not tell you immediately. it's a jumpscare.
  • --registry-alias applies to --maven and --gradle only, because --npm, --sbt, and --yarn key their entries on --registry itself. for --gradle, use an alias that is a valid identifier in your build script: the default is derived from the registry host and contains hyphens, which Groovy cannot interpolate as ${...}.
🚨 this feature is an experiment and is not ready for production use. it might be unstable or removed at any time. for more information, see https://docs.gitlab.com/policy/development_stages_support/.

💖 OPTIONS 💖

  • --config-file="" — file to write (Maven/sbt only). defaults to ~/.m2/settings.xml for --maven and the sbt 1.x and 2.x global bases for --sbt, where it replaces every file --sbt writes.
  • --docker[=false] — configure Docker to authenticate against the registry. writes to $DOCKER_CONFIG, or ~/.docker when it is unset.
  • --duration=15m0s — how long the exchanged token should remain valid. ignored for --docker.
  • --gradle[=false] — configure Gradle to authenticate against the registry. writes to ~/.gradle/gradle.properties.
  • --hostname="" — GitLab hostname to request the token from. defaults to the configured GitLab instance.
  • --maven[=false] — configure Maven to authenticate against the registry. writes to ~/.m2/settings.xml.
  • --npm[=false] — configure npm to authenticate against the registry. writes to ~/.npmrc.
  • --registry="" — registry to authenticate against. for --docker, a bare hostname; for others, typically a URL.
  • --registry-alias="" — alias/ID to register the registry under (Maven/Gradle only). defaults to a name derived from --registry.
  • --sbt[=false] — configure sbt to authenticate against the registry. writes credentials.sbt to the sbt 1.x and 2.x global bases.
  • --yarn[=false] — configure Yarn 2 or later to authenticate against the registry. writes to ~/.yarnrc.yml. for Yarn 1, use --npm.

👑 OPTIONS INHERITED FROM PARENT COMMANDS 👑

  • -h, --help[=false] — show help for this command. the classic.

⭐ EXAMPLE ⭐

# Configure Docker to authenticate against a registry
glab artifact-registry login --docker --registry registry.example.com

# Configure Maven to authenticate against a registry for two hours
glab artifact-registry login --maven --registry https://ar.example.com --duration 2h

# Configure Gradle to authenticate against a registry for two hours
glab artifact-registry login --gradle --registry https://ar.example.com --duration 2h

# Configure npm to authenticate against a registry for two hours
glab artifact-registry login --npm --registry https://ar.example.com --duration 2h

# Configure Yarn 2 or later to authenticate against a registry for two hours
glab artifact-registry login --yarn --registry https://ar.example.com --duration 2h

# Configure sbt to authenticate against a registry for two hours
glab artifact-registry login --sbt --registry https://ar.example.com --duration 2h

# Configure Maven through a settings.xml passed to mvn with -s
glab artifact-registry login --maven --registry https://ar.example.com --config-file ~/.m2/ci-settings.xml

🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

glab-artifact-registry(1) — go read that one next, iykyk 💜

that's the whole page bestie, hope it ate ✨ auto generated by spf13/cobra, dated Nov 2026, and this was glab(1) — mwah 💅🎀

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