[BUG]: Authentication issues when acting as a user via Octokit.js API

[danieldelcore]

What happened?

Unsure how to properly auth in order to request app installations available to the user.

• I have a Github App that the user has auth'd with via logged-in
• Based on the docs below, i'm attempting to create an App instance by passing it credentials for my Github App (not an OAuth app)
• Then, as far as i know, i need to act as the user by providing a user access token

List app installations accessible to the user access token"

    import { App, Octokit } from 'octokit';
    
    const app = new App({
      appId,
      privateKey,
      oauth: {
        clientId: process.env.GITHUB_ID,
        clientSecret: process.env.GITHUB_SECRET,
      },
      Octokit: Octokit.defaults({ auth: account.access_token }),
      webhooks: { secret }
    });

    const { data: installations } = await app.octokit.request('GET /user/installations');

However when i make the request it returns the following error:

Error: [@octokit/auth-app] installationId option is required for installation authentication.
    at getInstallationAuthentication (webpack-internal:///(rsc)/./node_modules/octokit/node_modules/@octokit/auth-app/dist-node/index.js:153:15)
    at hook (webpack-internal:///(rsc)/./node_modules/octokit/node_modules/@octokit/auth-app/dist-node/index.js:327:40)

InstallationId does not seem to be listed as a parameter for that end point (and it's the information i'm trying to get)

Are there some examples or something that i'm missing 🤔 Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Versions

Octokit ^3.1.1
Node 16

Relevant log output

Error: [@octokit/auth-app] installationId option is required for installation authentication.
    at getInstallationAuthentication (webpack-internal:///(rsc)/./node_modules/octokit/node_modules/@octokit/auth-app/dist-node/index.js:153:15)
    at hook (webpack-internal:///(rsc)/./node_modules/octokit/node_modules/@octokit/auth-app/dist-node/index.js:327:40)

Code of Conduct

• I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct

[github-actions]

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[wolfy1339]

Can you try to fetch the installation directly using a separate request and not using app.octokit.request()?

Also, we don't support Node 16 anymore since v3. If you cannot upgrade to Node JS >=18, then you will have to stick with v2

[danieldelcore]

Interesting, I managed to get it working now. Apparently when using the rest API typescript will complain about a missing property – username.

const installation = await app.octokit.rest.apps.getUserInstallation({ username: 'danieldelcore' });

However, the request API seems to be completely different and doesn't ask for a username. Would you be able to explain the difference between the two, becauseI thought they were just different APIs to do the same thing?

const { data: installations } = await app.octokit.request('GET /user/installations');

[wolfy1339]

The first one lists installations for a specific user, the second lists installations for the authenticated user

[danieldelcore]

Ok, the second one seems actually more inline with what i'm trying to achieve actually 🤔 Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

[danieldelcore]

The docs say this should work.

    const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: account.access_token });
    const installations = await octokit.request('GET /user/installations', {
      headers: {
        'X-GitHub-Api-Version': '2022-11-28'
      }
    });

however, this returns:

      message: 'You must authenticate with an access token authorized to a GitHub App in order to list installations',

[gr2m]

You must authenticate as a user through the app in order to access this endpoint (user-to-server token, see docs). You need to use the OAuth Webflow or Device flow for it.

Try this

  const app = new App({
    appId,
    privateKey,
    oauth: {
      clientId: process.env.GITHUB_ID,
      clientSecret: process.env.GITHUB_SECRET,
    },
    Octokit: Octokit.defaults({ auth: account.access_token }),
    webhooks: { secret }
  });

const { token } = await app.oauth.createToken({
  async onVerification(verification) {
    console.log("Open %s", verification.verification_uri);
    console.log("Enter code: %s", verification.user_code)
  },
});

const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: token });
const installations = await octokit.paginate('GET /user/installations');
console.log(installations)

[danieldelcore]

I'm using https://next-auth.js.org/providers/github, when you login via the site you're directed to GH via the OAuth Webflow and back to the callback URL, the token will be created as a result and will store the access_token in the DB, which should represent the user-to-server token. Am I understanding correctly? Are we talking about two completely different tokens or am i right in thinking that I'm already doing the app.oauth.createToken step 🤔.

(Sorry, i'm just trying to make sure I fully understand what's happening conceptually here.)

I'm pulling it out of the DB like so:

const { access_token } = await prisma.account.findFirstOrThrow({ where: { id: session.user.id }});

If i'm understanding correctly, we now need to create an App instance including everything necessary for the Server / Server auth, then authenticate an Octokit instance as the user for the Server / User auth.

I feel like I'm not plugging the access_token into the right place somehow, or i'm making some sort of silly mistake.

[gr2m]

Are we talking about two completely different tokens or am i right in thinking that I'm already doing the app.oauth.createToken step

It sounds right. You don't need the App constructor anymore at this point, you have the access token that you use to instantiate Octokit directly. The access token is already bound to the app, if you use the GitHub App's client ID/secret to configure https://next-auth.js.org/providers/github

const octokit = new Octokit({ auth: access_token })

const installations = await octokit.paginate('GET /user/installations');

[danieldelcore]

Closing as I think this is the correct approach:

https://docs.github.com/en/apps/creating-github-apps/authenticating-with-a-github-app/authenticating-as-a-github-app-installation#using-octokitjs-to-authenticate-with-an-installation-id