Re: [PATCH] Docs: describe how a credential-generating helper works

[Matthew John Cheetham <mjcheetham@outlook.com>]

On 2022-11-11 17:44, M Hickford via GitGitGadget wrote:

> From: M Hickford <mirth.hickford@gmail.com>
> 
> Previously the docs only described storage helpers.
> 
> A concrete example: Git Credential Manager can generate credentials
> for GitHub and GitLab via OAuth.
> https://github.com/GitCredentialManager/git-credential-manager
> 
> Signed-off-by: M Hickford <mirth.hickford@gmail.com>
> ---
>     Docs: describe how a credential-generating helper works
>     
>     Previously the docs only described storage helpers.
>     
>     A concrete example: Git Credential Manager can generate credentials for
>     GitHub and GitLab via OAuth.
>     https://github.com/GitCredentialManager/git-credential-manager
>     
>     Signed-off-by: M Hickford mirth.hickford@gmail.com
> 
> Published-As: https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git/releases/tag/pr-git-1379%2Fhickford%2Fcredential-generator-v1
> Fetch-It-Via: git fetch https://github.com/gitgitgadget/git pr-git-1379/hickford/credential-generator-v1
> Pull-Request: https://github.com/git/git/pull/1379
> 
>  Documentation/gitcredentials.txt | 8 +++++---
>  1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt b/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
> index 80517b4eb2c..72888402e73 100644
> --- a/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
> +++ b/Documentation/gitcredentials.txt
> @@ -61,7 +61,9 @@ for a password. It is generally configured by adding this to your config:
>  
>  Credential helpers, on the other hand, are external programs from which Git can
>  request both usernames and passwords; they typically interface with secure
> -storage provided by the OS or other programs.
> +storage provided by the OS or other programs. Alternatively, a
> +credential-generating helper might generate credentials for certain servers via
> +some API.
>  
>  To use a helper, you must first select one to use. Git currently
>  includes the following helpers:
> @@ -286,8 +288,8 @@ For a `store` or `erase` operation, the helper's output is ignored.
>  If a helper fails to perform the requested operation or needs to notify
>  the user of a potential issue, it may write to stderr.
>  
> -If it does not support the requested operation (e.g., a read-only store),
> -it should silently ignore the request.
> +If it does not support the requested operation (e.g., a read-only store
> +or generator), it should silently ignore the request.
>  
>  If a helper receives any other operation, it should silently ignore the
>  request. This leaves room for future operations to be added (older
> 
> base-commit: 319605f8f00e402f3ea758a02c63534ff800a711

This looks like a good, clarifying addition to the docs!

Thanks,
Matthew