GitHub Token Rotation and Management

Shopify has evolved its system for managing and automatically rotating GitHub Personal Access Tokens (PATs). Initial efforts focused on addressing the security and operational challenges associated with long-lived, manually managed PATs, such as vulnerability to developer churn, attribution difficulties, and lack of enforced rotation policies. The solution involves building a system that leverages GitHub Actions and GitHub Apps to transparently rotate tokens, reducing the security risks and operational overhead associated with manual management. This includes addressing cost implications of GitHub Actions billing and improving the reliability of the schedule trigger.