Input required and not supplied CI/CD Origin: Build & delivery Last updated 25 Oct 2026

GitHub Actions: Error: Input required and not supplied: token

An action needs an input (token, ssh-key, api-key…) and the with: value is empty or missing — often because the secret does not exist.

Exact message you may see Input required and not suppliedError: Input required and not supplied: tokenInput required and not supplied: ssh-keyInput required and not supplied: github_tokenInput required and not supplied: path
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Seen on: GitHub Actions

Meaning

The message names the missing input. The value usually comes from ${{ secrets.NAME }}; if the secret is not defined, spelled differently, scoped to another environment or not available on forks, GitHub substitutes an empty string and the action fails. Check names and scopes first.

Common causes

  • Secret not created, or created in another repository/environment
  • Secret name differs (case-sensitive) from the reference
  • Run triggered by a fork or Dependabot (secrets withheld)
  • Wrong input name for that action version
  • Reusable workflow not receiving the secret (secrets: inherit missing)

⚡ Quick fix

  1. Check Settings → Secrets and variables for the exact name
  2. Compare the with: key with the action's README for your version
  3. For reusable workflows pass secrets explicitly or use secrets: inherit

Detailed fix by platform

GitHub Actions

  1. Debug without printing the secret: `run: test -n "$X" && echo set
  2. echo MISSING with env: X: ${{ secrets.NAME }}`

Code examples

Pass the input from a secret

yaml
- uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v4
  with:
    github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}     # built in, always defined
    deploy_key: ${{ secrets.DEPLOY_KEY }}         # must exist in Settings → Secrets

How to diagnose

  1. Name — Exact secret and input names?
  2. Scope — Repo, environment or organization secret?
  3. Origin — Fork or Dependabot run?

🔧 Still not fixed?

Many errors look alike. If the steps above didn’t solve it, one of these is probably what you’re facing:

Where this error sits

Origin: Build & delivery. Errors that are often confused with or caused by this one (click to open):

API rate limit exceeded — GitHub Actions: HttpError: API rate limit exceeded for installation ID 123456 / secondary rate limit (CI/CD)API rate limit exceed…Cache not found / Unable to reserve cache — GitHub Actions: Cache not found for input keys: npm-Linux-abc123 / Failed to save: Unable to reserve cache with key, another job may be creating this cache (CI/CD)Cache not found / Una…Context access might be invalid — GitHub Actions: Context access might be invalid: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID (editor warning for secrets/vars) (CI/CD)Context access might …Could not find credentials entry — Jenkins: ERROR: Could not find credentials entry with ID 'github-token' (CI/CD)Could not find creden…couldn't find remote ref (checkout) — GitHub Actions: fatal: couldn't find remote ref refs/heads/feature — The process '/usr/bin/git' failed with exit code 1 (actions/checkout) (CI/CD)couldn't find remote …Credentials could not be loaded — GitHub Actions: Error: Credentials could not be loaded, please check your action inputs: Could not load credentials from any providers (CI/CD)Credentials could not…error parsing called workflow — GitHub Actions: error parsing called workflow ".github/workflows/ci.yml" -> "org/repo/.github/workflows/build.yml@main": workflow was not found (CI/CD)error parsing called …secrets not available in pull requests from forks — GitHub Actions: secret is empty on pull_request from a fork or Dependabot (Secrets are not passed to workflows triggered by a fork) (CI/CD)secrets not available…Input req…

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