How to fix fatal: unable to access: The requested URL returned error: 403 rate limit exceeded in Git

First, verify your current rate limit status to understand the scope of the issue:

curl -s https://api.github.com/rate_limit | grep -A 4 '"core"'

For authenticated requests (replace TOKEN with your token):

curl -s -H "Authorization: token YOUR_TOKEN" https://api.github.com/rate_limit

Look at the remaining value - if it's 0, you've hit the limit. The reset timestamp shows when your limit will refresh.

Generate a personal access token to authenticate your Git operations:

1. Go to GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens > Tokens (classic)
2. Or use this direct link: https://github.com/settings/tokens/new
3. Click "Generate new token (classic)"
4. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Git CLI access")
5. Select the required scopes:
- repo - Full control of private repositories
- read:org - If you need to access organization repos
6. Click "Generate token" and copy it immediately (you won't see it again)

For fine-grained tokens (newer, more secure):
1. Go to Developer settings > Personal access tokens > Fine-grained tokens
2. Set repository access and permissions as needed

Store your credentials so Git uses them automatically:

Option A: Using Git credential helper (recommended)

# Enable credential caching (stores in memory for 1 hour)
git config --global credential.helper cache

# Or store credentials permanently (less secure but convenient)
git config --global credential.helper store

Then run any Git command that requires auth - you'll be prompted for username and password. Use your GitHub username and the PAT as password.

Option B: Include token in remote URL (not recommended for shared machines)

git remote set-url origin https://[email protected]/username/repo.git

Option C: Using GitHub CLI (gh)

# Install gh CLI and authenticate
gh auth login

This automatically configures Git credentials.

SSH keys provide authenticated access without tokens and aren't subject to the same rate limits:

Generate an SSH key (if you don't have one):

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

Add the public key to GitHub:

# Copy your public key
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Then add it at: https://github.com/settings/ssh/new

Update your remote URL to use SSH:

git remote set-url origin [email protected]:username/repo.git

Test the connection:

ssh -T [email protected]

You should see: "Hi username! You've successfully authenticated..."

If you need immediate access and can't authenticate right now, you can wait for the limit to reset:

Check when your limit resets:

curl -s -I https://api.github.com/users/octocat | grep -i x-ratelimit

The X-RateLimit-Reset header contains a Unix timestamp. Convert it to a readable time:

# Linux
date -d @1234567890

# macOS
date -r 1234567890

Rate limits typically reset hourly. For unauthenticated requests, the 60-request limit resets every hour.

For CI/CD pipelines, use repository secrets to store your token:

GitHub Actions:

- name: Checkout
  uses: actions/checkout@v4
  with:
    token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}  # Built-in token for same repo
    # Or use a PAT for cross-repo access:
    # token: ${{ secrets.PAT_TOKEN }}

GitLab CI:

variables:
  GIT_CREDENTIALS: "https://oauth2:${GITHUB_TOKEN}@github.com"

Jenkins:

Store the token in Jenkins credentials and inject it:

withCredentials([string(credentialsId: 'github-token', variable: 'TOKEN')]) {
    sh 'git clone https://${TOKEN}@github.com/user/repo.git'
}