## Overview
This PR introduces granular permission controls for Gitea Actions tokens
(`GITEA_TOKEN`), aligning Gitea's security model with GitHub Actions
standards while maintaining compatibility with Gitea's unique repository
unit system.
It addresses the need for finer access control by allowing
administrators and repository owners to define default token
permissions, set maximum permission ceilings, and control
cross-repository access within organizations.
## Key Features
### 1. Granular Token Permissions
- **Standard Keyword Support**: Implements support for the
`permissions:` keyword in workflow and job YAML files (e.g., `contents:
read`, `issues: write`).
- **Permission Modes**:
- **Permissive**: Default write access for most units (backwards
compatible).
- **Restricted**: Default read-only access for `contents` and
`packages`, with no access to other units.
- ~~**Custom**: Allows defining specific default levels for each unit
type (Code, Issues, PRs, Packages, etc.).~~**EDIT removed UI was
confusing**
- **Clamping Logic**: Workflow-defined permissions are automatically
"clamped" by repository or organization-level maximum settings.
Workflows cannot escalate their own permissions beyond these limits.
### 2. Organization & Repository Settings
- **Settings UI**: Added new settings pages at both Organization and
Repository levels to manage Actions token defaults and maximums.
- **Inheritance**: Repositories can be configured to "Follow
organization-level configuration," simplifying management across large
organizations.
- **Cross-Repository Access**: Added a policy to control whether Actions
workflows can access other repositories or packages within the same
organization. This can be set to "None," "All," or restricted to a
"Selected" list of repositories.
### 3. Security Hardening
- **Fork Pull Request Protection**: Tokens for workflows triggered by
pull requests from forks are strictly enforced as read-only, regardless
of repository settings.
- ~~**Package Access**: Actions tokens can now only access packages
explicitly linked to a repository, with cross-repo access governed by
the organization's security policy.~~ **EDIT removed
https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/36173#issuecomment-3873675346**
- **Git Hook Integration**: Propagates Actions Task IDs to git hooks to
ensure that pushes performed by Actions tokens respect the specific
permissions granted at runtime.
### 4. Technical Implementation
- **Permission Persistence**: Parsed permissions are calculated at job
creation and stored in the `action_run_job` table. This ensures the
token's authority is deterministic throughout the job's lifecycle.
- **Parsing Priority**: Implemented a priority system in the YAML parser
where the broad `contents` scope is applied first, allowing granular
scopes like `code` or `releases` to override it for precise control.
- **Re-runs**: Permissions are re-evaluated during a job re-run to
incorporate any changes made to repository settings in the interim.
### How to Test
1. **Unit Tests**: Run `go test ./services/actions/...` and `go test
./models/repo/...` to verify parsing logic and permission clamping.
2. **Integration Tests**: Comprehensive tests have been added to
`tests/integration/actions_job_token_test.go` covering:
- Permissive vs. Restricted mode behavior.
- YAML `permissions:` keyword evaluation.
- Organization cross-repo access policies.
- Resource access (Git, API, and Packages) under various permission
configs.
3. **Manual Verification**:
- Navigate to **Site/Org/Repo Settings -> Actions -> General**.
- Change "Default Token Permissions" and verify that newly triggered
workflows reflect these changes in their `GITEA_TOKEN` capabilities.
- Attempt a cross-repo API call from an Action and verify the Org policy
is enforced.
## Documentation
Added a PR in gitea's docs for this :
https://gitea.com/gitea/docs/pulls/318
## UI:
<img width="1366" height="619" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-24 174112"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/bfa29c9a-4ea5-4346-9410-16d491ef3d44"
/>
<img width="1360" height="621" alt="Screenshot 2026-01-24 174048"
src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d5ec46c8-9a13-4874-a6a4-fb379936cef5"
/>
/fixes #24635
/claim #24635
---------
Signed-off-by: Excellencedev <ademiluyisuccessandexcellence@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: ChristopherHX <christopher.homberger@web.de>
Signed-off-by: silverwind <me@silverwind.io>
Signed-off-by: wxiaoguang <wxiaoguang@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: ChristopherHX <christopher.homberger@web.de>
Co-authored-by: Copilot <175728472+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: silverwind <me@silverwind.io>
Co-authored-by: Zettat123 <zettat123@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Co-authored-by: wxiaoguang <wxiaoguang@gmail.com>
Excellencedev
45809c8f54