Unable to access gitlab via sourcetree

[Srivatsan Madhavan]

Hi all,

I have tried using the personal token access method and SSH key method but unable to connect gitlab via sourctree. It keeps throwing an error saying 'Authentication Failed'. I am not sure how to proceed with this. Any help will be appreciated. 

I created a personal access token and copied the password to a local file. Pasted the password when prompted through 'Refresh PAT' and this throws an error 'Authentication failed'. I am not sure what the root cause for the problem is. Any help will be greatly appreciated thanks.  

[LynnG]

This is usually a credential-format or token-scope issue rather than a Sourcetree-only problem. For GitLab over HTTPS, GitLab says you can authenticate using a personal access token as the password, and if 2FA or SAML is enabled you must use a PAT instead of your normal password. [docs.gitlab.com]

Things to check first

1. Use your GitLab username, not email

In Sourcetree, use:

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Username: your GitLab username

2

Password: your GitLab personal access token

3

Protocol: HTTPS

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Do not use your GitLab account password as the password field. Atlassian Community answers for Sourcetree/GitLab also point out that the PAT should be used as the password when adding the GitLab account. [community....assian.com], [community....assian.com]

2. Create a fresh token with the right scopes

For clone/pull/push over HTTPS, GitLab documents these relevant scopes:

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read_repository allows repository pull/read access

2

write_repository allows repository read/write access, including push

3

api grants complete read/write API access for the token scope

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[docs.gitlab.com]

For Sourcetree account integration, many users report success with:

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api

2

read_user

3

read_repository

4

write_repository

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Atlassian Community and Stack Overflow examples specifically mention api and read_user, and some users resolved the issue by adding repository scopes too. [community....assian.com], [stackoverflow.com]

3. Do not use “Refresh PAT” with your GitLab password

When Sourcetree prompts during Refresh Personal Access Token, enter:

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Username: GitLab username

2

Password: newly generated PAT

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not your GitLab password. This is a common point of confusion in Sourcetree’s UI. [community....assian.com]

Clear cached bad credentials

If you previously entered the wrong password/token, Sourcetree or Git may keep reusing it.

On Windows:

1. Open Credential Manager
2. Go to Windows Credentials
3. Remove entries related to:
   • gitlab.com
   • your GitLab Enterprise URL
   • SourceTree
   • git:https://...

Then reopen Sourcetree and try again with the fresh PAT.

Verify outside Sourcetree

Before troubleshooting Sourcetree further, test the same credentials with Git directly:

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git ls-remote https://gitlab.com/group/project.git

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When prompted:

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Username: your GitLab username

2

Password: your PAT

3

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If this fails too, the problem is likely the token, scopes, username, repository permission, or GitLab URL.

If you prefer SSH

For SSH, make sure:

1. The public key is added in GitLab under SSH Keys.
2. Sourcetree is using the matching private key.
3. Your remote URL is SSH, not HTTPS:

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git@gitlab.com:group/project.git

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If the remote still starts with https://, SSH keys will not be used.

Most likely fix

Create a new PAT with:

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api

2

read_user

3

read_repository

4

write_repository

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Then remove cached GitLab credentials from Windows Credential Manager and add the GitLab account again in Sourcetree using your GitLab username and the PAT as the password.