GitHub App Integration Is Not Supported on CircleCI Server

Overview

CircleCI Server supports GitHub OAuth as its exclusive method for GitHub integration and user authentication. The CircleCI GitHub App integration, available on CircleCI.com (cloud), is a cloud-only feature and is not available on self-hosted CircleCI Server installations. If you are administering or migrating to a CircleCI Server instance and expecting GitHub App functionality, this article explains what is and is not available.

GitHub OAuth vs GitHub App on CircleCI Server

CircleCI Server uses the GitHub OAuth App integration exclusively. This means:

• Users authenticate to CircleCI Server via the GitHub OAuth flow
• Repositories are connected to CircleCI Server projects via the OAuth app, not via a GitHub App installation on your organization
• All webhook delivery for pipeline triggering uses the OAuth-based mechanism
• Fine-grained repository permissions introduced by the GitHub App model are not available on Server

What this means for Server operators and users

• You cannot install the CircleCI GitHub App on a GitHub organization and point it at a CircleCI Server instance. The GitHub App is specific to CircleCI.com
• Features exclusive to the GitHub App integration on CircleCI.com (such as GitHub App-based triggers, fine-grained repository access scoping, and GitHub App identity authorization) are not available on Server
• Server installations connecting to GitHub Enterprise Server also use OAuth. The same limitation applies

Additional Resources

• CircleCI Server user authentication docs
• GitHub Apps integration overview (CircleCI.com)
• GitHub OAuth integration overview