GitHub is rolling out a new format for GitHub App installation tokens starting April 27, 2026. The new stateless token format changes from a fixed 40-character string to a longer JWT-based format (~520 characters, variable length) with the pattern ghs_APPID_JWT. The rollout is staged: first-party integrations and GitHub Actions GITHUB_TOKEN are updated April 27 through mid-May, followed by all GitHub App installation tokens through late June. Developers should ensure their apps treat tokens as opaque strings, remove any hardcoded length checks or regex patterns like ghs_[A-Za-z0-9]{36}, and ensure database columns can store at least 520 characters. The change applies to GitHub Enterprise Cloud and Data Residency but not GitHub Enterprise Server.
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What is changing?ScopeWhat to expect over the next few weeksHow to prepare for this changeSort: