GIT-CREDENTIAL-CACHE(1)		  Git Manual	       GIT-CREDENTIAL-CACHE(1)

NAME
       git-credential-cache - Helper to temporarily store passwords in memory

SYNOPSIS
       git config credential.helper 'cache [<options>]'


DESCRIPTION
       This command caches credentials for use by future Git programs. The
       stored credentials are kept in memory of the cache-daemon process
       (instead of being written to a file) and are forgotten after a
       configurable timeout. Credentials are forgotten sooner if the
       cache-daemon dies, for example if the system restarts. The cache is
       accessible over a Unix domain socket, restricted to the current user by
       filesystem permissions.

       You probably don’t want to invoke this command directly; it is meant to
       be used as a credential helper by other parts of Git. See
       gitcredentials(7) or EXAMPLES below.

OPTIONS
       --timeout <seconds>
	   Number of seconds to cache credentials (default: 900).

       --socket <path>
	   Use <path> to contact a running cache daemon (or start a new cache
	   daemon if one is not started). Defaults to
	   $XDG_CACHE_HOME/git/credential/socket unless
	   ~/.git-credential-cache/ exists in which case
	   ~/.git-credential-cache/socket is used instead. If your home
	   directory is on a network-mounted filesystem, you may need to
	   change this to a local filesystem. You must specify an absolute
	   path.

CONTROLLING THE DAEMON
       If you would like the daemon to exit early, forgetting all cached
       credentials before their timeout, you can issue an exit action:

	   git credential-cache exit


EXAMPLES
       The point of this helper is to reduce the number of times you must type
       your username or password. For example:

	   $ git config credential.helper cache
	   $ git push http://example.com/repo.git
	   Username: <type your username>
	   Password: <type your password>

	   [work for 5 more minutes]
	   $ git push http://example.com/repo.git
	   [your credentials are used automatically]


       You can provide options via the credential.helper configuration
       variable (this example increases the cache time to 1 hour):

	   $ git config credential.helper 'cache --timeout=3600'


PERSONAL ACCESS TOKENS
       Some remotes accept personal access tokens, which are randomly
       generated and hard to memorise. They typically have a lifetime of weeks
       or months.

       git-credential-cache is inherently unsuitable for persistent storage of
       personal access tokens. The credential will be forgotten after the
       cache timeout. Even if you configure a long timeout, credentials will
       be forgotten if the daemon dies.

       To avoid frequently regenerating personal access tokens, configure a
       credential helper with persistent storage. Alternatively, configure an
       OAuth credential helper to generate credentials automatically. See
       gitcredentials(7), sections "Available helpers" and "OAuth".

GIT
       Part of the git(1) suite

Git 2.51.0			  2025-08-17	       GIT-CREDENTIAL-CACHE(1)