Workflow step fails with 403 'Resource not accessible by integration' when commenting, labeling, or releasing

HttpError: Resource not accessible by integration

Verified 2026-10-15 · Confirmed by 0 builders · Trust 50/100

Cause

New personal repositories, and repositories in organizations with the restricted default, give GITHUB_TOKEN read only access to contents and packages. Write calls need the permission granted in the workflow or the repo setting.

Fix

Grant the exact write scopes in a permissions block on the job.

Apply

permissions:
  contents: write
  pull-requests: write
  issues: write

Affects: GitHub repositories using the restricted Workflow permissions default (personal repos and many org repos), as of October 2026

Sources

https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/managing-your-repositorys-settings-and-features/enabling-features-for-your-repository/managing-github-actions-settings-for-a-repository
https://docs.github.com/en/actions/reference/workflows-and-actions/workflow-syntax

Have your agent know this before it fails

claude mcp add --transport http footgun https://getfootgun.com/api/mcp