# Review GitHub permissions before connecting a document reader

Canonical: https://githtml.com/guides/review-document-reader-github-permissions
Published: 2026-09-26
Publisher: WaveTech LLC / gitHtml

Before authorizing a document reader, review the app identity, requested access, and your organization’s rules. Grant access only when you understand why it is needed and are permitted to provide it. A reading use case does not by itself prove that every permission in an authorization prompt is necessary or acceptable.

## Define the actual reading scope

Write down which repositories and document types you intend to access. A personal public handbook presents a different review question from a confidential organization repository. Identify who owns the data and whether local copies are allowed on the device you will use.

Also separate repository access from optional page behavior. Allowing an app to retrieve a document and allowing that document to load remote resources are different decisions with different privacy implications.

## Inspect the authorization prompt

For gitHtml, review the GitHub App’s identity and requested permissions. Installation and user authorization are different decisions: the installation controls access to account or organization resources and repository selection, while user authorization permits activity on your behalf. Inspect both rather than treating every prompt as a generic login.

When repository selection is offered, choose only the repositories needed for the approved task. If a permission is broader than expected, ask the publisher or administrator for an explanation. Do not invent a custom token setup or assume that changing user authorization automatically changes the installation’s repository scope.

1. Review the GitHub App publisher and requested permissions.
2. Distinguish user authorization from the installed app’s repository access.
3. Choose the required repositories and obtain any organization installation approval.

## Apply organization policy

For organizational repositories, check whether approval is required and who can grant it. Provide the approver with the business purpose, relevant repositories, expected device use, and handling of offline copies. This is more actionable than a generic request to unblock an app.

If approval is denied, use an approved documentation distribution route. Do not copy private material into a public repository or personal account as a convenience workaround. A document remains subject to its data-handling rules after export.

## Keep the review current

Revisit authorizations when your role changes, a project ends, or the app is no longer needed. Follow GitHub’s application-management controls and your organization’s offboarding procedures. Removing future access should not be assumed to erase every copy already saved elsewhere.

Maintain a short record of the approved purpose and review date. When supporting users, ask for permission descriptions and error messages rather than secrets. An access review succeeds when both the reading need and the data owner’s boundaries are clear.

## Sources and further reading

- [GitHub: authorizing GitHub Apps](https://docs.github.com/en/apps/using-github-apps/authorizing-github-apps)
- [GitHub: installing a third-party GitHub App](https://docs.github.com/en/apps/using-github-apps/installing-a-github-app-from-a-third-party)
- [GitHub: reviewing installed GitHub Apps](https://docs.github.com/en/apps/using-github-apps/reviewing-and-modifying-installed-github-apps)
- [GitHub: requesting an organization installation](https://docs.github.com/en/apps/using-github-apps/requesting-a-github-app-from-your-organization-owner)

## Related guides

- [Share a GitHub document at an exact revision](https://githtml.com/guides/share-permanent-github-document-links)
- [Choose branch, tag, or commit references for documentation](https://githtml.com/guides/choose-branch-tag-or-commit-for-documentation)
- [Read an older document without switching branches](https://githtml.com/guides/read-old-documentation-with-git-show)
- [Compare documentation between two releases with Git diff](https://githtml.com/guides/compare-documentation-between-two-releases)

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