You need an access token to publish, install, and delete packages. You can use a personal access token to authenticate with your username directly to {% data variables.product.prodname_registry %} or the {% data variables.product.prodname_dotcom %} API. When you create a personal access token, you can assign the token different scopes depending on your needs.

{% if currentVersion == "free-pro-team@latest" %}
To authenticate using a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow:
- For package registries (`PACKAGE-REGISTRY.pkg.github.com`), you can use a `GITHUB_TOKEN`.
- For the container registry (`ghcr.io/OWNER/IMAGE-NAME`), you must use a personal access token.
{% else %}
To authenticate to {% data variables.product.prodname_registry %} using a {% data variables.product.prodname_actions %} workflow, you must use `GITHUB_TOKEN`.
{% endif %}