Can't push to my own repo after enabling 2FA

[emptytimepastime84-design]

I enabled 2FA on my GitHub account yesterday, and now I can't push to my repositories. I keep getting:

remote: Invalid username or password.
fatal: Authentication failed for 'https://github.com/username/repo.git'
I'm using VS Code and Git from command line. I still have access to the web UI, and I can clone repos fine. Just can't push.

What am I doing wrong? Do I need to change something after enabling 2FA?

Thanks.

[anshagarwalcoder]

If you enabled 2FA, you can no longer use your GitHub password for pushing code.

Instead, you need to use a Personal Access Token (PAT).

Steps:

1. Go to GitHub Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens
2. Generate a new token
3. Use this token as your password when pushing via Git

Alternatively, you can switch to SSH authentication for a more secure setup.

[teknopaul]

Be nice if that worked, or gave some indication of what was wrong when this does not work.
No logs of failed access attempts, just a brief FU from the CLI

[sahare-mayur-0071]

One thing that often causes confusion after enabling 2FA is that Git operations over HTTPS stop accepting your GitHub account password, but Git may continue trying to use cached credentials without making it obvious.

If anyone still encounters this after creating a Personal Access Token (PAT), it can help to:

• Clear old credentials from the operating system's credential manager.
• Re-authenticate in VS Code.
• Verify that the PAT has the required repository permissions.
• Consider switching to SSH authentication to avoid PAT prompts altogether.

A more descriptive error message from GitHub would definitely improve the experience. "Authentication failed" doesn't clearly indicate that the account password is no longer valid for Git operations after enabling 2FA.