GitBook API Access Tokens: Unclear Token Expiration Policy

Answer

Based on the available research, GitBook personal access tokens (PAT) used for the API do not have an automatic expiration date; they remain valid until explicitly revoked by the token owner or a workspace admin.

Confirmed facts

• PATs are not assigned a fixed lifetime; they persist until revoked.
• Revocation (via the GitBook UI or API) immediately invalidates the token, resulting in HTTP 401 or 403 responses on subsequent calls.

Likely explanation

• Token validity is not tied to usage or inactivity; there is no documented idle timeout that would expire a token after a period of non‑use.
• Rate‑limit headers (e.g., X‑RateLimit‑Remaining) apply per token but do not affect token lifetime; exceeding limits yields HTTP 429, not token invalidation.
• If a user’s role changes (e.g., removed from the workspace) or the token is deleted from account settings, the token becomes invalid immediately.

Missing diagnostic detail

Please confirm whether the token in use is a personal access token (PAT) or an OAuth access token, as OAuth tokens may follow a different expiration policy that would affect the recommendation.