Vercel for Platforms can now deploy from your users' GitHub repositories

Vercel has introduced a new feature for its Platforms product that enables teams to generate deployments from external GitHub repositories. Previously, users had to install the Vercel GitHub App to authorize access. The update removes this requirement by allowing teams to provide a temporary, read-only access token when initiating a deployment. This token is used solely to fetch the repository source and initiate the build process.

The access token must be scoped to the specific repository and remain valid for no longer than 24 hours. Vercel emphasizes security by stating that the token is stored temporarily in encrypted form only for the duration of the source retrieval. Once the deployment process completes, the token is discarded, and it is never included in the deployment itself.

This change simplifies the deployment workflow for teams managing multiple external repositories. By eliminating the need for users to install the Vercel GitHub App, the process reduces setup friction while maintaining security controls. Teams can now integrate third-party repositories more efficiently into their Vercel-based workflows.

The feature is designed to support platform teams that build on Vercel for Platforms and require flexible access to external codebases. Vercel notes that the token-based approach aligns with its security best practices, ensuring that sensitive credentials are not permanently stored or exposed in deployments.