npm / npm/documentation

"Accessing npm using two-factor authentication" Guide's steps doesn't yield one-time password

Open
#1,803 0 comments 5 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

Dominant language
MDX
Stars
712
Forks
4.2k
Avg merge
4d 16h
Merged PRs (30d)
3

Description

I'm running into an issue while following this guide.

My goal is get npm working via the cli command line. Anytime I perform some action (for example trying to enable 2FA for auth-and-writes, or publishing a package, it asks me to "Enter one-time password:"

To my knowledge this is either a Security Key I made on my account on npmjs.com, or an authenticator app code--this of which I have no clue how to connect npm to my authenticator app in the first place and cannot find any resources.. As for the Security Key, when I follow step 4 in this guide "Click on Use security key and follow the browser specific steps to authenticate." this is what I see in my browser:

Image

Okay good so far! But after I click on "Use security key" it displays this message:

Image

This isn't what I was expecting. I was expecting to see my one-time password, which step 5 of the guide shows and asks me to copy:

Image

Thus, I am at an impasse. I cannot get past this terminal message to use npm on the command line:

Image

I am using Chrome on Mac. And I saved my Security Key via Keychain Access / Passwords mac app.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with the linked “Accessing npm using two-factor authentication” guide and compare its security-key steps with the CLI prompt described for enabling 2FA or publishing. Check whether the guide explains how authenticator-app codes are obtained and how security keys differ; done means the documented flow matches the observed browser and terminal behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
cli, documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
30/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.