How to configure Domino Data Lab and GitHub Actions for secure, repeatable access

Your data scientists are ready to launch a new model. The CI pipeline is green. The problem? Nobody can remember the credentials needed to push that model from GitHub into Domino Data Lab. Hours vanish to Slack threads and token resets. It should be automatic.

Domino Data Lab orchestrates research and production environments for model development. GitHub Actions automates everything that happens before a model lands in production. Used together, they form the bridge between reproducible experiments and automated releases. The trick is wiring them securely so CI jobs can reach Domino without turning your secrets into audit nightmares. That is where Domino Data Lab and GitHub Actions integration earns its keep.

Here is the basic logic: GitHub Actions runs within GitHub’s hosted runners. Those runners need scoped credentials to authenticate against Domino’s API or workspace. Instead of using personal tokens, you map your organization’s identity provider—Okta, AWS IAM, or Azure AD—to Domino and issue short‑lived tokens via OpenID Connect. GitHub already supports OIDC federation for workflows, so the pipeline proves its identity directly. No long-lived secrets, no shared passwords, and no late‑night panic when an engineer leaves the team.

Keep permissions tight. Assign Domino roles that match GitHub job identities, not individual users. Rotate tokens automatically with each workflow. Validate that environment variables do not leak logs containing credentials. When in doubt, assume someone will paste console output into Slack.

Quick checklist for a clean integration:

• Speed: No human sign‑off required once policy is in place.
• Security: OIDC tokens issued on demand cut token sprawl.
• Auditability: Every build’s access trail lives in both GitHub and Domino logs.
• Reliability: Automated credentials mean consistent deployments.
• Focus: Engineers stop managing secrets and start delivering models.

That simplicity also improves developer velocity. CI/CD pipelines can trigger Domino jobs, test notebooks, or spin up GPUs without needing VPNs or per‑user tokens. The workflow feels invisible, the best kind of security. You might even enjoy deploying again.

AI workloads amplify these benefits. GitHub Actions can train, tag, or evaluate models before passing artifacts to Domino for versioning and governance. The identity‑aware flow ensures no sensitive dataset leaves the boundary you define.

Platforms like hoop.dev turn these access rules into guardrails that enforce policy automatically. They act as an environment‑agnostic identity‑aware proxy between tools like GitHub Actions and Domino Data Lab, so teams keep automation fast without poking holes in corporate firewalls.

How do I connect GitHub Actions to Domino Data Lab?

Use GitHub’s OIDC provider to request a short‑lived token from Domino’s identity integration. The workflow authenticates via signed claims, Domino verifies them, and your job proceeds. No manual secrets, no hardcoding.

What if my compliance team needs audit logs?

Both platforms expose API endpoints for job metadata and identity claims. Forward those to your SIEM and you get complete traceability down to every automated notebook run.

When GitHub Actions authenticates natively into Domino Data Lab, you remove an entire class of configuration drift. Secure, repeatable access stops being a project and becomes a default.

See an Environment Agnostic Identity-Aware Proxy in action with hoop.dev. Deploy it, connect your identity provider, and watch it protect your endpoints everywhere—live in minutes.