# secrets: inherit Not Working in Reusable Workflows - Fix

> Fix GitHub Actions reusable-workflow secrets arriving empty - the caller must forward each secret explicitly or use secrets: inherit; nested calls do not auto-pass.

Source: https://latchkey.dev/learn/github-actions/gha-secrets-inherit-not-forwarded  
Updated: 2026-06-25

A called (reusable) workflow reads a secret as empty because the caller did not forward it. Reusable workflows do not see the caller's secrets automatically - each must be passed in the secrets: block or via secrets: inherit.

## Diagnose it: what token do you actually have?

Permission failures in Actions are almost never about your repository settings alone. Three things combine: the default `GITHUB_TOKEN` permission set for the repo or organization, the `permissions:` block in the workflow, and whether the event is a fork pull request, which downgrades the token to read-only regardless of everything else.

```.github/workflows/ci.yml
- name: Show the token scopes actually granted
  run: |
    curl -sI -H "Authorization: Bearer $GITHUB_TOKEN" \
      https://api.github.com/ | grep -i "^x-oauth-scopes\|^x-accepted"
    echo "event: ${{ github.event_name }}"
    echo "fork PR: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.repo.fork }}"
  env:
    GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
```

> If `fork PR` prints `true`, stop looking at `permissions:`. A fork pull request gets a read-only token by design, and no workflow-level grant can raise it.

## Grant the narrowest permission that works

Declaring a `permissions:` block switches the job from the repository default to exactly what you list, so an incomplete block is a common cause of a new failure right after someone tightened security. List every scope the job needs, not just the one that failed.

```.github/workflows/ci.yml
permissions:
  contents: read        # checkout
  packages: write       # push to GHCR
  id-token: write       # OIDC to a cloud provider
  pull-requests: write  # comment on or label a PR
  checks: write         # publish check runs
```

> Set `permissions` at the job level rather than the workflow level where you can. A workflow-level grant applies to every job, including ones that only run tests.

## FAQ

### What causes secrets: inherit not working in reusable workflows?

There are 2 common causes: caller did not pass secrets and called workflow did not declare the secret. A reusable workflow only receives secrets the caller explicitly forwards.

### How do I fix secrets: inherit not working in reusable workflows?

There are 2 fixes depending on which cause you have: forward secrets explicitly or inherit and declare secrets in the called workflow. Work through them in order, since the first is the most common.

### What does secrets: inherit not working in reusable workflows actually mean?

A reusable workflow's step gets an empty secret value, so an API call or deploy fails, even though the secret exists in the calling repo.

### How do I stop secrets: inherit not working in reusable workflows happening again?

Forward reusable-workflow secrets explicitly, or use secrets: inherit deliberately. The prevention section lists 3 changes that keep it from recurring.

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