Can't log in

[sakshamgoyal-01]

CLI version

1.3.0

Operating system and version

Debian 12

Command you ran

$ sonar auth login
  ✓  Where would you like to connect? SonarQube Server (self-hosted)
  ✓  Enter server URL https://sonarqube.<redacted>
⚠️ Only connect to servers you trust.
  ✓  Connect to: https://sonarqube.<redacted>? Yes

Authenticating with: https://sonarqube.<redacted>
🔑 Obtaining access token from SonarQube...
URL: https://sonarqube..<redacted>sonarlint/auth?ideName=sonarqube-cli&port=64120
  ›  Press Enter to open the browser
  ⏳  Waiting for authorization... or paste token and press Enter:
squ_<redacted>
  ✓  Token received

❌ Failed to access the system keychain.

Underlying error: Object does not exist at path “/org/freedesktop/secrets/collection/login” (code: 19)
  → Make sure your system's keychain or credential manager is available and unlocked, then try again.

Additional context

$ cat /etc/os-release 
PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)"
NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
VERSION_ID="12"
VERSION="12 (bookworm)"
VERSION_CODENAME=bookworm
ID=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.debian.org/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://www.debian.org/support"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"

$ uname -a
Linux <redacted> 6.1.0-50-cloud-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.1.176-1 (2026-07-02) x86_64 GNU/Linux

[sophio-japharidze-sonarsource]

Hello @sakshamgoyal-01 👋

Thanks for giving the SonarQube CLI a go :) May I ask, are you running CLI on a headless cloud VM (SSH only, no desktop session)? Based on your logs the login succeeded but the CLI failed to store the token to system keychain. Most likely because there is no desktop keyring on cloud VMs.

As an alternative, you can try authenticating using environment variables:

export SONARQUBE_CLI_TOKEN="<your-user-token>"
export SONARQUBE_CLI_SERVER="https://sonarqube.<your-server>"

Full details in our docs.

Hope this helps,
Sophio

[sakshamgoyal-01]

SSH in a GCP cloud VM (headless).
is there a way to get it working without having to hardcode the token myself?

[sophio-japharidze-sonarsource]

You might have two options (I have not tested any):

• Bootstrap a keyring on the VM so sonar auth login can persist the token (see commands above). You still use the normal login flow; no token in your profile.

sudo apt-get install -y libsecret-1-0 gnome-keyring dbus-x11 dbus-user-session
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/keyrings

eval "$(dbus-launch --sh-syntax)"
eval "$(printf '\n' | gnome-keyring-daemon --unlock --components=secrets)"

sonar auth login

Note that Keyring setup must persist across sessions (systemd user session / shell profile), or you will need to repeat the bootstrap after reconnect.

• Use env vars, but without hardcoding the token value: store the token in GCP Secret Manager and load it at runtime — you’re not hardcoding it in scripts.

export SONARQUBE_CLI_TOKEN="$(gcloud secrets versions access latest --secret=sonarqube-cli-token)"
export SONARQUBE_CLI_SERVER="https://sonarqube.<redacted>"
sonar auth status

Please let me know if any of these will work for you. I will also make sure to at least track this in our docs.

[sakshamgoyal-01]

the first option worked. Ill see if there is a longer term solution for that

[sakshamgoyal-01]

$ eval "$(dbus-launch --sh-syntax)"
$ eval "$(printf '\n' | gnome-keyring-daemon --unlock --components=secrets)"
$ sonar auth login
  ✓  Where would you like to connect? SonarQube Server (self-hosted)
  ✓  Enter server URL <redacted>
⚠️ Only connect to servers you trust.
  ✓  Connect to: <redacted> Yes
Token already exists for: <redacted>
You are already authenticated
✅ Authentication successful for: <redacted>

Looks like I don't need to use the token again once i'm already logged in. It would be nice to try running those commands automatically to unlock the keyring