Subject: Re: [PATCH v5 3/3] send-email: add option to generate passswords like OAuth2 tokens

From: Junio C Hamano <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2025 08:20:09 -0700

Aditya Garg <[email-masked]> writes:

>> Something like:
>> 
>>     [credential "smtp://smtp.office365.com:587"]
>>         username = [email-masked]
>>         helper = "!f() { test \"$1\" = get && echo \"password=$(cd /workspaces/codespaces-blank/M365-IMAP && python3 ./refresh_token.py)\"; }; f"
>
> Interesting, and this works too!. I wasn't aware of this.
>
> Junio, I can drop the third patch if you want.

What I want does not matter in this case, no? ;-)

It does look like an additional mechanism only for this use case is
unneeded, but it would be nice to address a related but different
problem, which is

    What made you write the extra mechanism in the first place?

In other words, was the current documentation insufficient for you
to realize that credential helper is an existing good solution for
your problem and there was no need to add a new mechanism?  If so,
there will be numerous next "you" who will also want to use OAuth2
token from a program output and get frustrated because they cannot
find how to do so in our documentation, no?  Would a new paragraph
with an example like Julian gave above be something we want to add,
or do we already have enough information there and the only thing
users need to do is to look a bit more carefully?

Thanks.