diff --git a/gittensor/cli/miner_commands/post.py b/gittensor/cli/miner_commands/post.py
index dc906591..bbaeeeaa 100644
--- a/gittensor/cli/miner_commands/post.py
+++ b/gittensor/cli/miner_commands/post.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 from rich.table import Table
 
 from gittensor.constants import BASE_GITHUB_API_URL
+from gittensor.utils.github_api_tools import make_headers
 
 console = Console()
 
@@ -196,7 +197,7 @@ async def _broadcast():
 
 def _validate_pat_locally(pat: str) -> bool:
     """Validate PAT mirrors the validator-side checks: user identity + GraphQL access."""
-    headers = {'Authorization': f'token {pat}', 'Accept': 'application/vnd.github.v3+json'}
+    headers = make_headers(pat)
     try:
         # Check basic auth
         user_resp = requests.get(f'{BASE_GITHUB_API_URL}/user', headers=headers, timeout=15)
diff --git a/gittensor/validator/issue_discovery/repo_scan.py b/gittensor/validator/issue_discovery/repo_scan.py
index 2ac232de..9aa463cc 100644
--- a/gittensor/validator/issue_discovery/repo_scan.py
+++ b/gittensor/validator/issue_discovery/repo_scan.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import requests
 
 from gittensor.classes import Issue, MinerEvaluation
+from gittensor.utils.github_api_tools import make_headers
 from gittensor.constants import (
     BASE_GITHUB_API_URL,
     PR_LOOKBACK_DAYS,
@@ -202,7 +203,7 @@ async def _lookup(issue_raw: dict) -> Tuple[dict, Optional[int], Optional[int]]:
 
 def _fetch_closed_issues(repo_name: str, since: str, token: str) -> List[dict]:
     """Fetch closed issues from a repo via REST API with pagination."""
-    headers = {'Authorization': f'token {token}', 'Accept': 'application/vnd.github.v3+json'}
+    headers = make_headers(token)
     all_issues: List[dict] = []
     page = 1