diff --git a/.changeset/flat-camels-scream.md b/.changeset/flat-camels-scream.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2c49af5010
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/flat-camels-scream.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/integration': patch
+---
+
+By replacing `\n` with a newline for GitHub Apps private keys, this allows users to store the private key as an environment variable and reference it in the YAML.
diff --git a/packages/integration/src/github/GithubCredentialsProvider.ts b/packages/integration/src/github/GithubCredentialsProvider.ts
index 7e6057fc8d..278a1ed028 100644
--- a/packages/integration/src/github/GithubCredentialsProvider.ts
+++ b/packages/integration/src/github/GithubCredentialsProvider.ts
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ class GithubAppManager {
     this.baseUrl = baseUrl;
     this.baseAuthConfig = {
       appId: config.appId,
-      privateKey: config.privateKey,
+      privateKey: config.privateKey.replace(/\\n/gm, '\n'),
     };
     this.appClient = new Octokit({
       baseUrl,