diff --git a/.changeset/seven-teachers-arrive.md b/.changeset/seven-teachers-arrive.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bdbbc33c44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/seven-teachers-arrive.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+'@backstage/plugin-scaffolder-backend': patch
+---
+
+fix for the `gitlab:publish` action to use the `oauthToken` key when creating a
+`Gitlab` client. This only happens if `ctx.input.token` is provided else the key `token` will be used.
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.ts
index a04766f941..48979306b1 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlab.ts
@@ -112,10 +112,11 @@ export function createPublishGitlabAction(options: {
       }
 
       const token = ctx.input.token || integrationConfig.config.token!;
+      const tokenType = ctx.input.token ? 'oauthToken' : 'token';
 
       const client = new Gitlab({
         host: integrationConfig.config.baseUrl,
-        token,
+        [tokenType]: token,
       });
 
       let { id: targetNamespace } = (await client.Namespaces.show(owner)) as {
diff --git a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlabMergeRequest.ts b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlabMergeRequest.ts
index 281b72789f..bf687268c3 100644
--- a/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlabMergeRequest.ts
+++ b/plugins/scaffolder-backend/src/scaffolder/actions/builtin/publish/gitlabMergeRequest.ts
@@ -118,10 +118,11 @@ export const createPublishGitlabMergeRequestAction = (options: {
       }
 
       const token = ctx.input.token ?? integrationConfig.config.token!;
+      const tokenType = ctx.input.token ? 'oauthToken' : 'token';
 
       const api = new Gitlab({
         host: integrationConfig.config.baseUrl,
-        token,
+        [tokenType]: token,
       });
 
       const fileRoot = ctx.workspacePath;