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If you have decided not to use therecommended HTTPS method, we can use SSH keys to establish a secure connection between your computer and GitHub. The steps below will walk you through generating an SSH key and then adding the public key to your GitHub account.

Step 1: Check for SSH keys

First, we need to check for existing ssh keys on your computer. Open upGit Bashand run:

cd ~/.ssh
ls
# Lists the files in your .ssh directory

Check the directory listing to see if you have a file named eitherid_rsa.puborid_dsa.pub. If you don't have either of those files go tostep 2. Otherwise, you already have an existing keypair, and you can skip tostep 3.

Step 2: Generate a new SSH key

To generate a new SSH key, enter the code below. We want the default settings so when asked to enter a file in which to save the key, just press enter.

ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "your_email@example.com"
# Creates a new ssh key, using the provided email as a label
# Generating public/private rsa key pair.
# Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa): [Press enter]
ssh-add id_rsa

Now you need to enter a passphrase.

Why do passphrases matter? 

# Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): [Type a passphrase]
# Enter same passphrase again: [Type passphrase again]

Which should give you something like this:

# Your identification has been saved in /c/Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa.
# Your public key has been saved in /c/Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
# The key fingerprint is:
# 01:0f:f4:3b:ca:85:d6:17:a1:7d:f0:68:9d:f0:a2:db your_email@example.com

Step 3: Add your SSH key to GitHub

Run the following code to copy the key to your clipboard.

clip < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
# Copies the contents of the id_rsa.pub file to your clipboard


  1. Account settings buttonGo to yourAccount Settings
  2. SSH Keys menuClick"SSH Keys"in the left sidebar
  3. SSH Key buttonClick "Add SSH key"
  4. The key fieldPaste your key into the "Key" field
  5. The Add key buttonClick "Add key"
  6. Confirm the action by entering your GitHub password

Step 4: Test everything out

To make sure everything is working you'll now SSH to GitHub. When you do this, you will be asked to authenticate this action using your password, which for this purpose is the passphrase you created earlier. Don't change thegit@github.compart. That's supposed to be there.

ssh -T git@github.com
# Attempts to ssh to github

You may see this warning:

# The authenticity of host 'github.com (207.97.227.239)' can't be established.
# RSA key fingerprint is 16:27:ac:a5:76:28:2d:36:63:1b:56:4d:eb:df:a6:48.
# Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

Don't worry, this is supposed to happen. Verify that the fingerprint matches the one here and type "yes".

# Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not
# provide shell access.

If that username is correct, you've successfully set up your SSH key. Don't worry about the shell access thing, you don't want that anyway.

If you see "access denied" please consider usingHTTPSinstead of SSH. If you need SSH start atthese instructionsfor diagnosing the issue.