Create SSH key. The command below creates a key file named id_ed25519 in your User's folder. You can see this file in your file browser (Windows Explorer) if you navigate to C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\.ssh or /home/YOUR_USERNAME/.ssh/ under Linux. (Default name is id_ed25519, you can set this name when executing the command below)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@something.com"
Enter passphrase for key
Check if ssh-agent is running. If successful, it should output the process ID:
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
Add ssh key to the list (maintained by ssh-agent). Should prompt for password you entered earlier:
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
Copy the public key to the clipboard (the key will be available for paste, CTRL+V):
cat < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
Copy to GitHub Settings , click "New SSH key", enter a reasonable name in the Title field to help you identify the key, then paste your key in the Key field then click "Add SSH Key".
Testing the key. Take note that the key says 'Never used' :
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Clone one of your repositories using the SSH method. Note that you have to select SSH, as choosing HTTPS will result in normal username and password authentication:
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First time using the key should give a warning message. Type 'yes' to continue. In the screenshot below I change to my D: drive because that is where I keep all my code. You can ignore that command.
- Key should then be added to list of known hosts, after which it prompts for your passphrase for the last time:
- After, you can run a few more verifications:
Change to the repository's directory you just cloned. I used 'knowledge' because that is the name of mine; of course yours will be different:
cd knowledge
Verify that your repository is up-to-date with the remote branch:
git status
If your repository's remote URL starts with 'git@github' and NOT 'https', you sucessfully set up SSH:
git remote -v
'Last used...' = SUCCESS!
