How to clone a Git repo using SSH

Date: Mon-28-Oct-2024

My own Github repo

Gracious to the guidance provided in the linked article

PLEASE NOTE: Since there is a public repo, there are no personally-identifiable elements associated with any repo metadata.

MAKING CHANGES: If you wish to recommend changes to the main branxh, please raise a pull request.

---

(optional) Create text file to store your keys (if necessary)

  touch <filename>.txt

---

1. Create an SSH key locally:

While in Terminal working directory:

ssh-keygen 

You should see online instructions for a passphase etc, ie:

    Enter file in which to save the key (ie Users/<username>.ssh/id_edxxxxx): <filename>.txt
    Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): <passwordphrase>
    Enter same passphrase again: <passwordphrase>
    Your identification has been saved in <filename>.txt
    Your public key has been saved in <filename>.txt.pub
    The key fingerprint is:
    SHA256fdsfdsfssf:s6MNdsndjndjsndsjndsjnsjdnjskfl0suE7dfsfsfsdfsfsdfgoo9re+dHFuhwn87LVcFeewqewqwqLgNg
    The key's randomart image is:
    +--[EDXXXXX 256]--+
    |       o  o .o . |
    |      . o.oE. + o|
    |    . . .o. *  . |
    |     ..oo  =  .  |
    |     .++o...+.   |
    |     .==.o..o.   |

Note: If you open the .txt file (or whatever you have named it)you will see something like the following:

    -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----
    b3BlbnNzaC1rZXktdjEAAAAABG5vbmUAAAAEbm9uZQAAAAAAAAABAAAAMwAAAAtzc2gtZW
    QyNTUxOQAAACCNY/+maty4mamQOcEOW31cExoZgjUakXw73PgJnbX5bAAAALCeAnvangJ7
    2gAAAAtzc2gjdeufheuifhWQyNTUxOQAAACCNY/+mafdfssgJnbX5bA
    GhmCNRqRfDejhfewiuhfeiuAAAKXZpY3RvcmlhbWNraW5uZXlAVmljdG9yaWHigJlzIE1hY0
    Jvb2sgQWlyAQIDBA==
    -----END OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----

---

2. Starting the SSH Agent:

In Terminal:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

---

3. Configuring SSH to use the SSH agent (macOS Sierra 10.12.2 or later)

1. Check if the SSH config file exists:

Use open ~/.ssh/config to see if the file exists. If it doesn't, you will need to create it.

2. Create the SSH config file if necessary:

Use touch ~/.ssh/config to create the file.

3. Open the config file:

You can use a text editor to open the file, e.g., vim ~/.ssh/config

4. Modify the config file:

Add the following lines to the file, adjusting the IdentityFile path if your SSH key has a different name or location:

    Host github.com
    AddKeysToAgent yes
    UseKeychain yes
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_edxxxx

Note: If you didn't set a passphrase for your key, omit the UseKeychain yes line. If you encounter a configuration error, try adding IgnoreUnknown UseKeychain under a specific Host definition.

---

4. Adding your SSH key to the SSH agent:

Use the following command, ensuring to replace id_edxxxxx with the name of your key:

    ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_edxxxxx

This adds your SSH key to the ssh-agent and stores your passphrase in the keychain, making it so you don't have to enter the passphrase every time the key is used.

Note: The -apple-use-keychain option helps store the passphrase in your keychain when adding an SSH key to the ssh-agent. If you do not have a passphrase or are not using an Apple device, adjust the command accordingly.

Note: Please also remember to add your newly-generated SSH key to your Github account.

---

5. Clone the repository ((....finally :/ :D)

Find the SSH URL of the repository and run:

  git clone [email protected]:user/repository.git

Note: Make sure to replace github.com:user/repository.git with the actual path to your repository.

---

Optional recommendations for SSH:

Specify an SSH key: If you want to use a specific SSH key, you can modify the ssh command using the i option: ssh -i /path/to/private/key.

For Git operations, set the GIT_SSH_COMMAND environment variable: export GIT_SSH_COMMAND="ssh -i /path/to/private/key".

Debugging SSH: Use ssh -T [email protected] (replace *github.com *with your Git server) to test your SSH connection.