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Setup Git in a new machine

Install Git

Go to git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git.

Set Global Configs

$ git config --global user.name "your-username"
$ git config --global user.email "your-email@example.com"
$ git config --global init.defaultBranch main

These global configs are stored in ~/.gitconfig file.

Committer GitHub Account

GitHub uses your commit email address to associate commits with your account on GitHub.com.

- docs.github.com

Generate ssh key and add it to GitHub

  1. Generate ssh key

    $ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your-email@example.com"

    After you run this command it will ask you a file path to save the key, accept the default path by pressing enter. Then it will ask you a passphrase for the key. I strongly suggest you to use a passphrase. When you set a passphrase, even if someone gets your private ssh key they won’t be able to use it without the passphrase.

    At the end of this command, your private key should be at ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 and public key should be at ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub. Never share your private key!

  2. Add public ssh key to GitHub

    In GitHub go to “Settings > SSH and GPG keys” and click “New ssh key”. Give a title (to remember the machine which uses this key), select “Authentication Key”, paste your public key ($ cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub) and finally click “Add SSH Key” button.

  3. (Optional) Add same public key to GitHub also as “Signing Key”

    Follow step 2 again but instead of selecting “Authentication Key”, now select “Signing Key”. This is used to sign commits.

    Difference between “Authentication Key” and “Signing Key”: stackoverflow.com/a/73674287

    Sign your commits with ssh key: docs.gitlab.com

  4. Test the connection

    In order to use ssh keys first you should add them to your ssh-agent. Use $ ssh-add command to add your keys to the ssh agent. Then use $ ssh -T git@github.com command to test your ssh connection with GitHub. If it responds with your GitHub username, then you are good to go.

Managing ssh-agent notes

  • Add your ssh keys to the agent: ssh-add
  • Add a specific key to the agent: ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
  • Remove a ssh key from agent: ssh-add -d ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
  • List active ssh keys: ssh-add -l (Not working great, sometimes still lists ssh keys that are removed from agent. 😕)

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