SSH GitHub setup (Linux)

📌 Prerequisites

• A GitHub account

• Git installed (sudo apt install git)

• OpenSSH client installed (sudo apt install openssh-client)

🔑 Step 1: Check for Existing SSH Keys

ls -al ~/.ssh

Look for files like id_rsa.pub or id_ed25519.pub. If they exist, you might already have an SSH key.

🛠️ Step 2: Generate a New SSH Key

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

If you’re using an older system that doesn’t support Ed25519:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "[email protected]"

• When prompted to “Enter a file in which to save the key,” press Enter to accept the default.

• Set a secure passphrase (optional, but recommended).

📂 Step 3: Add Your SSH Key to the SSH Agent

Start the SSH agent:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

Add your SSH key:

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Replace id_ed25519 with your actual key file if you used a different name.

📋 Step 4: Copy SSH Key to Clipboard

If you have xclip installed:

xclip -selection clipboard < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Or use:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Then manually copy the output.

🌐 Step 5: Add SSH Key to GitHub

1. Go to GitHub SSH settings

2. Click New SSH Key

3. Paste your public key

4. Give it a descriptive title

5. Click Add SSH key

✅ Step 6: Test Your SSH Connection

ssh -T [email protected]

You should see a message like:

Hi your_username! You've successfully authenticated...