[Git]: Authenticate GitHub Account with SSH Key (macOS, Linux)

Create new ssh key

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

If you're in an environment that uses sudo for most commands, be sure to include sudo

Put email inside "". Press enter for prompts

Copy SSH key

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Copies generated ssh key to the clipboard

If pbcopy is not applicable, run cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub and copy the text

Save copied key on GitHub

Go to SSH and GPG keys on your profile —> Settings —> SSH and GPG keys

Click New SSH Key

Type in any title for your SSH key and paste copied ssh key in then Add SSH key

Created SSH key looks like this

Add key to ssh-agent

Run ssh-agent

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
Agent pid 5190

(macOS only): modify ~/.ssh/config

Host *
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  UseKeychain yes
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Add SSH private key to ssh-agent

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa # Add -K option for macOS users

Test SSH Connection

ssh -T [email protected]
Hi EllisMin! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not
provide shell access.

Type yes to the prompt

Make sure to use SSH URL when you're authenticated via SSH key. This applies to commands such as git clone, git fetch, git pull, or git push to a repository