github_ssh_setup_for_windows.md

Github SSH Setup for Windows

Generating a new SSH key

To generate a new ssh key with the Ed25519 algorithm as recommended in the GitHub Docs paste the following powershell commmand:

> ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "comment of your choice"

Adding the SSH key to the ssh-agent

1. Set the Startup Type of the ssh-agent to Manual

   > Get-Service -Name ssh-agent | Set-Service -StartupType Manual

2. Start the ssh-agent

   > Start-Process ssh-agent

3. Add the private key to the ssh-agent

   > ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

4. Set the Windows OpenSSH Client as the default SSH Client to use the ssh-agent configuration

   > git config --global core.sshCommand C:/Windows/System32/OpenSSH/ssh.exe

Adding the SSH Key to the GitHub Account

1. Copy the public key

   > cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | clip

2. Go to your Github Account Settings and add a new SSH key with a suiting title (for example the PC Name) and paste the public key.

Testing the SSH Key

1. Verify if the SSH Key is loaded into SSH

    > ssh-add -l

   If everything worked you should see the public key fingerprint.

2. Verify the connection to GitHub

   > ssh -T [email protected]

   After accepting the fingerprint you should see a message containing: You've successfully authenticated.

In case that anything went wrong check out the GitHub docs.

Adding the ssh-agent to Startup

1. Press Windows Button + R and paste the following:

   shell:startup
   

2. In the opened folder create a symlink to the ssh-agent

   > New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Path "Enter Path to Startup Folder Here" -Target "C:\Windows\System32\OpenSSH\ssh-agent.exe"

Ready 🚀

That's it. You should now be able to push to repos without being prompted to type your username or password.