Git | Connecting to GitHub and Pushing Changes Using SSH on Windows

Connecting to GitHub and pushing changes using SSH on a Windows machine involves several steps:

1. Generate SSH Key Pair
2. Add SSH Key to GitHub Account
3. Configure SSH for GitHub
4. Clone Repository or Add Remote URL
5. Commit and Push Changes

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Generate SSH Key Pair

1. Open Git Bash on your Windows machine.

2. Generate a new SSH key pair by running:

   ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "hassan.bolajraf@gmail.com"
   

   Replace hassan.bolajraf@gmail.com with your GitHub email address. When prompted, save the key to the default location (/c/Users/your_username/.ssh/id_rsa) and optionally set a passphrase.

2. Add SSH Key to GitHub Account

1. Copy the SSH key to your clipboard. You can use the following command to do this:

   cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | clip
   

2. Log in to your GitHub account.
3. Go to Settings > SSH and GPG keys.
4. Click New SSH key.
5. Paste the copied SSH key into the key field and give it a descriptive title.
6. Click Add SSH key.

3. Configure SSH for GitHub

1. Ensure your SSH agent is running. Start the SSH agent by running:

   eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
   

2. Add your SSH private key to the SSH agent:

   ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa
   

4. Clone Repository or Add Remote URL

If you haven’t cloned your repository yet, you can do so using SSH:

1. Go to your repository on GitHub.
2. Click on the Code button and copy the SSH URL (it looks like git@github.com:username/repository.git).

3. Clone the repository:

   git clone git@github.com:username/repository.git
   

If you already have a repository cloned using HTTPS and want to switch to SSH, you can change the remote URL:

1. Navigate to your repository directory in Git Bash.

2. Change the remote URL:

   git remote set-url origin git@github.com:username/repository.git
   

5. Commit and Push Changes

1. Make your changes and stage them for commit:

   git add .
   

2. Commit your changes:

   git commit -m "Your commit message"
   

3. Push your changes to GitHub:

   git push origin main
   

   Replace main with the name of your branch if you’re working on a different branch.

Additional Tips

• Verify SSH Connection: You can test your SSH connection to GitHub by running:

  ssh -T git@github.com
  

  This should return a success message like Hi username! You've successfully authenticated.

• SSH Key Management: If you manage multiple SSH keys, you can create a ~/.ssh/config file to specify which key to use for GitHub:

  Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
  

What next ?

By following these steps, you should be able to connect to GitHub and push changes using SSH on your Windows machine.