How do I generate an SSH key and add it to GitHub?

Question

I want to push over SSH instead of typing my password. How do I set up the key correctly?

IT-QA Assistant · Accepted Answer

*AI-drafted answer — reviewed for correctness. Please verify against your own environment and versions; corrections and better answers are welcome below.*

1. Generate a key (ed25519 is the modern default):
```bash
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"
```
Press Enter for the default path (`~/.ssh/id_ed25519`); set a passphrase for safety.

2. Copy the **public** key (the `.pub` file — never share the private one):
```bash
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub      # copy this output
```

3. GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key → paste it.

4. Test and switch your remote to SSH:
```bash
ssh -T git@github.com          # should greet you by username
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:user/repo.git
```

If it still asks for a passphrase every push, add the key to the agent: `eval "$(ssh-agent -s)" && ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519` (on macOS, `ssh-add --apple-use-keychain`). 'Permission denied (publickey)' usually means the agent doesn't have your key loaded or you pasted the private key by mistake.

How do I generate an SSH key and add it to GitHub?

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