How to specify the private SSH-key to use when executing shell command on Git

Question

A rather unusual situation perhaps  but I want to specify a private SSH-key to use when executing a shell  git  command from the local computer  Basically like this  git clone git github com TheUser TheProject git -key  quot  home christoffer ssh keys theuser quot   Or even better  in Ruby   with key  quot  home christoffer ssh keys theuser quot   do   sh  quot git clone git github com TheUser TheProject git quot   end  I have seen examples of connecting to a remote server with Net  SSH that uses a specified private key  but this is a local command  Is it possible

User · Accepted Answer

Something like this should work  suggested by orip    ssh-agent bash -c  ssh-add  somewhere yourkey  git clone git github com user project git    if you prefer subshells  you could try the following  though it is more fragile    ssh-agent   ssh-add  somewhere yourkey  git clone git github com user project git    Git will invoke SSH which will find its agent by environment variable  this will  in turn  have the key loaded   Alternatively  setting HOME may also do the trick  provided you are willing to setup a directory that contains only a  ssh directory as HOME  this may either contain an identity pub  or a config file setting IdentityFile

User · Answer

for the gitlab RSAAuthentication yes   Host gitlab com   RSAAuthentication yes   IdentityFile    ssh your private key name   IdentitiesOnly yes   doc is here

User · Answer

As stated here  https   superuser com a 912281 607049  You can configure it per-repo   git config core sshCommand  ssh -i    ssh id rsa example -F  dev null  git pull git push

User · Answer

When you need to connect to github with a normal request  git pull origin master   setting the Host as   in    ssh config worked for me  any other Host  say   github  or  gb   wasn t working   Host       User git     Hostname github com     PreferredAuthentications publickey     IdentityFile    ssh id rsa xxx

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A lot of good answers  but some of them assume prior administration knowledge    I think it is important to explicitly emphasize that if you started your project by cloning the web URL - https   github com  lt user-name gt   lt project-name gt  git  then you need to make sure that the url value under  remote  origin   in the  git config was changed to the SSH URL  see code block below    With addition to that make sure that you add the sshCommmand as mentioned below   user workstation   workspace project-name  git  cat config  core      repositoryformatversion   0     filemode   true     bare   false     logallrefupdates   true     sshCommand   ssh -i   location-of  ssh private key -F  dev null  lt --Check that this command exist  remote  origin       url   git github com  lt user-name gt   lt project-name gt  git   lt -- Make sure its the SSH URL and not the WEB URL     fetch    refs heads   refs remotes origin    branch  master       remote   origin     merge   refs heads master   Read more about it here

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You could use GIT SSH environment variable  But you will need to wrap ssh and options into a shell script   See git manual  man git in your command shell

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GIT SSH COMMAND  ssh -i  path to git-private-access-key  git clone  git repo   or    export GIT SSH COMMAND  ssh -i  path to git-private-access-key  git clone REPO git push

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The problem with this method is  at least when running by bash exe on Windows  that it will create a new process every time which will remain dormant    ssh-agent bash -c  ssh-add  somewhere yourkey  git clone git github com user project git    If you want want to use that for syncig repo on schedule then you need to add   amp  amp  ssh-agent -k  at the end   Something like   ssh-agent bash -c  ssh-add C  Users user  ssh your key  git -C  C  Path to your repo  pull  amp  amp  ssh-agent -k     ssh-agent -k will kill the process when it s done

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You need to create a    ssh config as below  Host  lt Your bitbucket server gt  User  lt userid gt  Hostname  lt Your bitbucket server as above gt  IdentitiesOnly yes IdentityFile    ssh id rsa lt file gt  This is your private key file   permission as below  -rw-------  HOME  ssh config   Add your public key into your git   cat    ssh id rsa pub  or simillar name    and then git clone as below  git clone ssh   blahblah blah com userid test git

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I use zsh and different keys are loaded to my zsh shell s ssh-agent automatically for other purposes  i e  access to remote servers  on my laptop  I modified  Nick s answer and I m using it for one of my repos that needs to be refreshed often   In this case it s my dotfiles which I want same and latest version across my all machines  wherever I m working    bash -c  eval  ssh-agent   ssh-add  home myname  dotfiles gitread  ssh-add -L  cd  home myname  dotfiles  amp  amp  git pull  kill  SSH AGENT PID     Spawn an ssh-agent Add read-only key to agent Change directory to my git repo If cd to repo dir is successful  pull from remote repo Kill spawned ssh-agent   I wouldn t want many of agents lingering around

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If none of the other solutions here work for you  and you have created multiple ssh-keys  but still cannot do simple things like  git pull   then assuming you have two ssh key files like   id rsa id rsa other key   then inside of the git repo  try     Run these commands INSIDE your git directory eval  ssh-agent -s  ssh-add    ssh id rsa ssh-add    ssh id rsa other key   and also make sure your github default username and userid are correct by     Run these commands INSIDE your git directory git config user name  Mona Lisa  git config user email  mona lisa email com    See https   gist github com jexchan 2351996 for more more information

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Contents of my git ssh wrapper      bin bash  ssh -i  path to ssh secret key  1  2   Then you can use the key by doing   GIT SSH my git ssh wrapper git clone git github com TheUser TheProject git

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With git 2 10   Q3 2016  released Sept  2d  2016   you have the possibility to set a config for GIT SSH COMMAND  and not just an environment variable as described in Rober Jack Will s answer  See commit 3c8ede3  26 Jun 2016  by Nguy n Th  i Ng c Duy  pclouds    Merged by Junio C Hamano -- gitster -- in commit dc21164  19 Jul 2016   A new configuration variable core sshCommand has been added to specify what value for GIT SSH COMMAND to use per repository   core sshCommand    If this variable is set  git fetch and git push will use the specified command instead of ssh when they need to connect to a remote system  The command is in the same form as the GIT SSH COMMAND environment variable and is overridden when the environment variable is set   It means the git pull can be  cd  path to my repo already cloned git config core sshCommand  ssh -i private key file     later on git pull  You can even set it for just one command like git clone  git -c core sshCommand  quot ssh -i private key file quot  clone host repo git  This is easier than setting a GIT SSH COMMAND environment variable  which  on Windows  as noted by M  ty  s Kuti-Kresz  cs  would be set  quot GIT SSH COMMAND ssh -i private key file quot

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The problem is when you have different remote repositories on the same host  say github com   and you want to interact with them using different ssh keys  i e  different GitHub accounts    In order to do that    First you should declare your different keys in    ssh config file     Key for usual repositories on github com Host github com HostName github com User git IdentityFile    ssh id rsa    Key for a particular repository on github com Host XXX HostName github com User git IdentityFile    ssh id other rsa   By doing this you associate the second key with a new friendly name  XXX  for github com  Then you must change the remote origin of your particular repository  so that it uses the friendly name you ve just defined   Go to your local repository folder within a command prompt  and display the current remote origin    gt git remote -v origin  git github com myuser myrepo git  fetch  origin  git github com myuser myrepo git  push    Then change origin with    gt git remote set-url origin git XXX myuser myrepo git  gt git remote -v origin  git XXX myuser myrepo git  fetch  origin  git XXX myuser myrepo git  push    Now you can push  fetch    with the right key automatically

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In Windows with Git Bash you can use the following to add a repository ssh-agent bash -c  ssh-add  quot key-address quot   git remote add origin  quot rep-address quot    for example  ssh-agent bash -c  ssh-add  d test PrivateKey ppk  git remote add origin git git test com test test git   Which private key is in drive D  folder test of computer  Also if you want to clone a repository  you can change git remote add origin with git clone  After enter this to Git Bash  it will ask you for passphrase  Be Aware that openssh private key and putty private key are different  If you have created your keys with puttygen  you must convert your private key to openssh

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I just needed to add the key then run the git clone again   ssh-add    ssh id rsa mynewkey git clone git bitbucket org mycompany myrepo git

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I went with the GIT SSH environment variable  Here s my wrapper  similar to that from Joe Block from above  but handles any amount of arguments   File   gitwrap sh     bin bash ssh -i    ssh gitkey rsa        Then  in my  bashrc  add the following   export GIT SSH   gitwrap sh

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If you re like me  you can    Keep your ssh keys organized Keep your git clone commands simple Handle any number of keys for any number of repositories  Reduce your ssh key maintenance    I keep my keys in my    ssh keys directory   I prefer convention over configuration   I think code is law  the simpler it is  the better   STEP 1 - Create Alias  Add this alias to your shell   alias git-clone  GIT SSH ssh wrapper git clone   STEP 2 - Create Script  Add this ssh wrapper script to your PATH      bin bash   Filename  ssh wrapper  if   -z   SSH KEY     then     SSH KEY  github com l3x      lt   Default key fi SSH KEY     ssh keys   SSH KEY  id rsa  ssh -i    SSH KEY          EXAMPLES  Use github com l3x key   KEY github com l3x git-clone https   github com l3x learn-fp-go   The following example also uses the github com l3x key  by default    git-clone https   github com l3x learn-fp-go   Use bitbucket org lsheehan key   KEY bitbucket org lsheehan git-clone git bitbucket org dave andersen exchange git   NOTES  Change the default SSH KEY in the ssh wrapper script to what you use most of the time  That way  you don t need to use the KEY variable most of the time   You may think   Hey  That s a lot going on with an alias  a script and some directory of keys   but for me it s convention   Nearly all my workstations  and servers for that matter  are configured similarly   My goal here is to simplify the commands that I execute regularly   My conventions  e g   Bash scripts  aliases  etc   create a consistent environment and helps me keep things simple   KISS and names matter   For more design tips check out Chapter 4 SOLID Design in Go from my book  https   www amazon com Learning-Functional-Programming-Lex-Sheehan-ebook dp B0725B8MYW  Hope that helps  - Lex

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if you have directory on your path where you want to sign with a given identifyfile you can specify to use a specific identify file via the  ssh config file by setting the ControlPath e g    host github com   ControlPath   Projects work      HostName github com   IdentityFile    ssh id work   User git   Then ssh will use the specified identity file when doing git commands under the given work path

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To have GIT SSH COMMAND environment variable work under Windows instead of   set GIT SSH COMMAND  ssh -i private key file    Use   set  GIT SSH COMMAND ssh -i private key file    The quote has to be like  set  variable value     Some backgorund  https   stackoverflow com a 34402887 10671021

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Many of these solutions looked enticing  However  I found the generic git-wrapping-script approach at the following link to be the most useful   How to Specify an ssh Key File with the git command   The point being that there is no git command such as the following   git -i    ssh thatuserkey pem clone thatuser myserver com  git repo git   Alvin s solution is to use a well-defined bash-wrapper script that fills this gap   git sh -i    ssh thatuserkey pem clone thatuser myserver com  git repo git   Where git sh is      bin bash    The MIT License  MIT    Copyright  c  2013 Alvin Abad   https   alvinabad wordpress com 2013 03 23 how-to-specify-an-ssh-key-file-with-the-git-command  if      -eq 0    then     echo  Git wrapper script that can specify an ssh-key file Usage      git sh -i ssh-key-file git-command           exit 1 fi    remove temporary file on exit trap  rm -f  tmp  git ssh     0  if     1     -i     then     SSH KEY  2  shift  shift     echo  ssh -i  SSH KEY       gt   tmp  git ssh        chmod  x  tmp  git ssh        export GIT SSH  tmp  git ssh    fi    in case the git command is repeated     1     git     amp  amp  shift    Run the git command git        I can verify that this solved a problem I was having with user key recognition for a remote bitbucket repo with git remote update  git pull  and git clone  all of which now work fine in a cron job script that was otherwise having trouble navigating the limited-shell  I was also able to call this script from within R and still solve the exact same cron execute problem  e g  system  bash git sh -i    ssh thatuserkey pem pull      Not that R is the same as Ruby  but if R can do it    O -

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If SSH port number is not 22 default   add Port xx in    ssh config  In my case  synology    Host my synology     Hostname xxxx synology me     IdentityFile    ssh id rsa xxxx     User myname     Port xx   Then clone using Host title in config    my synology   to avoid  chopstik  s        git clone my synology path to repo git

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To sum up answers and comments  the best way to set up git to use different key files and then forget about it  which also supports different users for the same host  e g  a personal GitHub account and a work one   which works on Windows as well  is to edit    ssh config  or c  Users  lt your user gt   ssh config  and specify multiple identities   Host github com HostName github com IdentityFile  path to your personal github private key User dandv  Host github-work HostName github com IdentityFile  path to your work github private key User workuser   Then  to clone a project as your personal user  just run the regular git clone command   To clone the repo as the workuser  run git clone git github-work company project git

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Starting from Git 2 3 0 we also have the simple command  no config file needed    GIT SSH COMMAND  ssh -i private key file -o IdentitiesOnly yes  git clone user host repo git   Note the -o IdentitiesOnly yes is required to prevent the SSH default behavior of sending the identity file matching the default filename for each protocol as noted in the answer above

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Here s the ssh key hack i found while finding solution to this problem   For example you have 2 different set of keys   key1  key1 pub  key2  key2 pub  Keep these keys in your  ssh directory  Now in your  bashrc or  bash profile alias file  add these commands  alias key1  cp    ssh key1 id rsa  amp  amp  cp    ssh key1 pub id rsa pub   alias key2  cp    ssh key2 id rsa  amp  amp  cp    ssh key2 pub id rsa pub   Voila  You have a shortcut to switch keys whenever you want   Hope this works for you

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You can try sshmulti npm package for maintaining multiple ssh key

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Way better idea to add that host or ip to the  ssh config file like so   Host  a space separated list of made up aliases you want to use for the host      User git     Hostname  ip or hostname of git server      PreferredAuthentications publickey     IdentityFile    ssh id rsa  the key you want for this repo

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None of these solutions worked for me    Instead  I elaborate on  Martin v  L  wis   s mention of setting a config file for SSH   SSH will look for the user s    ssh config file  I have mine setup as   Host gitserv     Hostname remote server com     IdentityFile    ssh id rsa github     IdentitiesOnly yes   see NOTES below   And I add a remote git repository   git remote add origin git gitserv myrepo git   And then git commands work normally for me   git push -v origin master   NOTES   The IdentitiesOnly yes is required to prevent the SSH default behavior of sending the identity file matching the default filename for each protocol  If you have a file named    ssh id rsa that will get tried BEFORE your    ssh id rsa github without this option    References   Best way to use multiple SSH private keys on one client How could I stop ssh offering a wrong key

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Other people s suggestions about    ssh config are extra complicated  It can be as simple as   Host github com   IdentityFile    ssh github rsa

[git] How to specify the private SSH-key to use when executing shell command on Git?

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