Connecting to GitHub from the Command Line

Option 1: SSH Key

Step 1: Generate an SSH Key

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com" -f ~/.ssh/github

Press Enter to accept the default file location, then set a passphrase (optional).

Step 2: Add Your Key to the SSH Agent

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/github

Step 3: Configure SSH for GitHub

Add the following to ~/.ssh/config (create the file if it doesn’t exist):

Host github.com
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/github
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  UseKeychain yes

Remove UseKeychain yes if you are on Linux.

This tells SSH which key to use for GitHub and handles the agent automatically — you won’t need to run ssh-add manually again.

Step 4: Copy Your Public Key

cat ~/.ssh/github.pub

Copy the entire output.

Step 5: Add the Key to GitHub

1. Go to GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys
2. Click New SSH key
3. Give it a meaningful name like "server-name" so you can identify it later
4. Paste your public key and save

Step 6: Test the Connection

ssh -T git@github.com

You should see: Hi username! You've successfully authenticated.

Step 7: Clone Using SSH

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

Option 2: Personal Access Token (HTTPS)

Step 1: Generate a Token on GitHub

1. Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer settings → Personal access tokens → Tokens (classic)
2. Click Generate new token
3. Give it a meaningful name like "server-name" so you know where it’s used
4. Select scopes (at minimum: repo)
5. Click Generate token and copy it — you won’t see it again

Step 2: Clone Using HTTPS

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

When prompted, enter:

• Username: your GitHub username
• Password: your personal access token (not your GitHub password)

Step 3: Credential Storage

On macOS and Windows, Git automatically saves your token in the system keychain after the first login — you won’t be prompted again.

On Linux, credentials are not stored by default. To enable caching:

# Store permanently on disk
git config --global credential.helper store

# Or cache in memory for 1 hour
git config --global credential.helper 'cache --timeout=3600'

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