Setting up SSH for each git repository individually

A lot of people have git repositories stored not just on GitHub, but on other platforms such as Codeberg.org, GitLab, or their own self-hosted alternative.

Now, the most convenient way users can authenticate and use these platforms with git is by using SSH keys. Using the same SSH key on all platforms isn’t a problem per se, but it is better to use an SSH key for each platform individually.

Configuring git

$ git config core.sshCommand "ssh -i ~/.ssh/github_ed25519"

This will tell git to use the identity file stored in ~/.ssh/github_ed25519. To make it the default SSH key, pass the --global option:

$ git config --global core.sshCommand "ssh -i ~/.ssh/github_ed25519"

Setting the remote

If you cloned the repository over HTTPS, you might want to change the remote to use the SSH address instead.

Find the remote URLs

$ git remote -v
  origin  https@github.com:turtureanu/knowleaks.git (fetch)
  origin  https@github.com:turtureanu/knowleaks.git (push)

Replace the remote URLs

$ git remote remove <remote name>
$ git remote add <remote name> <remote URL>
$ git push --set-upstream <remote name> <branch>

or with the example above:

$ git remote remove origin
$ git remote add origin ssh@github.com:turtureanu/knowleaks.git
$ git push --set-upstream origin main