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SSH Keypair Setup for GitHub on Mac

Open Terminal​

What is Terminal? A text-based application that allows you to run commands on your Mac using the command line.

How to open Terminal:

  1. Press Cmd + Space to open Spotlight
  2. Type "Terminal" and press Enter
  3. Alternative: Go to Applications → Utilities → Terminal

1. Generate SSH Key​

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

When prompted:

  • Press Enter for default location (~/.ssh/id_rsa)
  • Enter passphrase (recommended for security)

2. Add Key to SSH Agent​

Start ssh-agent:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

Add key to agent:

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa

3. Copy Public Key​

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Alternative method:

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Then manually copy the output.

4. Add Key to GitHub​

  1. Go to GitHub.com → Settings → SSH and GPG keys
  2. Click New SSH key
  3. Add descriptive title (e.g., "MacBook Pro 2024")
  4. Paste key into "Key" field
  5. Click Add SSH key

Direct link: https://github.com/settings/ssh/new

5. Test Connection​

ssh -T git@github.com

Expected response:

Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

Configure Git (if needed)​

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your_email@example.com"

Clone Repository Example​

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

Troubleshooting​

Permission denied error:

ssh -vT git@github.com

Check if key is loaded:

ssh-add -l

Re-add key if missing:

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa