🚀 Managing Multiple SSH Keys for GitHub

Managing multiple SSH keys is useful when working with multiple GitHub accounts (e.g., work and personal). This guide will show you how to:

✅ Check existing SSH configuration

✅ Generate multiple SSH keys

✅ Configure SSH for different accounts

✅ Clone repositories and set remotes

✅ Authenticate and troubleshoot issues

Let's get started! 🚀

🔍 Step 1: Check Existing SSH Configuration

Before generating new keys, check if you already have an SSH key:

ls ~/.ssh/

If you see files like id_rsa and id_rsa.pub, that means you already have an SSH key set up. To view your existing SSH config:

cat ~/.ssh/config

If you don’t have an SSH config file yet, don’t worry—we’ll create one! 🎉

🛠 Step 2: Generate a New SSH Key for an Additional GitHub Account

To create a second SSH key (e.g., id_rsa_example):

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "[email protected]" -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa_example

👉 Press Enter for all prompts (unless you want a passphrase for extra security).

After that, add your new SSH key to the SSH agent:

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

📌 Step 3: Configure SSH for Multiple Accounts

Now, let's configure SSH so Git knows which key to use for different GitHub accounts.

Edit the SSH Config File

Run:

nano ~/.ssh/config

Add the following entries for multiple accounts:

Host github.com
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa  # Default key

Host github.com-example
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa_example

Host github.com-example2
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa_example2

📌 Save and exit: Press CTRL + X, then Y, and hit Enter.

🔑 Step 4: Add the SSH Key to GitHub

Now, add your new SSH key to GitHub.

  1. Copy the SSH key: 
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa_example.pub

  1. Go to GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH Key

    🔗 GitHub SSH Key Settings

  2. Paste the key and give it a title (e.g., Example Account).

  3. Click Add SSH Key.

🚀 Step 5: Clone a Repository Using the New SSH Key

When cloning a repository, use the Host alias from your SSH config:

git clone [email protected]:your-username/your-repo.git

This tells Git to use id_rsa_example instead of the default id_rsa.

If you already cloned a repository using HTTPS, change the remote to SSH:

cd your-repo

git remote set-url origin [email protected]:your-username/your-repo.git

To verify your remote settings:

git remote -v

🔄 Step 6: Check SSH Authentication

To confirm that Git is using the correct SSH key, run:

ssh -T [email protected]

✅ Expected output:

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

If you see a different username, check your SSH config and re-run:

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa_example

🔧 Troubleshooting Common Issues

🚫 1. SSH Key Not Working?

Try refreshing SSH authentication:

ssh-add -D  # Remove all SSH keys
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa_example  # Add the correct key

❌ 2. Wrong GitHub Account Showing?

Run:

ssh -T [email protected]

If the wrong account appears, update your ~/.ssh/config file and restart SSH:

ssh-agent -k  # Stop SSH agent
exec ssh-agent bash  # Restart SSH agent
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa_example

🔁 3. Remove and Re-add a Remote

If your Git remote URL is incorrect or broken, remove and re-add it:

git remote remove origin
git remote add origin [email protected]:your-username/your-repo.git
git remote -v  # Verify

🔑 4. Using HTTPS Instead of SSH?

If you're accidentally using HTTPS, update your repository to SSH:

git remote set-url origin [email protected]:your-username/your-repo.git

🔄 5. Refresh GitHub Authentication

If you're facing authentication issues, refresh your GitHub token:

gh auth refresh -h github.com -s repo

If that doesn’t work, log out and log in again:

gh auth logout
gh auth login

🎯 Final Verification

After following these steps, run:

git push origin main

✅ If it works, you're all set!

🎉 Conclusion

Now you know how to:

  • Manage multiple SSH keys
  • Configure SSH for different GitHub accounts
  • Clone repositories with specific SSH keys
  • Troubleshoot common SSH & GitHub issues

🔹 If you found this helpful, star this repo and share it with others! ⭐🚀