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Git & GitHub

Essential steps for setting up Git and GitHub

Version​

git --version

User​

Define your Git user (should be the same name and email you use for GitHub):

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

They will get added to your .gitconfig file.

SSH Config​

First check for existing SSH keys on your computer by running:

ls -al ~/.ssh

Lists the files in your .ssh directory, if they exist

Check the directory listing to see if you have files named either id_rsa.pub or id_dsa.pub. If you don't have either of those files then read on, otherwise skip the next section.

Generate a new SSH key​

Create .ssh directory

mkdir ~/.ssh

Navigate to .ssh directory

cd ~/.ssh

If you don't have an SSH key you need to generate one. To do that you need to run the commands below, and make sure to substitute the placeholder with your email. The default settings are preferred, so when you're asked to enter a file in which to save the key, just press Enter to continue.

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

Add your SSH key to the ssh-agent​

Run the following commands to add your SSH key to the ssh-agent.

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

If you're running macOS Sierra 10.12.2 or later, you will need to modify your ~/.ssh/config file to automatically load keys into the ssh-agent and store passphrases in your keychain:

add below code in ~/.ssh/config

Host *
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  UseKeychain yes
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa

No matter what operating system version you run you need to run this command to complete this ste

ssh-add -K ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Adding a new SSH key to your GitHub account​

The last step is to let GitHub know about your SSH key so GitHub can recognize you. Run this command to copy your key to your clipboard:

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub