Setup SSH Connection to Github

When you set up SSH, you’ll generate an SSH key and add it to the ssh-agent and then add the key to your GitHub account. Adding the SSH key to the ssh-agent ensures that your SSH key has an extra layer of security through the use of a passphrase.

1. Generating a new SSH key

cd /Users/haochen/.ssh
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "haoeric@hotmail.com"
#- file in which to save the key (/Users/haochen/.ssh/id_rsa): hit enter
#- passphrase: xxxxxxxxxx

2. Adding your SSH key to the ssh-agent

Start the ssh-agent in the background.

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

Then modify your ~/.ssh/config file to automatically load keys into the ssh-agent and store passphrases in your keychain.

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

Add your key to the ssh-agent

ssh-add -K ~/.ssh/id_rsa

3. Adding a new SSH key to your GitHub account

Copy the SSH public key to your clipboard with command pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub, then go to profile photo > Settings > SSH and GPG keys > New SSH key > Paste your key into the “Key” field.

Then you are done, you can start working with your github repositories.