How to use SSH Keys In HTTP

While not strictly an HTTPS credential caching method, using SSH keys can be a more secure and convenient alternative to managing credentials. SSH keys eliminate the need for passwords entirely.

Steps to Set Up SSH Keys:

Step 1: Generate SSH Keys:

If you don’t already have SSH keys, generate them using the following command. Follow the prompts to create a key pair.

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

Step 2: Add Your SSH Key to the SSH Agent:

Start the SSH agent and add your SSH private key.

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

Step 3: Add Your SSH Key to GitHub/GitLab:

Copy your SSH public key to your clipboard.

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Go to your GitHub or GitLab account settings and add the SSH key.

Step 4: Change the Remote URL to SSH:

Update your Git remote URL to use SSH instead of HTTPS.

git remote set-url origin git@github.com:username/repo.git

Step 5: Push Your Changes:

You should now be able to push your changes without being prompted for a username and password.

git push origin master

When working with Git repositories over HTTPS, you might find yourself frequently prompted for your username and password when pushing commits. This can be bulky and interrupt your workflow. Thankfully, Git provides a way to cache your credentials so you don’t have to enter them repeatedly. In this article, we’ll explore how to cache HTTPS credentials for pushing commits in Git.