How to Resolve SSH Key Issues with Multiple Git Services 🗝️

When using Git with different Git services such as GitHub and GitLab, you may encounter SSH key issues. This article will guide you on how to set up and configure SSH keys so that you can work smoothly with multiple services simultaneously.

1. Generate SSH Keys 🔑

First, generate a separate SSH key for each Git service.

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

When generating the keys, save each key with a different filename, for example, id_rsa_github and id_rsa_gitlab.

2. Add SSH Keys to Git Services 🌐

Log in to your GitHub and GitLab accounts, then add the generated public keys (.pub files) to the SSH key sections of each respective account.

3. Configure SSH ⚙️

Create or edit the ~/.ssh/config file to configure different SSH keys for each service.

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# GitHub
Host github.com
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa_github

# GitLab
Host gitlab.com
  HostName gitlab.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa_gitlab

If your company uses a custom GitLab instance, add a separate configuration block for it.

4. Test SSH Connections 🧪

Test if you can successfully connect to each service via SSH.

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ssh -T git@github.com
ssh -T git@gitlab.com

5. Handling Common Errors ❗

If you encounter errors such as “Permission denied (publickey)”, check the following:

  • Ensure SSH keys are correctly added to the respective Git services.
  • Verify if the ~/.ssh/config file is configured correctly.
  • Use the ssh-add command to ensure SSH keys are loaded into the SSH Agent.

6. Common Issues and Solutions 💡

  • Multiple GitLab Instances: If you use a custom GitLab instance along with GitLab.com, ensure they are separately configured in the SSH config file.
  • Network Issues: Check if any network settings (like proxies, VPNs) might affect SSH connections.

By following the above steps, you should be able to resolve most SSH key-related issues, especially when dealing with multiple Git services. If you have further questions or specific scenarios, feel free to ask in the comments. 🚀✨