Set Up SSH Keys

We use SSH keys to establish a secure connection between your computer and GitHub. Setting them up is fairly easy, but does involve a number of steps.

To make sure you generate a brand new key, you need to check if one already exists. First, you need to open an app called Terminal.
1. First, check for existing ssh keys on your computer:

cd ~/.ssh

2. Backup and remove existing SSH keys. Since there is already an SSH directory you’ll want to back the old one up and remove it:

$ ls
$ mkdir key_backup
$ cp id_rsa* key_backup
$ rm id_rsa*

3. Generate a new SSH key. To generate a new SSH key, enter the code below. We want the default settings so when asked to enter a file in which to save the key, just press enter.

$ ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "your_email@youremail.com"

Now you need to enter a passphrase.

Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:

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