This version of GitHub Enterprise Server was discontinued on 2024-07-09. No patch releases will be made, even for critical security issues. For better performance, improved security, and new features, upgrade to the latest version of GitHub Enterprise Server. For help with the upgrade, contact GitHub Enterprise support.

Testing your SSH connection

After you've set up your SSH key and added it to GitHub, you can test your connection.

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Before testing your SSH connection, you should have already:

You'll need to authenticate this action using your password, which is the SSH key passphrase you created earlier. See "Working with SSH key passphrases."

  1. Open TerminalTerminalGit Bash.

  2. Enter the following:

    Shell
    ssh -T git@HOSTNAME
# Attempts to ssh to GitHub Enterprise Server

    You may see a warning like this:

    > The authenticity of host 'HOSTNAME (IP ADDRESS)' can't be established.
> ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:+DiY3wvvV6TuJJhbpZisF/zLDA0zPMSvHdkr4UvCOqU.
> Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

  3. Verify that the fingerprint in the message you see matches your enterprise's public key fingerprint. If it does, then type yes:

    > Hi USERNAME! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not
> provide shell access.

    You may see this error message:

    ...
Agent admitted failure to sign using the key.
debug1: No more authentication methods to try.
Permission denied (publickey).

    This is a known problem with certain Linux distributions. For more information, see "Error: Agent admitted failure to sign."

    Note: The remote command should exit with code 1.

  4. Verify that the resulting message contains your username. If you receive a "permission denied" message, see "Error: Permission denied (publickey)."