GitHub Help

Should the sudo command be used with Git?

You should not be using the sudo command with Git. If you have a very good reason you must use sudo, then ensure you are using it with every command (it's probably just better to use su to get a shell as root at that point). If you generate SSH keys without sudo and then try to use a command like sudo git push, you won't be using the same keys that you generated.

Check that you are connecting to the correct server

Typing is hard, we all know it. Pay attention to what you type; you won't be able to connect to "githib.com" or "guthub.com". In some cases, a corporate network may cause issues resolving the DNS record as well.

To make sure you are connecting to the right domain, you can enter the following command:

ssh -vT git@hostname
OpenSSH_5.6p1, OpenSSL 0.9.8r 8 Feb 2011
debug1: Reading configuration data /Users/you/.ssh/config
debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh_config
debug1: Applying options for *
debug1: Connecting to hostname [192.30.252.131] port 22.

Note the IP address (the numbers within the [ ] brackets). The connection should be made to an IP address that belongs to your GitHub Enterprise instance, on port 22.

Always use the "git" user

All connections, including those for remote URLs, must be made as the "git" user. If you try to connect with your GitHub Enterprise username, it will fail:

ssh -T billy.anyteen@hostname
Permission denied (publickey).

If your connection failed and you're using a remote URL with your GitHub Enterprise username, you can change the remote URL to use the "git" user.

You should verify your connection by typing:

ssh -T git@hostname
Hi username! You've successfully authenticated...

Make sure you have a key that is being used

# start the ssh-agent in the background
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
Agent pid 59566
ssh-add -l -E md5
2048 MD5:a0:dd:42:3c:5a:9d:e4:2a:21:52:4e:78:07:6e:c8:4d /Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa (RSA)

The ssh-add command should print out a long string of numbers and letters. If it does not print anything, you will need to generate a new SSH key and associate it with GitHub Enterprise.

Getting more details

You can also check that the key is being used by trying to connect to git@[hostname]:

ssh -vT git@hostname
...
debug1: identity file /Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa type -1
debug1: identity file /Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa-cert type -1
debug1: identity file /Users/you/.ssh/id_dsa type -1
debug1: identity file /Users/you/.ssh/id_dsa-cert type -1
...
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Trying private key: /Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa
debug1: Trying private key: /Users/you/.ssh/id_dsa
debug1: No more authentication methods to try.
Permission denied (publickey).

In that example, we did not have any keys for SSH to use. The "-1" at the end of the "identity file" lines means SSH couldn't find a file to use. Later on, the "Trying private key" lines also indicate that no file was found. If a file existed, those lines would be "1" and "Offering public key", respectively:

ssh -vT git@hostname
...
debug1: identity file /Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa type 1
...
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Offering RSA public key: /Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa

Verify the public key is attached to your account

You must provide your public key to GitHub Enterprise to establish a secure connection.

If you don't see your public key in GitHub Enterprise, you'll need to add your SSH key to GitHub Enterprise to associate it with your computer.