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Configuring Git

We’ve got Git installed, but now it’s time to make it our own! Let’s configure it so it works the way we want and make our life a little easier.

Git Identity​

First things first: Git needs to know who you are so it can tag your commits with your name and email. Let's tell Git who you are:

Start by setting your name:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"

Next, give Git your email:

git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Pro tip: Use the same email you registered with on GitHub/GitLab or any other Git provider you're using. This makes things smooth when pushing your commits.

Colored Output​

Git's output is functional, but let’s make it prettier! You can enable color to give it some flair. Just type:

git config --global color.ui auto

SSH Keys​

SSH keys are your ticket to connecting securely with remote repositories (like GitHub or GitLab) without having to enter your password every time. It’s secure and super handy — as long as you keep your private key to yourself!

Generating a New SSH Key​

Let’s generate a shiny new SSH key:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

If you’re on an older system and don’t support ED25519 (don’t worry, we’ve all been there), you can use RSA instead:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "[email protected]"

Boom! You’ve got an SSH key. Now, remember: only share your public key. Keep that private key locked up tight.

Getting Your Public Key​

Next, let’s grab your public key so we can add it to your remote Git account. Run this:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Now just copy the output (your public key) — we’ll need it in the next step.

Adding the Key to Your Remote Git Account​

There are lots of Git providers out there, but we’ll use GitHub as an example (since it’s the most popular). Here’s how to add your SSH key to GitHub:

  1. Go to your GitHub profile settings.
  2. In the left-hand menu, click on SSH and GPG keys.
  3. Hit Add New SSH Key.
  4. Paste in the public key you copied earlier.

Adding Your Key to the SSH Agent​

To make sure your SSH key is used properly, we need to add it to the SSH agent. Just run:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

Then add your key to the agent:

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Testing the key​

Finally, let’s make sure everything’s working! Try connecting to GitHub via SSH to see if your setup is good to go:

ssh [email protected]

If it works, you should see something like this:

[10.11.2024 03:23:17] [buxx@Halcyon] [~/Desktop/Projects/post]
$ ssh [email protected]
PTY allocation request failed on channel 0
Hi herobuxx! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.
Connection to github.com closed.