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A Step by Step Guide to Configuring GitHub SSH on Mac
If this is your first time working with a GitHub repository, this guide is for you. Running Git operations from your CLI requires you to identify yourself to GitHub. One quick and easy way to do so is to use the HTTPS method, the other not-so-straightforward way is to use the SSH protocol.
When two roads diverge, choose the one less traveled by.
So why choose SSH? An SSH key does not include details on your GitHub account credentials, so your account cannot be hijacked if your credentials are stolen. In addition, if you are worried that someone gaining access to your machine will also gain access to the systems that use that SSH key, pairing your key with a strong passphrase adds an extra layer of security to prevent any misuse, even if your key gets stolen.
How does it work? SSH keys are usually a pair, consisting of a public key and a private key. The public key gets shared with GitHub, and the private key gets stored on your machine. If the key combination is a match, the access is granted.
The below is a step-by-step guide to setting up your SSH key for use with Github on a Mac machine:
- Install Homebrew:
