Github with SSH key

Git for Windows comes with a "Git Bash" that gives you good Git functionality over SSH. But what if you want to use Powershell instead of Bash? This guide shows you how to do just that, without needing to re-type your password each time you connect.

This guide uses Github as an example, but the same principals apply for any SSH-accessible Git repo.

This assumes you have installed Scoop, and have a basic knowledge of Git.

Based on this guide from GitHub

Install

First up, install the programs you need:

scoop install git openssh

Create a private key

If you don't already have an SSH key, you can create one like this:

PS> ssh-keygen
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Users/you//.ssh/id_rsa): [press enter]
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): [type your password]
Enter same passphrase again: [and once more]
...

Then add your SSH key to GitHub.

Use Pshazz to remember your password

Pshazz includes a plugin for SSH that can save your SSH key password in Windows Credential Manager so you don't need to re-type it every time you push to your Github repo. Install it like this:

scoop install pshazz

And you can set up git client to store your GitHub access token to Windows Credential Manager by:

git config --global credential.helper manager-core

You should see a popup asking for your SSH key password: enter it and check the box to save your password. Back in your Powershell session, you should see an Identity Added message. Whenever you start a Powershell session from now on, Pshazz will make sure the ssh-agent is running and load your private key using your saved password.

Test it out

To make sure everything's working, run:

ssh -T git@github.com

After a warning or two, you should see a message like this:

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