# SSH keys

An SSH key allows you to establish a secure connection between your
computer and GitLab.

## How to create your SSH Keys

You need to connect your computer to your GitLab account through SSH Keys. They are unique for every computer that you link your GitLab account with.

To generate a new SSH key, use the following command:
```bash
ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "$your_email"
```
This command will prompt you for a location and filename to store the key
pair and for a password. When prompted for the location and filename, just
press enter to use the default. If you use a different name, the key will not
be used automatically.

Note: It is a best practice to use a password for an SSH key, but it is not
required and you can skip creating a password by pressing enter.

If you want to change the password of your key later, you can use the following
command: `ssh-keygen -p <keyname>`

Use the command below to show your public key:

**Windows Command Line:**
```bash
type %userprofile%\.ssh\id_rsa.pub
```
**GNU/Linux/Mac/PowerShell:**
```bash
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
```

Copy-paste the key to the 'My SSH Keys' section under the 'SSH' tab in your
user profile. Please copy the complete key starting with `ssh-rsa` and ending
with your username and host.

To copy your public key to the clipboard, use the code below. Depending on your
OS you'll need to use a different command:

**Windows Command Line:**
```bash
type %userprofile%\.ssh\id_rsa.pub | clip
```

**Windows PowerShell:**
```bash
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | clip
```

**Mac:**
```bash
pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
```

**GNU/Linux (requires xclip):**
```bash
xclip -sel clip < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
```

## Add your SSH Key

On the left side menu, click on "profile settings" and then click on "SSH Keys":

![SSH Keys](basicsimages/shh_keys.png)

Then click on the green button "Add SSH Key":

![Add SSH Key](basicsimages/add_sshkey.png)

There, you should paste the SSH Key that your command line will generate for you. Below you'll find the steps to generate it:

![Paste SSH Key](basicsimages/paste_sshkey.png)

Copy the SSH Key that your command line created and paste it on the "Key" box on the GitLab page. The title will be added automatically.

![Paste SSH Key](basicsimages/key.png)

Now, you'll be able to use Git over SSH, instead of Git over HTTP.

## Deploy keys

Deploy keys allow read-only access to multiple projects with a single SSH
key.

[Read more in the deploy keys documentation.](../project/deploy_keys.md)

## Applications

### Eclipse

How to add your ssh key to Eclipse: https://wiki.eclipse.org/EGit/User_Guide#Eclipse_SSH_Configuration

## Tip: Non-default OpenSSH key file names or locations

If, for whatever reason, you decide to specify a non-default location and filename for your GitLab SSH key pair, you must configure your SSH client to find your GitLab SSH private key for connections to your GitLab server (perhaps gitlab.com). For OpenSSH clients, this is handled in the `~/.ssh/config` file with a stanza similar to the following:

```
#
# Main gitlab.com server
#
Host gitlab.com
RSAAuthentication yes
IdentityFile ~/my-ssh-key-directory/my-gitlab-private-key-filename
User mygitlabusername
```

Another example
```
#
# Our company's internal GitLab server
#
Host my-gitlab.company.com
RSAAuthentication yes
IdentityFile ~/my-ssh-key-directory/company-com-private-key-filename
```

Note in the gitlab.com example above a username was specified to override the default chosen by OpenSSH (your local username). This is only required if your local and remote usernames differ.

Due to the wide variety of SSH clients and their very large number of configuration options, further explanation of these topics is beyond the scope of this document.

Public SSH keys need to be unique, as they will bind to your account. Your SSH key is the only identifier you'll
have when pushing code via SSH. That's why it needs to uniquely map to a single user.