ssh github works, but not git push.

Question

I've never encountered ssh working and git not working in this way. Not sure how to troubleshoot.

ssh seems to work (-T prevents the first line):

iam@heeere:/e/.ssh$ ssh github
PTY allocation request failed on channel 0
Hi bradyt! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.
Connection to github.com closed.

git push seems to not work

iam@heeere:/e/basic-computing-notes$ git push
Permission denied (publickey).
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.

Please make sure you have the correct access rights
and the repository exists.

configs

My git config is

iam@heeere:/e/basic-computing-notes$ git config -l
[email protected]
user.name=Brady Trainor
push.default=simple
alias.ac=!git add --all && git commit
alias.lol=log --oneline --graph --decorate --all
core.editor=vim
core.excludesfile=/e/configs/.gitignore_global
core.repositoryformatversion=0
core.filemode=false
core.bare=false
core.logallrefupdates=true
[email protected]:bradyt/basic-computing-notes.git
remote.origin.fetch=+refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*
branch.master.remote=origin
branch.master.merge=refs/heads/master

My ssh config includes

Host github
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile "~/.ssh/github_rsa"

You could find the answer here: stackoverflow.com/questions/57734669/… stackoverflow.com/questions/12940626/… — Xab Ion
– Xab Ion, Commented Feb 17, 2022 at 5:57

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 10:31:15Z

7

Since your ssh keys has not the default name (id_rsa, id_rsa.pub), you need to use the ssh config entry you defined, in order for your ssh url to reference the right keys:

git remote set-url origin github:bradyt/basic-computing-notes.git

That way, ssh will look for ~/.ssh/github_rsa, instead of looking for ~/.ssh/id_rsa.

Simpler, musiKk suggests in the comments, changing the entry of the ssh config to github.com.

Host github.com github
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile "~/.ssh/github_rsa"

I have kept the Hostname and User just to be sure, but the default url would then work ([email protected]:bradyt/basic-computing-notes.git)

As raphinesse mentions in the comments:

In case you still want to use the shortcut github, the Host keyword allows for multiple patterns.
From the ssh_config man page:

If more than one pattern is provided, they should be separated by whitespace.

edited May 23, 2017 at 10:31

CommunityBot

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answered Oct 14, 2014 at 7:04

VonC

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5 Comments

musiKk Over a year ago

Or, alternatively make the first line of your config Host github.com. You wouldn't need the HostName and User directives then.

VonC Over a year ago

@musiKk good point. I have included it in the answer for more visibility.

musiKk Over a year ago

@VonC Awesome. I find deviating from "the standard way of doing things" usually causes pain down the line. The fewer assumptions you have to make, the better. The alternative solution only requires one modification instead of two.

raphinesse Over a year ago

In case you still want to use the shortcut github, the Host keyword allows for multiple patterns. From the ssh_config man page: If more than one pattern is provided, they should be separated by whitespace

VonC Over a year ago

@raphinesse Thank you, good point. I have included your comment in the answer for more visibility.

Yusufali2205 · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-17 20:33:16Z

1

I came across the same issue and I found out there was an entry in my .gitconfig which was replacing ssh with https.

[url "https"]
    insteadOf = git

I might have accidentally added this entry while using some tool. After removing this the problem was resolved.

answered May 17, 2017 at 20:33

Yusufali2205

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Comments

Norman Pellet · Accepted Answer · 2021-08-11 15:14:17Z

0

Although this is not the answer to OP's question, I put this here for other people who might end up here like me:

When using a non-standard SSH port, the protocol needs to be explicitly specified, i.e.

git remote set-url origin git+ssh://git@host:port/url.git

instead of

git remote set-url origin git@host:port/url.git

answered Aug 11, 2021 at 15:14

Norman Pellet

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Comments

William Baker Morrison · Accepted Answer · 2022-02-17 11:42:48Z

0

I've had the same problem here when using 'https' protocol.

Git push doesn't work for 'https' protocol but if I manually change it to 'git' it works.

This doesn't work:

git push https://github.com/username/repo.git

But changing it to this works:

git push [email protected]:username/repo.git

edited Feb 17, 2022 at 11:42

William Baker Morrison

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answered Feb 16, 2022 at 14:33

Ian Andwati

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Comments

rhengles · Accepted Answer · 2025-09-30 17:02:48Z

-1

Just sharing this because it might happen to others:
When you try to "git push" some specific branch
make sure you don't forget the "remote" name:

I.e., make sure you're typing "git push origin main" instead of "git push main"

answered Sep 30 at 17:02

rhengles

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