Unable to ssh using git config file

Question

I know its been asked so many times but i couldn't get answers for my problem. I am trying to ssh to system using config file. Config file is

Host qa
    HostName 10.218.70.345
    User user
    IdentityFile C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
    Port 22

When i run the below command

$ ssh -v qa
OpenSSH_8.0p1, OpenSSL 1.1.1c  28 May 2019
debug1: Reading configuration data /c/Users/bean/.ssh/config
debug1: /c/Users/bean/.ssh/config line 1: Applying options for qa1
debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config
debug1: Connecting to 10.218.70.345 [10.218.70.345] port 22.
debug1: Connection established.
debug1: identity file C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub type 0
debug1: identity file C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub-cert type -1
debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_8.0
debug1: Remote protocol version 2.0, remote software version OpenSSH_6.6.1
debug1: match: OpenSSH_6.6.1 pat OpenSSH_6.6.1* compat 0x04000002
debug1: Authenticating to 10.218.70.345:22 as 'user'
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT sent
debug1: SSH2_MSG_KEXINIT received
debug1: kex: algorithm: [email protected]
debug1: kex: host key algorithm: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256
debug1: kex: server->client cipher: aes128-ctr MAC: hmac-sha1 compression: none
debug1: kex: client->server cipher: aes128-ctr MAC: hmac-sha1 compression: none
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_KEX_ECDH_REPLY
debug1: Server host key: ecdsa-sha2-nistp256     SHA256:CWRMF3n1hQRu6ahabqm/0Ge1KOip6oe/xfJkOUDfRbQ
debug1: Host '10.218.70.345' is known and matches the ECDSA host key.
debug1: Found key in /c/Users/bean/.ssh/known_hosts:10
debug1: rekey out after 4294967296 blocks
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS sent
debug1: expecting SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS
debug1: SSH2_MSG_NEWKEYS received
debug1: rekey in after 4294967296 blocks
debug1: Will attempt key: C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub RSA SHA256:Eb8q2RnFhk+geYicdXwjx/8OqHFsf7qJf7QaTbaGs94 explicit
debug1: SSH2_MSG_SERVICE_ACCEPT received
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey,gssapi-keyex,gssapi-with-mic,password
debug1: Next authentication method: publickey
debug1: Offering public key: C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub RSA SHA256:Eb8q2RnFhk+geYicdXwjx/8OqHFsf7qJf7QaTbaGs94 explicit
debug1: Server accepts key: C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub RSA SHA256:Eb8q2RnFhk+geYicdXwjx/8OqHFsf7qJf7QaTbaGs94 explicit
Load key "C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub": invalid format
debug1: Next authentication method: password
[email protected]'s password:

Tried giving access to the files but none of them worked.

But the strange thing is when i do ssh user@<ip_address> it works perfectly. Can someone tell where and what is going wrong

IdentityFile C:/Users/prateek.naik/.ssh/id_rsa.pub stackoverflow.com/a/29948797/13317 — Kenster
– Kenster, Commented Sep 12, 2019 at 20:18
Possible duplicate of SSH Key: “Permissions 0644 for 'id_rsa.pub' are too open.” on mac — Kenster
– Kenster, Commented Sep 12, 2019 at 20:18
After going through all these links then only i posted this question. One link suggests to provide chmod and another one suggests to have IdentityFile line in config file. If you look at my file it already has that line and also gave required permissions. If i just do ssh user@<ip_address> am able to login to box — Prateek Naik
– Prateek Naik, Commented Sep 13, 2019 at 4:06

VonC · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-13 08:23:46Z

4

You would need to use:

IdentityFile C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa

Not "id_rsa.pub" as in the question: your config file must mention the private key, not the public one.

edited Sep 13, 2019 at 8:23

answered Sep 13, 2019 at 5:04

VonC

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2 Comments

VonC Over a year ago

@Ben.Bean OK. I have rewritten the answer with the actual cause for your error.

Noufal Ibrahim Over a year ago

The logs in the question tell you this Load key "C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub": invalid format. You're using your public key whereas, like VonC said, you should use your private one.

Fatema Tuz Zuhora · Accepted Answer · 2019-09-13 11:01:19Z

-1

Add PreferredAuthentications publickey at your config file. And no need to use .pub as file format

For Example:

Host github.com
   HostName github.com
   PreferredAuthentications publickey
   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa

edited Sep 13, 2019 at 11:01

answered Sep 13, 2019 at 6:40

Fatema Tuz Zuhora

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2 Comments

Prateek Naik Over a year ago

can you tell me where and do i need to remove/replace the line IdentityFile C:/Users/bean/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Fatema Tuz Zuhora Over a year ago

can you please go through the following link. Hopefully, you will find something helpful.

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