Setting up SSH

Git can communicate to remotes by using a number of protocols. The preferred one is SSH.

In order to be able to communicate through SSH both sides need to have certificates available.

The certificates can be generated with the following command:

$ ssh-keygen

Just accept all the default values and after the last step you will see some ASCII art.

By default your certificates should be saved in the .ssh directory of your home folder.

The file names are id_rsa and id_rsa.pub.

*** Never give away the id_rsa file ***

The id_rsa file is the private key and as the name suggests it should be kept private.

The id_rsa.pub file is the public key and can be shared with anyone.