SSH keys

Git requires authentication, so that your local machine can interact securely with the remote (i.e. this gitlab repository).

When you first log in using your SWITCH ID, you'll get a notification requesting that you add SSH credentials. SSH is the protocol used by git for authentication. This is in addition to your username and password, which are used to sign in.

In Week 2, we will go through the process together, so make sure you have your machine with you in class (ideally, Mac or Linux ... Windows is a little tricky!). You will probably need to enter the commands from this guide: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ssh/#adding-an-ssh-key-to-your-gitlab-account .

SSH is very secure, but a little bit complicated. It involves generating a keypair, which consists of a private key stored on your machine, and a public key that you upload to GitLab. When you try to do something like push content to a GitLab repository, GitLab will verify your public key, and by comparing it with the private key on your machine, git will be able to verify your identity.

Note that you will need to generate a new key for each machine you use to push to GitLab.

More information about SSH can be found here: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ssh/

You can comment here if you have any SSH problems, questions or tips. However, this probably isn't necessary, since we'll do it together in the Week 2 seminar.

Once everyone has configured their SSH keys, we can close this issue!

changed milestone to %Orientation

added tech support label

Added a key to my profile.

closed