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git-ssh-identity

General & other

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Updated 10-16 03:14

About this skill

Git & SSH Identity

Sets up who-you-are for git: identity, keys, auth, signing, and the config defaults core git developers actually use. Owns ~/.gitconfig (via git config --global, inherently idempotent) and ~/.ssh/config's GitHub block.

When NOT to use

  • Git workflows (rebase, merge, commit messages) → native competence
  • Installing git/gh binaries → dev-cli-tools
  • Repo-side settings (branch protection, secrets) → not a machine-setup task
  • Touch ID / FileVault → macos-security-baseline

Safety rails

  • Never overwrite an existing key. Check ls ~/.ssh/ first; creating over id_ed25519 destroys access. New purpose → new filename.
  • Passphrases and tokens never appear in chat, files, or command args; auth flows are browser-based (gh auth login) or interactive (ssh-keygen prompts).
  • Ask for the user's real name/email — never invent or reuse placeholder identity values.
  • Existing user.email/user.name present? Show current values and confirm before changing.

Workflow

1. Identity + config defaults

git config --global user.name  "<ask the user>"
git config --global user.email "<ask the user>"

git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global fetch.prune true
git config --global rebase.autoStash true
git config --global push.autoSetupRemote true      # git >= 2.37; kills --set-upstream dance
git config --global rerere.enabled true
git config --global merge.conflictstyle zdiff3     # git >= 2.35
git config --global diff.colorMoved plain
git config --global branch.sort -committerdate
git config --global column.ui auto
git config --global help.autocorrect prompt
# Editor: ASK which editor the user has, verify the command exists, then e.g.:
command -v code >/dev/null && git config --global core.editor "code --wait"
# Workflow choice, not universal - ask if the team merges on pull:
git config --global pull.rebase true

Rationale per key: references/git-config.md.

2. Global gitignore

Never truncate an existing file — append only missing entries:

[ -f ~/.gitignore_global ] && cp ~/.gitignore_global ~/.gitignore_global.bak.$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M%S)
for e in .DS_Store '*.swp' .env node_modules/ __pycache__/ .venv/ .idea/ .vscode/; do
  grep -qxF "$e" ~/.gitignore_global 2>/dev/null || echo "$e" >> ~/.gitignore_global
done
git config --global core.excludesfile ~/.gitignore_global

3. SSH key + Apple Keychain

First inspect what already exists — both keys and effective config:

ls ~/.ssh/id_* 2>/dev/null                          # existing keys? pick ONE with the user
ssh -G github.com | grep -Ei '^(identityfile|identityagent)'   # existing config/1Password agent?

If ssh -G shows a 1Password IdentityAgent or an existing github.com block pointing at another key, stop and merge deliberately (edit that block with the user) — appending a second Host github.com block does not override the first. 1Password users skip key generation entirely (its agent + op-ssh-sign handle auth and signing; configure per its docs).

Otherwise, settle on ONE key path and use it consistently everywhere below (existing key → reuse; new: only into a free filename):

KEY=~/.ssh/id_ed25519                     # the agreed path - substitute throughout
[ -f "$KEY" ] || ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<email>" -f "$KEY"   # SET A PASSPHRASE

Wire agent + Keychain so the passphrase is asked once ever (~/.ssh/config; back the file up first if it exists):

Host github.com
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  UseKeychain yes
  IdentityFile <the agreed KEY path>

/usr/bin/ssh-add --apple-use-keychain "$KEY"

Use Apple's /usr/bin/ssh-add — Homebrew/other OpenSSH builds don't have --apple-use-keychain. After reboot the agent is empty but the config block reloads the key transparently on first use.

4. GitHub auth

gh auth login        # browser flow; SSH protocol; can create+upload the key for you
gh auth status
ssh -T git@github.com   # expect: "Hi <user>! You've successfully authenticated..."

No gh? pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub → GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key (type: Authentication). First ssh -T shows a host fingerprint prompt — verify against GitHub's published fingerprints page before typing yes.

5. SSH commit signing (opt-in — Verified badge)

An explicit choice, not a default: global commit.gpgsign makes every commit fail if the key/agent is unavailable. Confirm the user wants it (and check nothing is configured already: git config --global --get-regexp '^(gpg|commit\.gpgsign|tag\.gpgsign)').

git config --global gpg.format ssh
git config --global user.signingkey "$KEY.pub"    # the agreed key from step 3
git config --global commit.gpgsign true
git config --global tag.gpgsign true

Upload the same public key a second time on GitHub with type Signing (gh ssh-key add "$KEY.pub" --type signing) — authentication and signing entries are separate; skipping this leaves commits "Unverified".

Local verification needs an allowed-signers file (idempotent; use the identity email from step 1, not directory-dependent git config):

LINE="<email from step 1> $(cat "$KEY.pub")"
grep -qxF "$LINE" ~/.ssh/allowed_signers 2>/dev/null || echo "$LINE" >> ~/.ssh/allowed_signers
git config --global gpg.ssh.allowedSignersFile ~/.ssh/allowed_signers

Test: commit in a scratch repo, git verify-commit HEAD / git log --show-signature -1. Requires git ≥ 2.34 (SSH signing) — CLT git qualifies.

6. Work/personal identity split (when asked)

# ~/.gitconfig
[includeIf "gitdir:~/work/"]
    path = ~/.gitconfig-work
[includeIf "gitdir:~/personal/"]
    path = ~/.gitconfig-personal

Each included file sets its own user.email (and optionally signingkey). The trailing / matches the tree recursively. Remote-based alternative (git ≥ 2.36): [includeIf "hasconfig:remote.*.url:git@github.com:acme/**"]. Verify from inside each tree: git config user.email.

7. Verify

sh "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/scripts/check.sh"

Output spec

Done means: the managed keys read back correctly —

git config --global --show-origin --get-regexp \
  '^(user\.(name|email|signingkey)|init\.defaultbranch|core\.(editor|excludesfile)|gpg\.|commit\.gpgsign|tag\.gpgsign)'

(targeted query, not --list — a full dump can expose credential-bearing URLs into the transcript) — ssh -T git@github.com prints the "Hi !" greeting (exit code 1 is the success case), a signed test commit verifies locally (if signing was chosen), the passphrase survives a new shell, and no existing key or config block was touched without consent.

Gotchas

  • "permission denied (publickey)" with a working key usually = key not loaded (run the ssh-add line) or the repo remote uses HTTPS while auth was set up for SSH (git remote -v to check).
  • Signing on but key not uploaded as Signing type → GitHub shows Unverified; the auth entry does not count.
  • UseKeychain on a passphrase-less key errors on some setups — omit it then (but keys should have passphrases).
  • Two GitHub accounts (not just two emails) need more than includeIf: per-account keys + Host github-work aliases with IdentitiesOnly yes and matching remote URLs — say so instead of half-configuring it.
  • gh auth login's token normally lands in the macOS keychain but can fall back to a plaintext ~/.config/gh/hosts.yml — promise the browser flow (no pasted tokens), not a storage guarantee.
  • CLT git lags upstream slightly (updates only with Xcode releases). Fine for everything here; brew install git if newer features are needed — brew's PATH position shadows it automatically.