Sourcetree GIT (HTTPS, SSH) - Yash-777/MyWorld GitHub Wiki

Git Repo- Clone - with HTTPS	SourceTree - Tools -> Options -> Authentication

When you access Git Repository with this URL( .git): https://github.com/Yash-777/commons-lang.git leads to following error:

Command: git -c diff.mnemonicprefix=false -c core.quotepath=false --no-optional-locks ls-remote https://github.com/Yash-777/commons-lang.git
Output: 
Error: fatal: unable to access 'https://github.com/Yash-777/commons-lang.git/': Failed to connect to github.com port 443 after 21110 ms: Timed out

Git Repo- Clone - with SSH	SourceTree - Tools -> Options -> General -> SSH Client Configuration
You don't have any public SSH keys in your GitHub account. You can add a new public key, or try cloning this repository via HTTPS.	SSH Key: Give path to your SSH key SSH Client: Change to OpenSSH(/id_rsa) or PuTTY/Plink(/*.ppk)

📌 Ensure you have a SSH key first. Or create one on the command line:

If you don't have any public SSH keys in your GitHub account. You can add a new public key, or try cloning this repository via HTTPS.

🔐 What Is an SSH Host Key Fingerprint?

When a server runs SSH, it has one or more host keys (e.g., RSA, ECDSA, ED25519). A fingerprint is a hash (like MD5, SHA-256) of one of those public keys, used to represent it in a shorter, readable form.

SSH host key fingerprints : SSH keys allow you to establish a secure connection between your computer and GitLab. SSH fingerprints verify that the client is connecting to the correct host.

If you're looking to generate an SSH key pair with a specific filename (yash777) and a passphrase (for added security), you can use the ssh-keygen command with the following steps:

1. Open your terminal or command prompt.
2. Use the ssh-keygen command with the -t rsa option to specify RSA as the key type, -f yash777 to specify the filename, and -C to add a comment for your key.

ssh-keygen -t rsa -f yash777 -C "[email protected]"

Replace "[email protected]" with your actual email address or any comment you want to add.

3. It will prompt you to enter a passphrase. Type in a passphrase that you can remember but is strong enough to protect your private key.

Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:

4. After entering the passphrase, the key pair will be generated, and you'll see output similar to the following:

Your identification has been saved in yash777.
Your public key has been saved in yash777.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX user@hostname
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 3072]----+
|    . .          |
+----[SHA256]-----+

5. The private key (yash777) and public key (yash777.pub) will be saved in the current directory. The private key (yash777) should be kept secure and not shared, while the public key (yash777.pub) can be distributed to systems where you need to authenticate via SSH.

C:\Yashwanth\.ssh>ssh-keygen -t rsa -f yash777 -C "[email protected]"
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in yash777
Your public key has been saved in yash777.pub
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX your_email@example.com
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 3072]----+
|   . .     .oo   |
|  o . .    .+..  |
| o ++        o o.|
|  .oo       .   o|
+----[SHA256]-----+

📂 Resulting Files: After running this command, you’ll have:

• yash777 → your private key (keep this safe! 🔐)
• yash777.pub → your public key (share this with servers/services for SSH access)

🛡️ Security Tips:

• Never share the private key (yash777)
• Protect it with a passphrase if prompted (extra security)
• Upload only the .pub file to servers or GitHub, GitLab, etc.

✅ GitLab UI: When adding an SSH key in GitLab (Edit Profile > SSH Keys > Add new key), you should only paste your public key — specifically the contents of the .pub file.

• File to add: yash777.pub ✅ (public key - for secure access to GitLab)

• File to never add: yash777 ❌ (this is the private key leads to following error in GitLab UI)

  ⚠️ GitLab UI - Error:

  The form contains the following errors:
  Key type is forbidden. Must be RSA, ECDSA, ED25519, ECDSA_SK, or ED25519_SK
  Key is invalid
  Fingerprint sha256 cannot be generated
  

🌐 What is an SSH Host Key Fingerprint?

An SSH fingerprint is a short representation (hash) of a server’s SSH public key, like:

SHA256:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

This helps verify you're connecting to the correct server, preventing man-in-the-middle attacks.

SSH keys establish a secure connection. SSH fingerprints confirm you're connecting to the correct host.

📌 Step 1: Check if You Have an SSH Key Before setting up SSH access, check if you already have an SSH key:

ls ~/.ssh

Look for files like id_rsa.pub, id_ed25519.pub, or any custom-named .pub file.

You can add public SSH keys in your GitHub^{Profile: SSH and GPG keys} or GitLab^{profile: Edit Profile → SSH Keys} account.

🛠️ Step 2: Generate a New SSH Key Pair (Custom Name)

If you're creating a new SSH key pair with a custom filename (yash777), follow these steps:

🔧 Terminal Command:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -f yash777 -C "[email protected]"

Replace "[email protected]" with your actual email or any comment to help identify your key.

🧾 Prompt and Example Output:

Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in yash777.
Your public key has been saved in yash777.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX [email protected]
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 3072]----+
|    . .          |
+----[SHA256]-----+

📂 Resulting Files

🔒 Security Tips

• ❌ Never share your private key (yash777)
• ✅ Share only the public key (yash777.pub)
• 🧠 Use a passphrase when generating the key for added security
• Keep your .ssh folder and key files permission-restricted (chmod 600)

🧭 Step 3: Add Your SSH Key to GitLab/GitHub

✅ GitLab Instructions: GitLab UI → Edit Profile → SSH Keys → Add new key

Then:

• Paste the entire contents of your yash777.pub file into the text field.
• Give it a descriptive title (e.g., "Work Laptop Key")
• Click Add key

⚠️ GitLab Error When Adding Private Key: If you mistakenly paste your private key, GitLab will show this error:

The form contains the following errors:
Key type is forbidden. Must be RSA, ECDSA, ED25519, ECDSA_SK, or ED25519_SK
Key is invalid
Fingerprint sha256 cannot be generated

👉 This happens because GitLab only accepts valid public keys of supported types.