Using the SSH protocol, you can connect and authenticate to remote servers and services. With SSH keys, you can connect to GitHub Enterprise without supplying your username or password at each visit.

When you set up SSH, you'll generate an SSH key and add it to the ssh-agent and then add the key to your GitHub Enterprise account. Adding the SSH key to the ssh-agent ensures that your SSH key has an extra layer of security through the use of a passphrase. For more information, see "Working with SSH key passphrases."

We recommend that you regularly review your SSH keys list and revoke any that are invalid or have been compromised.

Tip: GitHub Enterprise has a desktop client! Most of your work can be done in the desktop client rather than in the command line.

Tip: If you have GitHub for Windows installed, you can use it to clone repositories and not deal with SSH keys. It also comes with the Git Bash tool, which is the preferred way of running git commands on Windows.

Further reading