SSH access allows you to run the GitHub Enterprise command line utilities and is useful for troubleshooting, running backups with the GitHub Enterprise Backup Utilities, and configuring replication.
Many of the procedures documented in this guide require administrative shell access to your GitHub Enterprise instance via SSH. SSH access allows you to run the GitHub Enterprise command line utilities and is useful for troubleshooting, running backups with the GitHub Enterprise Backup Utilities, and for configuring replication.
Administrative SSH access is managed separately from Git SSH access and is accessible only via port 122.
To enable administrative SSH access, you must add your SSH public key to the list of authorized keys on the Management Console's settings page. Open https://<host>/setup/settings in a browser and add your key to the list:
Tip: Changes to authorized SSH keys take effect immediately. You do not need to click Save Settings at the bottom of the page.
Once your SSH key has been added to the list, connect to the instance over SSH as the "admin" user on port 122 as follows:
$ ssh -p 122 admin@github.example.com
Last login: Sun Nov 9 07:53:29 2014 from 169.254.1.1
admin@github-example-com:~$ █
Administrative shell access limitations
Administrative shell access is permitted for troubleshooting and performing documented operations procedures only. Modifying system and application files, running programs, or installing unsupported software packages may void your support contract. Please contact GitHub Enterprise Support if you have a question about the activities allowed by your support contract.
