How to Set Up Git Credentials in the Terminal

Imagine pushing code to a remote repository and hitting an authentication error—that moment of frustration could have been easily avoided. Before anything else, let’s address the key: setting up Git credentials is critical for seamless collaboration. If you haven’t done it already, you might find yourself constantly entering your username and password each time you push or pull code. That’s not only inefficient but also totally avoidable.

Now, what if I told you that setting up your Git credentials can be done in just a few simple commands? Yes, I’ll walk you through the process, but first, understand the stakes: proper Git credential setup means you save time and avoid future headaches. You can also improve security by using tokens or SSH keys rather than your username and password.

1. Why Credentials Matter Git credentials allow you to authenticate with remote repositories like GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. Without properly setting them up, you can’t push or pull updates. More importantly, credentials determine the level of access you have, making sure the right people can work on the code.

2. Credential Options: HTTPS vs SSH You have two common methods to authenticate when working with Git.

   • HTTPS: This method requires you to provide a username and password or a personal access token each time you interact with the remote repository. You can cache credentials to avoid repeatedly entering them.
   • SSH: This is a more secure and automated method. It uses SSH keys stored on your system to authenticate with the remote server without the need for a password.

   Each method has pros and cons, but most developers lean toward SSH due to its added security and automation.

3. Setting Up Credentials in Terminal Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up Git credentials in your terminal:

   a. Set Up HTTPS Credentials: To cache your credentials for HTTPS, run the following:

   bash
   git config --global credential.helper cache
   

   This will cache your credentials in memory for 15 minutes by default. If you want to cache them for a longer period, for example, one hour:

   bash
   git config --global credential.helper "cache --timeout=3600"
   

   To store credentials permanently (this is less secure), you can set up the credential helper as follows:

   bash
   git config --global credential.helper store
   

   b. Set Up SSH Credentials: First, check if you already have an SSH key by running:

   bash
   ls -al ~/.ssh
   

   If an SSH key exists, you’ll see files like id_rsa or id_ed25519. If not, you need to generate one:

   bash
   ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "[email protected]"
   

   After generating your key, add it to the SSH agent:

   bash
   eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
   ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa
   

   Then, add the public key to your Git hosting service. For GitHub, you can use this command:

   bash
   pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
   

   This copies the key to your clipboard. Head over to GitHub, navigate to Settings > SSH and GPG keys, and paste the key.

4. Configure Git Username and Email To ensure that your commits are attributed correctly, set your Git username and email:

   bash
   git config --global user.name "Your Name"
   git config --global user.email "[email protected]"
   

   These details will appear in your commit history, helping teams track contributions.

5. How to Switch Between Multiple Accounts What if you have multiple GitHub accounts? You can configure Git to work with different accounts by creating separate SSH keys and specifying which key to use for each repository. To do this, you’ll need to create a .ssh/config file:

   bash
   Host github.com-work
       HostName github.com
       User git
       IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa_work
   

   With this configuration, you can work on different repositories using different SSH keys seamlessly.

6. Bonus: Storing Credentials Securely For an added layer of security, you might want to store credentials using a credential manager. Git offers built-in support for credential managers like GitHub CLI or Gnome Keyring. For example, on macOS, you can use the macOS Keychain:

   bash
   git config --global credential.helper osxkeychain
   

   On Windows, Git can be integrated with the Windows Credential Manager:

   bash
   git config --global credential.helper wincred
   

Setting up your credentials once can save you an enormous amount of time in the long run. You’ll be able to push and pull to your repositories without entering your username and password every time, and you can rest easy knowing that your credentials are stored securely. Whether you prefer HTTPS or SSH, you can tailor the process to your specific workflow and operating system.

If you're using Git daily for collaborative projects, secure your workflow now. Don’t wait for that inevitable moment when a push fails because of an authentication error.