Account & SSH Setup

Before you can use GitHub you need two things. A GitHub account, and a way for your computer to connect to it securely. We're setting up both in this lesson, and I promise it's less scary than the word "SSH" makes it sound.

Part 1: Create Your GitHub Account#

Already have a GitHub account? Skip straight to Part 2.

Step 1. Go to GitHub#

Open your web browser and head to github.com

Step 2. Click Sign Up#

You'll see a big "Sign up" button. Click it to start signing up.

Step 3. Enter Your Information#

You'll need a few things.

• An email address
• A password
• A username (other people will see this one)

Username tips

• Keep it professional, since you might end up using it on job applications
• Shorter is better
• Skip the numbers if you can (xXcoder1997Xx is not the vibe)

Step 4. Verify Your Account#

GitHub will ask you to solve a puzzle to prove you're human. Then check your email for a verification code.

Step 5. Choose Your Plan#

If GitHub asks you to pick a plan, go with Free. It has everything you need for this whole course.

Part 2: Understanding SSH Keys#

Now your computer needs a way to talk to GitHub securely. We do that with something called SSH keys.

What are SSH Keys?#

Think of SSH keys as a special lock-and-key setup.

• Private key - Lives on your computer. NEVER share this one!
• Public key - You hand this one to GitHub. It's safe to share.

Here's what happens when you connect to GitHub.

1. Your computer uses the private key to create a secret message
2. GitHub uses your public key to check that it's really you
3. If they match, you're in!

Part 3: Set Up SSH Keys#

Alright, let's make your SSH keys and hook them up to GitHub.

Make Sure Git Is Installed#

Everything from here on needs Git on your computer, so check for it first.

git --version

See something like git version 2.x? You're good. If not, here's how to get it.

• On Mac. Running git --version without Git installed pops up a box offering to install Apple's Command Line Tools. Say yes, and Git comes along for the ride.
• On Windows. Download Git for Windows from git-scm.com and install it with the default settings. It comes with Git Bash, which is the terminal to use for every command in this lesson.
• On Linux. On Ubuntu or Debian, run sudo apt install git.

Tell Git Who You Are#

Git stamps a name and email on every commit you make, and it won't let you commit until it knows them. Run these once (swap in your own name and the email you used for GitHub).

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

Check if You Already Have Keys#

First, let's see if you've already got SSH keys lying around. Open your terminal and run this.

ls -la ~/.ssh

If you see files named id_ed25519 and id_ed25519.pub (or id_rsa and id_rsa.pub), you already have keys! Skip down to "Add Your Key to GitHub."

If you see "No such file or directory," we need to make some.

Create New SSH Keys#

Run this command in your terminal (swap in your own GitHub email).

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

It'll ask you two things.

1. Where to save - Press Enter to accept the default location
2. Passphrase - Press Enter for no passphrase, or type one for extra security

Start the SSH Agent#

The SSH agent is the lil helper that manages your keys. Start it up with this.

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

You should see something like Agent pid 12345

Add Your Key to the Agent#

Now tell the agent about your shiny new key.

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Extra step on Mac. GitHub's own docs have Mac folks save the passphrase in the Keychain, so you're not retyping it after every restart. Create (or open) the file ~/.ssh/config and put this in it.

Host github.com
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  UseKeychain yes
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Then add the key with the Keychain flag instead of the plain command above.

ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

(No passphrase on your key? GitHub's docs say to leave the UseKeychain line out of that file.)

Copy Your Public Key#

Next we copy your public key so we can paste it into GitHub. Run the one for your computer.

On Mac

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

On Windows (Git Bash)

clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

On Linux

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Then highlight the output and copy it yourself.

Boom, your public key is on your clipboard!

Part 4: Add Your Key to GitHub#

Step 1. Go to GitHub Settings#

Click your profile picture in the top-right corner of GitHub, then click "Settings."

Step 2. Open SSH Settings#

In the left sidebar, click "SSH and GPG keys."

Step 3. Add New Key#

Click the green "New SSH key" button.

Step 4. Fill in the Details#

• Title - Give your key a name (e.g., "My Laptop" or "Work Computer")
• Key - Paste your public key (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V)

Step 5. Save#

Click "Add SSH key." GitHub might ask you to confirm your password.

Part 5: Test Your Connection#

Let's make sure everything actually works. Run this command.

ssh -T [email protected]

You might get a warning about authenticity. Type "yes" and press Enter (totally normal the first time).

If it worked, you'll see this.

Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

Troubleshooting#

"Permission denied" error

• Double-check that you added your SSH key to GitHub
• Make sure you're using the right key with ssh-add -l

"Could not open a connection" error

• Check your internet connection
• Give it a few minutes and try again

Forgot your passphrase

• You'll have to make new keys and add them to GitHub again (bummer, but not the end of the world)

TL;DR#

• You need a GitHub account to use GitHub (it's free)
• SSH keys let your computer connect to GitHub securely
• You've got a private key (keep it secret) and a public key (share it with GitHub)
• Once it's set up, you won't type a password for Git operations
• Claude Code can help you troubleshoot if you get stuck

What's Next?#

Your account is set up and connected, so now it's time to create your first project on GitHub. Next lesson we'll make a repository and hook it up to your computer...