Access Private GitHub Repositories on an EC2 Server

Step 1: Generate an SSH Key on EC2

To securely authenticate with GitHub, generate an SSH key on your EC2 instance.

1. Connect to your EC2 instance via SSH:

   ssh ec2-user@your-ec2-public-ip
   

2. Generate an SSH key:

   ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your-email@example.com"
   

   • Press Enter to save the key in the default location (~/.ssh/id_rsa).
   • Set a passphrase or leave it empty.

3. Start the SSH agent and add the key:

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

Step 2: Add the SSH Key to GitHub

1. Display the public key:

   cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
   

2. Copy the output and add it to GitHub:

   • Go to GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG keys link
   • Click New SSH key.
   • Paste the key and save.

Step 3: Test SSH Connection to GitHub

Verify that the connection is successful:

ssh -T git@github.com

Expected output:

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

Step 4: Clone a Private Repository

Now that authentication is set up, clone the private repository:

git clone git@github.com:your-username/private-repo.git

Replace your-username and private-repo with the actual repository details.

Step 5: Configure Git (Optional)

To avoid re-entering your username and email, configure Git globally:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your-email@example.com"

Alternative: Using a Personal Access Token

If you prefer HTTPS authentication instead of SSH:

1. Generate a Personal Access Token (PAT) on GitHub:

   • Go to GitHub → Settings → Developer Settings → Personal Access Tokens.
   • Generate a token with repo permissions.

2. Use the token instead of a password:

   git clone https://your-username:your-token@github.com/your-username/private-repo.git