Managing GitHub repositories on a cloud server securely requires proper authentication. Deploy keys are one of the most effective ways to enable secure repository access. Deploy keys allow a server to pull (or optionally push) from a repository without requiring a personal GitHub account’s credentials. This guide focuses on configuring deploy keys for multiple repositories on a cloud server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A deploy key<\/strong> is an SSH key associated with a specific GitHub repository, granting access without using a personal SSH key. Each repository requires its deploy key, meaning that multiple repositories need separate SSH keys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since deploy keys are repository-specific, you need to create a separate SSH key for each repository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Run the following command to generate a new key for a specific repository:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Save the key with a unique name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Repeat this step for each repository, ensuring unique filenames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Copy the public key:<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Go to GitHub > Your Repository > Settings > Deploy keys<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Click Add deploy key<\/strong>, and give it a descriptive name (e.g., 3. Paste the public key and click the Add key<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Repeat these steps for each repository, using its corresponding public key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. After generating a key for a repository, add the public key to GitHub:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since multiple repositories use different SSH keys, configure the SSH client to specify which key to use for each repository.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Start the SSH agent and add the keys:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edit the SSH configuration file:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Add entries for each repository:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This setup ensures that each repository uses the correct deploy key when making SSH requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After configuring SSH, verify that the connection works properly by testing each deploy key:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If everything is set up correctly, you should see a message like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, you can clone repositories using their respective SSH aliases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since each repository is associated with a unique deploy key, the cloud server can securely access multiple repositories without requiring a single, shared SSH key.<\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 1: Generating SSH Keys for Each Repository<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\nssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C \"deploy-key-repo1\"\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n~\/.ssh\/id_rsa_repo1\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\nid_rsa_repo2, id_rsa_repo3, etc.\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Adding the Deploy Key to GitHub<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\ncat ~\/.ssh\/id_rsa_repo1.pub\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Cloud Server Repo 1<\/code>).<\/p>\n\n\n\nStep 3: Configuring SSH for Multiple Deploy Keys<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\neval \"$(ssh-agent -s)\"\nssh-add ~\/.ssh\/id_rsa_repo1\nssh-add ~\/.ssh\/id_rsa_repo2\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\nnano ~\/.ssh\/config\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\nHost repo1.github.com\n HostName github.com\n User git\n IdentityFile ~\/.ssh\/id_rsa_repo1\n\nHost repo2.github.com\n HostName github.com\n User git\n IdentityFile ~\/.ssh\/id_rsa_repo2\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Testing the SSH Connection<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\nssh -T git@repo1.github.com\nssh -T git@repo2.github.com\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\nHi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Step 5: Cloning Repositories with Deploy Keys<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\ngit clone git@repo1.github.com:username\/repo1.git\ngit clone git@repo2.github.com:username\/repo2.git\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n