Toolbox Aid

August 8th, 2024 7:13 PM Mr. Q Categories: github

Setting Up SSH Keys on Synology NAS for GitHub Without Using ssh-agent

If you’re using a Synology NAS and need to set up SSH keys for GitHub but cannot use ssh-agent, follow these detailed steps:

1. Generate an SSH Key Pair

If you don’t already have an SSH key pair, you’ll need to generate one:

• Open Terminal on Synology:
  Access your Synology terminal via SSH or the Synology DSM interface.
• Generate the SSH Key Pair:

  $ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

• When prompted for a file to save the key, press Enter to use the default location (/root/.ssh/id_rsa or /home/username/.ssh/id_rsa).
• You can set a passphrase for added security or leave it empty if you prefer.

2. Copy the Public Key

• Display the Public Key:

  $ cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

• Copy the output to your clipboard. This is your public key.
• Add the Public Key to GitHub:
• Log in to GitHub.
• Navigate to Settings > SSH and GPG keys.
• Click on New SSH key.
• Paste your copied public key into the Key field.
• Add a descriptive title for the key.
• Click Add SSH key to save it.

3. Configure SSH for GitHub

• Create/Edit SSH Config File:
  If you need to specify particular settings for GitHub, create or edit the SSH configuration file:

  $ nano ~/.ssh/config

• Add Configuration for GitHub:
  Add the following configuration to the file:

  Host github.com
      HostName github.com
      User git
      IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa

• Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X for nano).

4. Verify SSH Connection

• Test your SSH connection to GitHub:

  $ ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa -T git@github.com

• You should see a message like:

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

5. Configure Git to Use SSH

To ensure that Git uses SSH for communication with GitHub (or any other remote repository), you need to update your Git remote URL:

• Check Current Remote URL:

  $ git remote -v

• You’ll see output similar to:

  origin  https://github.com/username/repo.git (fetch)
  origin  https://github.com/username/repo.git (push)

• Change Remote URL to Use SSH:

  $ git remote set-url origin git@github.com:<git_username>/repo.git

• Replace <git_username> with your GitHub username and repo with your repository name.
• It’s often easier to copy the SSH URL from the GitHub repository page under Code.
• Verify the Change:

  $ git remote -v

• You should see:

  origin  git@github.com:username/repo.git (fetch)
  origin  git@github.com:username/repo.git (push)

• Test the Connection:

  $ ssh -T git@github.com
  $ ssh -vT git@github.com
  $ git fetch

• Or any other Git operation that communicates with the remote repository.

Summary

To configure Git to use SSH on a Synology NAS:

1. Generate an SSH key pair if you don’t already have one.
2. Copy the public key to GitHub and add it to your GitHub account.
3. Configure SSH settings in the ~/.ssh/config file.
4. Update your Git remote URL to use SSH.
5. Verify and test the SSH connection.

These steps ensure that Git uses SSH for all interactions with your remote repository, providing a secure and convenient authentication method.