Tools

Tools: How I Manage My SSH Keys Across Multiple Servers and GitHub - Complete Guide

2026-04-01 0 views admin
Tools: How I Manage My SSH Keys Across Multiple Servers and GitHub - Complete Guide

My SSH Key Directory Structure

My Key Setup Process

1. Generate a Separate Key for Each Server

2. Copy Your Public Keys to the Remote Hosts

3. Configure Your ~/.ssh/config

4. Add SSH Key to GitHub

4.1. Copy the Public Key

4.2. Add to GitHub

Test Your Setup

Linux VMs

GitHub

Optional: Disable Password Prompt for sudo

Final Thoughts Managing SSH keys across multiple servers and platforms can get messy fast — especially when you have a homelab, VPS, GitHub repos, and more. I used to juggle one or two keys across everything… until I hit name collisions, agent confusion, and “wrong key” errors. Now I generate one key per service or server, store them with meaningful filenames, and use an organized ~/.ssh/config to control how each is used. Here’s how I do it — and how you can too. Tip: You can skip the passphrase for convenience or add one for security. IdentitiesOnly yes prevents SSH from trying other keys — helps avoid confusion when multiple keys are loaded. Visit GitHub SSH settings Give it a meaningful name If everything’s set up correctly, GitHub will reply: If you’re tired of typing your password every time you use sudo, you can edit the sudoers file: Just be careful — removing password prompts reduces security, especially on multi-user or production systems. This setup has completely decluttered my SSH workflow — no more guessing which key is being used, or why I can’t connect. Whether you’re running a homelab, cloud servers, or just want GitHub SSH access done right, this pattern is clean, scalable, and easy to maintain. Found this helpful? I share more real-world fixes and homelab tips here on the blog and on GitHub. Templates let you quickly answer FAQs or store snippets for re-use. Hide child comments as well For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse

Code Block

Copy

~/.ssh/ ├── id_ed25519_homelab ├── id_ed25519_homelab.pub ├── id_ed25519_hetzner ├── id_ed25519_hetzner.pub ├── id_ed25519_github ├── id_ed25519_github.pub ├── config ~/.ssh/ ├── id_ed25519_homelab ├── id_ed25519_homelab.pub ├── id_ed25519_hetzner ├── id_ed25519_hetzner.pub ├── id_ed25519_github ├── id_ed25519_github.pub ├── config ~/.ssh/ ├── id_ed25519_homelab ├── id_ed25519_homelab.pub ├── id_ed25519_hetzner ├── id_ed25519_hetzner.pub ├── id_ed25519_github ├── id_ed25519_github.pub ├── config ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "docker-01" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01 ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "pve-1" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1 ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "hetzner" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner_example ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "github" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github_example ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "docker-01" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01 ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "pve-1" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1 ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "hetzner" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner_example ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "github" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github_example ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "docker-01" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01 ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "pve-1" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1 ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "hetzner" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner_example ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "github" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github_example ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01.pub [email protected] ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1.pub [email protected] ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner.pub root@your-vps-ip ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01.pub [email protected] ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1.pub [email protected] ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner.pub root@your-vps-ip ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01.pub [email protected] ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1.pub [email protected] ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner.pub root@your-vps-ip vim ~/.ssh/config vim ~/.ssh/config vim ~/.ssh/config # Docker server Host docker-01 HostName 10.xx.xx.xx User myuser IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01 # Proxmox node Host pve-1 HostName 10.xx.xx.xx User root IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1 # Hetzner VPS Host hetzner HostName 65.21.xx.xx User root IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner # GitHub Host github.com HostName github.com User git IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github IdentitiesOnly yes # Docker server Host docker-01 HostName 10.xx.xx.xx User myuser IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01 # Proxmox node Host pve-1 HostName 10.xx.xx.xx User root IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1 # Hetzner VPS Host hetzner HostName 65.21.xx.xx User root IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner # GitHub Host github.com HostName github.com User git IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github IdentitiesOnly yes # Docker server Host docker-01 HostName 10.xx.xx.xx User myuser IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_docker_01 # Proxmox node Host pve-1 HostName 10.xx.xx.xx User root IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_pve_1 # Hetzner VPS Host hetzner HostName 65.21.xx.xx User root IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_hetzner # GitHub Host github.com HostName github.com User git IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github IdentitiesOnly yes pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub xclip -sel clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub # or wl-copy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub xclip -sel clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub # or wl-copy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub xclip -sel clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub # or wl-copy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_github.pub ssh docker-01 ssh pve-1 ssh hetzner ssh docker-01 ssh pve-1 ssh hetzner ssh docker-01 ssh pve-1 ssh hetzner ssh -T [email protected] ssh -T [email protected] ssh -T [email protected] Hi kjetil! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access. Hi kjetil! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access. Hi kjetil! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access. sudo visudo sudo visudo sudo visudo # Allow members of group sudo to execute any command %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL # Allow members of group sudo to execute any command %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL # Allow members of group sudo to execute any command %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL # Allow members of group sudo to execute any command %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL # Allow members of group sudo to execute any command %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL # Allow members of group sudo to execute any command %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL - Visit GitHub SSH settings - Click “New SSH key” - Give it a meaningful name - Paste the key - Click “Add SSH key”

🏷️ Tags

toolsutilitiessecurity toolsmanageacrossmultipleserversgithubcompleteguide

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