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Load SSH keys automatically on Windows (OpenSSH)

Reference for loading SSH keys if you use Windows 10 or later and its built-in OpenSSH client.
Read time 2 minutesLast updated 22 days ago
If you use Windows and its built-in OpenSSH client, follow these steps to configure the OpenSSH client so you can use your passphrase-protected SSH key without prompts.

Prerequisites

  • Windows 10 or later.

Before you begin

Check if you have any existing SSH keys. Refer to the GitHub Docs article, Checking for existing SSH keys.
If you don't have an SSH key:
  1. Create one by following the GitHub Docs article, Generating a new SSH key.
  2. Add the new SSH key to your GitHub account, by following the GitHub Docs article, Adding a new SSH key to your GitHub account.

Procedure

  1. Check if 
    C:\Users\<YourUserName>\.ssh\config
    exists. Note: In some applications, such as Git Bash, 
    .ssh
    is a hidden subdirectory.
  2. Create 
    C:\Users\<YourUserName>\.ssh\config
    if it doesn't exist.
  3. Add the following content to 
    C:\Users\<YourUserName>\.ssh\config
    to set the key to load in the authentication agent and specify its use by the target server. Make sure you add this entry before any global settings marked as 
    Host *
    .
    Host SERVER_NAME    IdentitiesOnly yes    IdentityFile FILE_PATH
    • SERVER_NAME
      is the server that uses the file specified by 
      IdentityFile
      . A sample value is 
      github.com
      .
    • FILE_PATH
      is the fully qualified path to the SSH file you created. A sample value is 
      C:\Users\<YourUserName>\.ssh\<FILE>
      , where 
      <FILE>
      might be 
      id_rsa
      , 
      id_ecdsa
      , 
      id_ed25519
      , or a custom name.
    Example:
    Host github.com    IdentitiesOnly yes    IdentityFile C:/Users/user1/.ssh/id_ed25519
  4. Open the Windows PowerShell, making sure you open it by selecting Run as Administrator.
  5. Configure the SSH Authentication Agent service so it starts each time you reboot your computer, by running the following command:
    Get-Service ssh-agent | Set-Service -StartupType Automatic
  6. Start the service, by running the following command:
    Start-Service ssh-agent
  7. Check that the service is running, by running the following command and confirming that the 
    Status
    value is 
    Running
    :
    Get-Service ssh-agent
  8. Load your key file into the 
    ssh-agent
    , replacing 
    <FILE>
    with the actual file name of your key, then type your passphrase, if prompted.
    ssh-add $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\<FILE>
    Example:
    ssh-add $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\id_ed25519
  9. Make sure Git uses the Windows OpenSSH client instead of the SSH client included with Git, by using either of the following methods:
    • For system-wide configuration, create an environment variable named 
      GIT_SSH_COMMAND
      with a value of 
      C:/Windows/System32/OpenSSH/ssh.exe
      . Important: Make sure you use forward slashes in the path.
    • To set the configuration for a specific scope, run the following 
      git config
      command in a terminal. Refer to the git config documentation for details. For example:
      git config --global core.sshCommand C:/Windows/System32/OpenSSH/ssh.exe
      Important
      Make sure you use forward slashes in the path.
You can now use the Unity Package Manager to fetch packages from that Git repository over SSH using your passphrase-protected SSH key.

Additional resources