checking-for-existing-ssh-keys.md

title	intro	redirect_from	versions	topics	shortTitle
Checking for existing SSH keys	Before you generate an SSH key, you can check to see if you have any existing SSH keys.	/articles/checking-for-existing-ssh-keys /github/authenticating-to-github/checking-for-existing-ssh-keys /github/authenticating-to-github/connecting-to-github-with-ssh/checking-for-existing-ssh-keys	fpt ghes ghec * * *	SSH	Check for existing SSH key

About SSH keys

You can use SSH to perform Git operations in repositories. For more information, see AUTOTITLE.

If you have an existing SSH key, you can use the key to authenticate Git operations over SSH.

Checking for existing SSH keys

Before you generate a new SSH key, you should check your local machine for existing keys.

{% data reusables.ssh.key-type-support %}

{% data reusables.command_line.open_the_multi_os_terminal %}

1. Enter ls -al ~/.ssh to see if existing SSH keys are present.

   $ ls -al ~/.ssh
   # Lists the files in your .ssh directory, if they exist

2. Check the directory listing to see if you already have a public SSH key. By default, the filenames of supported public keys for {% data variables.product.github %} are one of the following.

   • id_rsa.pub
   • id_ecdsa.pub
   • id_ed25519.pub

   [!TIP] If you receive an error that ~/.ssh doesn't exist, you do not have an existing SSH key pair in the default location. You can create a new SSH key pair in the next step.

3. Either generate a new SSH key or upload an existing key.

   • If you don't have a supported public and private key pair, or don't wish to use any that are available, generate a new SSH key.

   • If you see an existing public and private key pair listed (for example, id_rsa.pub and id_rsa) that you would like to use to connect to {% data variables.product.github %}, you can add the key to the ssh-agent.

     For more information about generation of a new SSH key or addition of an existing key to the ssh-agent, see AUTOTITLE.