Managing Multiple GitHub Accounts (SSH + Auto Config)

A complete guide to set up and manage personal and work GitHub accounts on the same machine using SSH keys with automatic Git configuration.

Prerequisites

Linux/Mac
Git installed
Access to both GitHub accounts
Terminal/command line knowledge

Step 1: Generate SSH Keys for Both Accounts

Personal Account SSH Key

# Generate SSH key for personal account
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal

# Start SSH agent
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

# Add key to SSH agent
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal

Work Account SSH Key

# Generate SSH key for work account
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work

# Add key to SSH agent
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work

Note: When prompted for a passphrase, you can either:

Add one for extra security (you'll need to enter it when using the key)
Press Enter to skip (easier but less secure)

Step 2: Add SSH Keys to GitHub Accounts

For Personal Account

Copy the public key:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal.pub | pbcopy

Go to GitHub (personal account):
- Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key
- Title: "Personal Mac" (or any identifier)
- Paste the key and save

For Work Account

Copy the public key:
```
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work.pub | pbcopy
```
Go to GitHub (work account):
- Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key
- Title: "Work Mac" (or any identifier)
- Paste the key and save

Step 3: Configure SSH to Use Different Keys

Create or edit SSH config file:

nano ~/.ssh/config

Add the following configuration:

# Personal GitHub account
Host github.com
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal
  IdentitiesOnly yes

# Work GitHub account
Host github-work
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
  IdentitiesOnly yes

Important: The IdentitiesOnly yes ensures SSH only uses the specified key for each host.

Save and exit: Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter

Step 4: Test SSH Connections

# Test personal account
ssh -T [email protected]
# Should show: Hi your-personal-username! You've successfully authenticated...

# Test work account
ssh -T git@github-work
# Should show: Hi your-work-username! You've successfully authenticated...

If both show different usernames, you're all set! ✅

Step 5: Set Up Automatic Git Configuration

Set Personal Info as Global Default

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Create Work Directory Structure

# Create a dedicated directory for all work projects
mkdir -p ~/Work

Configure Automatic Work Settings

Edit global Git config:

nano ~/.gitconfig

Add this at the end of the file:

[includeIf "gitdir:~/Work/"]
    path = ~/.gitconfig-work

Create work-specific config:

nano ~/.gitconfig-work

Add your work details:

[user]
    name = Your Name
    email = [email protected]

Step 6: Cloning Repositories

Personal Repositories

Clone normally from anywhere:

git clone [email protected]:your-username/repo-name.git

Work Repositories

Clone into the ~/Work directory using the github-work host:

cd ~/Work
git clone git@github-work:company/repo-name.git

Key differences:

Personal: [email protected]:username/repo.git
Work: git@github-work:company/repo.git (note the github-work host)

Verification

Check SSH Keys

# List all SSH keys in agent
ssh-add -l

Check Git Configuration

# Check global config
git config --global --list

# Check config in a personal repo
cd ~/personal-repo
git config user.email  # Should show personal email

# Check config in a work repo
cd ~/Work/work-repo
git config user.email  # Should show work email

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue 1: Wrong account authenticating

Problem: Both ssh -T commands show the same username

Solution: Make sure IdentitiesOnly yes is in your ~/.ssh/config and restart terminal

Issue 2: Permission denied (publickey)

Problem: Can't authenticate with GitHub

Solutions:

# Check if keys are added to SSH agent
ssh-add -l

# If not, add them again
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work

# Verify the key is added to GitHub account

Issue 3: Wrong email in commits

Problem: Commits show wrong email address

Solution:

# Check current repo config
git config user.email

# If wrong, set it manually for this repo
git config user.email "[email protected]"

# Or move the repo to correct directory (~/Work for work repos)

Issue 4: Can't push to work repository

Problem: Permission denied or Repository not found

Solution: Make sure you're using the correct host

# Check remote URL
git remote -v

# If showing github.com instead of github-work, update it:
git remote set-url origin git@github-work:company/repo-name.git

Quick Reference Commands

# Test SSH connections
ssh -T [email protected]          # Personal
ssh -T git@github-work         # Work

# Clone repositories
git clone [email protected]:user/repo.git              # Personal
git clone git@github-work:company/repo.git          # Work (in ~/Work)

# Check Git config
git config user.email          # Check current repo
git config --global user.email # Check global

# View SSH keys
ssh-add -l                     # List loaded keys
ls -la ~/.ssh/                 # List all SSH files

# Update remote URL (if needed)
git remote set-url origin git@github-work:company/repo.git

Directory Structure Example

~/
├── Work/                          # All work projects (auto-uses work email)
│   ├── project-1/
│   ├── project-2/
│   └── project-3/
├── personal-project-1/            # Personal projects (uses personal email)
├── personal-project-2/
└── .ssh/
    ├── config                     # SSH configuration
    ├── id_ed25519_personal        # Personal private key
    ├── id_ed25519_personal.pub    # Personal public key
    ├── id_ed25519_work            # Work private key
    └── id_ed25519_work.pub        # Work public key

Best Practices

Always clone work repos into ~/Work directory - automatic email configuration
Use descriptive SSH key comments - helps identify keys later
Test SSH connection before cloning - prevents authentication issues
Keep SSH keys secure - never share private keys
Verify commit author before pushing - run git config user.email to check
Use different key names - easier to manage and identify

Security Tips

✅ Add passphrases to SSH keys for extra security
✅ Never commit private keys (files without .pub extension)
✅ Regularly review SSH keys in GitHub settings
✅ Remove old/unused SSH keys from GitHub
✅ Use different SSH keys for different accounts (never reuse)

Summary

With this setup:

✅ Personal repos automatically use personal email
✅ Work repos (in ~/Work) automatically use work email
✅ Each account uses its own SSH key
✅ No manual configuration needed per repository
✅ Clear separation between work and personal projects

Troubleshooting Checklist

If something doesn't work:

SSH keys generated for both accounts?
Public keys added to respective GitHub accounts?
~/.ssh/config file created with correct configuration?
IdentitiesOnly yes present in SSH config?
SSH agent running and keys added?
Tested SSH connection for both accounts?
~/.gitconfig-work file created?
Work repos cloned into ~/Work directory?
Using correct host (github-work) for work repos?

Contributing

Feel free to suggest improvements or report issues!

License

MIT License - feel free to use and modify as needed.

Last Updated: 3rd December 2025

shawonis08/Managing Multiple GitHub Accounts.md

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