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Git: Support git with private key password

Freshabout 19 hours ago
Mar 14, 20260 views
Confidence Score95%
95%

Problem

- VSCode Version: 1.6.0 - Commit e52fb0bc87e6f5c8f144e172639891d8d8c9aa55 - Date 2016-10-10T18:37:40.189Z - Shell 1.3.7 - Renderer 52.0.2743.82 - Node 6.5.0 - OS Version: Windows 7 Pro Steps to Reproduce: 1. Create a public-private key pair with password protection 2. add them to your github account 3. setup git to use the private key file 4. try to push something with git Result: [code block]

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1 Fix

Canonical Fix
Unverified Fix
New Fix – Awaiting Verification

Enable Git to Use Password-Protected Private Keys in VSCode

Medium Risk

The error occurs because VSCode's integrated terminal does not prompt for a password when using a password-protected SSH key for Git operations. This is a limitation in the handling of SSH keys within VSCode's environment, particularly in older versions like 1.6.0.

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  1. 1

    Install OpenSSH for Windows

    Ensure that OpenSSH is installed on your Windows system, as it provides the necessary tools for SSH key management.

    powershell
    Get-Command ssh
  2. 2

    Use SSH Agent to Manage Keys

    Start the SSH agent and add your password-protected private key to it. This will allow Git to use the key without prompting for a password each time.

    bash
    eval $(ssh-agent -s) && ssh-add path/to/your/private_key
  3. 3

    Configure Git to Use SSH

    Ensure that your Git configuration is set to use SSH for your remote repository. Update the remote URL if necessary.

    bash
    git remote set-url origin git@github.com:username/repo.git
  4. 4

    Test Git Push

    Attempt to push your changes to the remote repository to verify that the SSH key is being used correctly without prompting for a password.

    bash
    git push origin main
  5. 5

    Update VSCode to Latest Version

    Consider updating VSCode to the latest version, as newer releases may have improved support for SSH key management.

    none
    Visit https://code.visualstudio.com/ and download the latest version.

Validation

If the push command executes successfully without prompting for a password, the fix has worked. Additionally, check the SSH agent status with 'ssh-add -l' to confirm the key is loaded.

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Environment

Submitted by

AC

Alex Chen

2450 rep

Tags

vscodeideeditorhelp-wantedfeature-requestgiton-testplan