How to deal with Multiple SSH Keys in GitLab

A practical example of how to work with multiple SSH keys in GitLab

Photo by Richard Payette on Unsplash

If you use multiple SSH keys to access different repositories or accounts (e.g., work, personal, or provided by others), you can configure them in the ~/.ssh/config file. Here's a detailed example and explanation:

Example Scenario

You have:

• A personal SSH key: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal.
• A work SSH key: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work.
• A project-specific SSH key someone gave you: ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_project.

You need to configure SSH to:

• Use your personal key for repositories on your personal GitLab account.
• Use your work key for your company’s GitLab repositories.
• Use the project-specific key for accessing the shared project.

Configuration File Structure

The SSH configuration file (~/.ssh/config) allows you to define custom rules for which key to use for different hosts or repositories.

Here’s how the configuration might look:

# Personal GitLab account
Host gitlab-personal
  HostName gitlab.com
  User git…