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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-06-04T00:27:27+00:00

When I setup my computer for Git, I generate a private and public SSH

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When I setup my computer for Git, I generate a private and public SSH key. I then let GitHub know what my public key is. My understanding is that public keys can encrypt messages, and the private key de-crypts it. So I can understand how github can send me encrypted messages via SSH.

However, my question is that when I push to GitHub, how does it know that it is me who is doing the push? Couldn’t someone else create a their own SSH key with with my name and email, and then push to my GitHub Repository?

I doubt this is the case, so what are the security measures that are in place for this? Thanks!

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    GitHub has a copy of your public key, which has more information than just your name and e-mail address. It has a unique fingerprint that cannot be reproduced by generating a forged public key (at least not without a massive brute-force attack or some unanticipated mathematical breakthrough).

    The way the ssh protocol works, GitHub sees an ssh connection that it authenticates against your public key. Such a connection can only be created by someone who has a copy of your private key.

    GitHub doesn’t have a copy of your private key, but it can verify that you do. (That’s what public key cryptography is all about.)

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