This guide walks you through the complete process of setting up GitHub on your local machine—from installing Git, configuring your user info, generating SSH keys, to cloning repositories and pushing your first commit. Whether you’re a developer just starting out or someone looking to streamline your workflow, this post covers all the essential steps to get you up and running with GitHub locally.

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1. Make Sure You Gave Git Installed

git --version

It should look something like

git version 2.x.x

If not, install by doing

apt install git

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2. Set Up Your Git User Info

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "you@example.com"

Make sure the email you enter match the one you use on GitHub

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3. Generate an SSH Key

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Copy the output

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4. Add SSH Key on GitHub

Go to GitHub > Settings > SSH and GPG keys and press on ‘New SSH key’

Add a title, paste what you copied before into the key area, and press ‘Add SSH key’ when you’re done

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5. (Optional) Test If You are Connected to GitHub

ssh -T git@github.com

It should say something along the lines of

• Hi username! You’ve successfully authenticated, …

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6. Try Cloning a Repo

git clone git@github.com:yourusername/your-repo.git

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Congrats!! You have succesfully setup GitHub locally on your machine

// Miyarima