How do I get git to default to ssh and not https for new repositories

Set up a repository's origin branch to be SSH

The GitHub repository setup page is just a suggested list of commands (and GitHub now suggests using the HTTPS protocol). Unless you have administrative access to GitHub's site, I don't know of any way to change their suggested commands.

If you'd rather use the SSH protocol, simply add a remote branch like so (i.e. use this command in place of GitHub's suggested command). To modify an existing branch, see the next section.

$ git remote add origin git@github.com:nikhilbhardwaj/abc.git

Modify a pre-existing repository

As you already know, to switch a pre-existing repository to use SSH instead of HTTPS, you can change the remote url within your .git/config file.

[remote "origin"]
    fetch = +refs/heads/*:refs/remotes/origin/*
    -url = https://github.com/nikhilbhardwaj/abc.git
    +url = git@github.com:nikhilbhardwaj/abc.git

A shortcut is to use the set-url command:

$ git remote set-url origin git@github.com:nikhilbhardwaj/abc.git

More information about the SSH-HTTPS switch

"Why is Git always asking for my password?" - GitHub help page.

GitHub's switch to Smart HTTP - relevant StackOverflow question

Credential Caching for Wrist-Friendly Git Usage - GitHub blog post about HTTPS, and how to avoid re-entering your password

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GitHub git config --global url.ssh://git@github.com/.insteadOf https://github.com/

BitBucket git config --global url.ssh://git@bitbucket.org/.insteadOf https://bitbucket.org/

That tells git to always use SSH instead of HTTPS when connecting to GitHub/BitBucket, so you'll authenticate by certificate by default, instead of being prompted for a password.

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The response provided by Trevor is correct.

But here is what you can directly add in your .gitconfig:

# Enforce SSH
[url "ssh://git@github.com/"]
  insteadOf = https://github.com/
[url "ssh://git@gitlab.com/"]
  insteadOf = https://gitlab.com/
[url "ssh://git@bitbucket.org/"]
  insteadOf = https://bitbucket.org/

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You need to clone in ssh not in https.

$ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

Add content of ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub to your ssh keys on github.com.

If you need to have separate keys for different hosts, you can use this script:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

if [ $# -lt 2 ]; then
  echo "Provide email and hostname"
  exit 1
fi

email="$1"
hostname="$2"
keypath="$HOME/.ssh/${hostname}_rsa"
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C $email -f $keypath

if [ ! $? -eq 0 ]; then
  echo "Error when running ssh-keygen"
  exit 1
fi

exit 0
cat >> $HOME/.ssh/config <<EOF
Host $hostname
        Hostname $hostname *.$hostname
        User git
    IdentitiesOnly yes
        IdentityFile $keypath
EOF

and run it like

bash generate_ssh.sh your_email@example.com github.com

Change your remote url

git remote set-url origin git@github.com:user/foo.git

(or just edit .git/config)

Add content of ~/.ssh/github.com_rsa.pub to your ssh keys on github.com

Check connection

ssh -T git@github.com

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You may have accidentally cloned the repository in https instead of ssh. I've made this mistake numerous times on github. Make sure that you copy the ssh link in the first place when cloning, instead of the https link.

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SSH File

~/.ssh/config file
Host *
    StrictHostKeyChecking no
    UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null
    LogLevel QUIET
    ConnectTimeout=10
Host github.com
        User git
        AddKeystoAgent yes
        UseKeychain yes
        Identityfile ~/github_rsa

Edit reponame/.git/config

[remote "origin"]
        url = git@github.com:username/repo.git

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FYI - I'm using this due to github no longer allowing ssh:

[url "git@github.com:"]
    insteadOf = https://github.com/
[url "git@gist.github.com:"]
    insteadOf = https://gist.github.com/

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While the other answers here directly answer the titular question (in a way that I didn't know was possible! TIL something new about git!) about automagically turning https based remotes into git+ssh ones, the "normal" way to do this "right" from the start is to not give git the https url.

GitHub (along with other popular git hosting services) always has a little button that lets you get the URL that git should clone. You just need to click the small "SSH" button:

https://i.stack.imgur.com/scVYE.png

Alternatively for a new project

https://i.stack.imgur.com/DIIeP.png

Once you select the "SSH" option, GitHub (and others) will remember (as long as you're logged in) and make it the default in the future.

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