I’m trying to get Git working with GitHub on my new Windows 7 computer, but I’m having trouble. I don’t want to use Cygwin. Instead, I’m using PowerShell.
Here’s what I did:
- Installed portable msysgit
- Generated SSH keys using ssh-keygen in the Git bin folder
- Moved the keys to a .ssh folder in my user directory
- Added the public key to my GitHub account
- Set a Git alias in PowerShell
When I try to clone a repository, I get a “Permission denied” error, and I think Git isn’t recognizing my SSH keys. Also, running git config --global user.name throws a “$HOME not set” error, even though I set a HOME environment variable. What steps am I missing to properly configure Git with my SSH keys on Windows 7?
I faced similar issues when setting up Git on Windows 7 a while back. Here’s what worked for me:
First, make sure your SSH keys are in the correct location. On Windows, Git looks for them in 'C:\Users\YourUsername.ssh' by default. Double-check that path.
For the ‘$HOME not set’ error, try setting the HOME environment variable to %USERPROFILE% instead. This usually resolves that issue.
Also, ensure you’re using the correct SSH URL when cloning. It should look like ‘[email protected]:username/repo.git’.
If you’re still having trouble, try running ‘ssh -vT [email protected]’ in PowerShell. This will give you verbose output and can help pinpoint where the SSH connection is failing.
Lastly, consider using Git Bash that comes with Git for Windows. It provides a more Unix-like environment and often works more smoothly with SSH keys.