Cool Tools: Use multiple GitHub Accounts on a mac

To use multiple GitHub accounts on the same machine, we must configure our Git settings properly. Here are the steps to help set up using work and personal email addresses.

Set-up

1. Generate SSH Keys: Using the command,

   • For work: ❯ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<work_git_email>" -f ~/.ssh/<work_ssh_file_name>

   • For personal: ❯ ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<personal_git_email>" -f ~/.ssh/<personal_ssh_file_name>

     and follow the prompts and choose a secure passphrase.

2. Add SSH Keys to GitHub/GitLab:

   • Go to GitHub/GitLab account settings ➡️ SSH and GPG keys ➡️ New SSH key
   • Then copy the contents of the public key file (usually ~/.ssh/<xxxx>.pub) and paste it into the key field. ❯ cat ~/.ssh/<xxxx>.pub
3. Configure Git for Multiple Emails:
   • For work: git config --global user.email "<work_git_email>"
   • For personal: git config --global user.email "<personal_git_email>"

4. Add and Configure the Config File: Create a new config file if it does not exist.

   • code ~/.ssh/config

   • Replacing the placeholders with the actual paths to your private keys and add the following configuration:

     # work account
     Host github-work
       HostName github.com
       User git
       IdentityFile ~/.ssh/<work_ssh_file_name>
     
     # personal account
     Host github-personal # Change the name of the host as you like
       HostName github.com # gitlab.com or github.com
       User git
       IdentityFile ~/.ssh/<personal_ssh_file_name> # Change with actual path
     

Yoohoo! Set up done…

Clone Repositories

Now, clone repositories using the custom host aliases defined in the .ssh/config file:

• For work: git clone git@github-work:username/repository.git
• For personal: git clone git@github-personal:username/repository.git

Switch GitHub Accounts Seamlessly

Here's how you can set up aliases for switching accounts quickly:

1. Open your shell configuration file:code ~/.zshrc or code ~/.bashrc

   Note I have VSCode configured to open files in VSCode with the code command. If it's not working for you, feel free to use vi or nano.

2. Add the aliases:

   • alias use-work='git config user.email "<work_git_email>" && git config user.name "Your Name"'

   • alias use-personal='git config user.email "<personal_git_email>" && git config user.name "Your Other Name"'

     Copy these lines into configuration file.

3. Save and apply changes:

   • Save the change
   • Apply the change: source ~/.zshrc
4. Using the aliases: Now, you can use the aliases to switch between accounts.
   • If you want to switch to the work account: use-work
   • Switch back to the personal account: use-personal

Check Current GitHub Account Configuration:

• Check the current configuration for the repository using the following commands: git config user.email && git config user.name I suggest you add an alias.
  • code ~/.zshrc or code ~/.bashrc
  • Add alias which-git='git config user.email && git config user.name'
  • Save the change
  • Apply the change: source ~/.zshrc
• Then use the command which-git to see the current activated git user

Push to Repositories

1. Switch Account
2. Perform Git Operations

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Is it helpful to use? Let me know!