Git operation fails with error: ~/.ssh/<ssh_key> no such file or directory

Problem

Git operations fail with the below error message. After migrating the projects to a new laptop, there are issues caused by IDE retaining the old SSH user path for the git client.

The message names a private key file that does not exist, for example:

no such identity: /Users/<old-user>/.ssh/<key>_github: No such file or directory ``

Cause

The IDE runs your Git executable, and Git runs ssh. ssh shows "no such identity" only for a key path that is set explicitly. It does not show it for the default keys (~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.ssh/id_rsa and others). The explicit path can come from one of these places:

• an IdentityFile line in the SSH config file (~/.ssh/config, or C:\Users\<user>\.ssh\config on Windows)
• the Git setting core.sshCommand, for example ssh -i <path>
• the environment variable GIT_SSH_COMMAND

After a migration, this path often contains the old user name or the old home directory, or the key file was not copied to the new machine.

Resolution

Find the key path

Run these commands in a terminal in the project directory. The commands work on macOS, Linux, and Windows (Git Bash or PowerShell).

1. Show the key paths that ssh uses for your Git host. Replace github.com with your host: ssh -G github.com | grep -i "^identityfile" In PowerShell, use ssh -G github.com | Select-String "^identityfile".
2. Show core.sshCommand and the file that sets it: git config --show-origin --get-all core.sshCommand
3. Show GIT_SSH_COMMAND. In a macOS or Linux terminal, run echo "$GIT_SSH_COMMAND". In PowerShell, run echo $env:GIT_SSH_COMMAND.

Look for the path from the error message.

Fix the key path

1. If the key file exists on the new machine, change the path to it. Edit the IdentityFile line, the core.sshCommand value, or the GIT_SSH_COMMAND variable that you found above. In the SSH config file, write the path with ~, for example IdentityFile ~/.ssh/<key>_github. A path with ~ stays correct when the user name changes.
2. If the key file does not exist, copy it from the old machine to ~/.ssh/. On macOS and Linux, run chmod 600 ~/.ssh/ after you copy it. You can also create a new key and add its public key to your Git hosting account.
3. Test the connection, for example ssh -T git@github.com.
4. If you set GIT_SSH_COMMAND or changed an environment variable, restart the IDE. The IDE reads environment variables only at startup.
5. Repeat the Git operation in the IDE.

Start the SSH agent (optional)

Windows

1. Ensure that you are running your local PowerShell as an administrator.

2. Enter the following commands:

Set-Service ssh-agent -StartupType Automatic
Start-Service ssh-agent
Get-Service ssh-agent

Linux

1. Start the SSH agent with the following command:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

2. Add the following lines to ~/.bash_profile or ~/.zprofile if you prefer to use the zsh shell instead of bash.

if [ -z "$SSH_AUTH_SOCK" ]; then
# Check for a currently running instance of the agent
RUNNING_AGENT="`ps -ax | grep 'ssh-agent -s' | grep -v grep | wc -l | tr -d '[:space:]'`"
if [ "$RUNNING_AGENT" = "0" ]; then
# Launch a new instance of the agent
ssh-agent -s  > $HOME/.ssh/ssh-agent
fi
eval `cat $HOME/.ssh/ssh-agent` > /dev/null
ssh-add $HOME/.ssh/<your ssh key> 2> /dev/null
fi

3. On the last line of the suggested code, replace with your specific ssh key. For example, ssh-add $HOME/.ssh/id_ed344 2> /dev/null

macOS

macOS starts the SSH agent automatically. Add your key to the agent and store its passphrase in the keychain:

ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/<your ssh key>

To load the key after a restart, add these lines to ~/.ssh/config:

Host *
  UseKeychain yes
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/<your ssh key>