Managing multiple GitHub accounts can be a hassle, especially when balancing personal, work, and client projects. This guide will help you streamline the process by automating commits and pushes.
Step 1: Organize Your Folders
To maintain multiple GitHub account in your system best way to do is create separate for each of them such as
mkdir -p ~/Personal
mkdir -p ~/Work
mkdir -p ~/client1
Here in each of folder we can create work in each folder and each folder can align to correct git credentials
Step 2: Create Config Files for Each Account
nano ~/.gitconfig-personal
Add the following content. Replace the email with your actual personal email.
[user]
name = your-personal-github-username
email = your-personal-email@example.com
nano ~/.gitconfig-work
Add the following content. Replace the email with your actual work email.
[user]
name = your-work-github-username
email = your-work-email@example.com
nano ~/.gitconfig-client-1
Add the following content. Replace the email with your actual client1 email.
[user]
name = your-client1-github-username
email = your-client1-email@example.com
Step 3: Update Your Main Git Config
Now, edit your main ~/.gitconfig file to automatically use the correct config file based on the project's path.
Open ~/.gitconfig and make it look like this. This sets your personal account as the default and creates rules for your work directory.
Usually when your are working on work laptop or system you should keep default as work username and email then Set your work account as the default on your work laptop to ensure commits use the correct credentials
[user]
name = your-work-github-username
email = your-personal-email@example.com
[includeIf "gitdir:~/Personal"]
path = ~/.gitconfig-personal
[includeIf "gitdir:~/client1"]
path = ~/.gitconfig-client1
With this setup, Git will automatically use the correct name and email for your commits.
Step 4: Manage SSH Keys for Authentication
To push and pull from different accounts on the same service (like GitHub), you need separate SSH keys.
1. Generate Two SSH Keys
Create a unique SSH key for each account.
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your-personal-email@example.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your-work-email@example.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your-client1-email@example.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_client1
If you’re thinking what that id_ed25519: This is the cryptographic algorithm used to generate the key. Ed25519 is a modern, secure, and fast choice for SSH keys.
When prompted for a passphrase, you can either enter one for extra security or press Enter to skip.
2. Add Keys to Your Accounts
Copy the contents of each public key (.pub file) and add them to your corresponding GitHub accounts in Settings > SSH and GPG keys.
Copy the contents of each public key (.pub file) and add them to your corresponding GitHub accounts in Settings > SSH and GPG keys.
pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal.pub
pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work.pub
pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_client1.pub
Create or edit your SSH config file at ~/.ssh/config. This file tells your computer which key to use for which account.
nano ~/.ssh/config
Add the following configuration:
Host github.com-personal
HostName github.com
User git
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal
IdentitiesOnly yes
Host github.com-work
HostName github.com
User git
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
IdentitiesOnly yes
Host github.com-client1
HostName github.com
User git
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_client1
IdentitiesOnly yes
4. Clone Repos Using Custom Hosts
From now on, when you clone a repository, you must use the custom host you just defined. This ensures the correct SSH key is used.
To clone a personal repo:
git clone git@github.com-personal:your-personal-username/personal-repo.git
To clone a work repo:
git clone git@github.com-work:your-work-username/work-repo.git
To clone a client1 repo:
git clone git@github.com-work:your-client1-username/client1-repo.gitYour
system is now fully configured to manage both accounts automatically.
5. Update Your Git Repository's Remote URL
Finally, navigate to the local repository you want to fix and tell it to use the new SSH URL.
For a personal repository (like your personal project):
cd ~/Personal/vazid
git remote set-url origin git@github.com-personal:your-personal-usernmae/repo.git
For a work repository:
cd ~/Work/my-work-project
git remote set-url origin git@github.com-work:your-work-username/work-repo.git
For a work repository:
cd ~/client1/my-work-project
git remote set-url origin git@github.com-client1:your-client1-username/client1-repo.git
You are now fully set up to push and pull using the correct account automatically.
Thank You
