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Basics

Git Security Basics

Git Security Practices

Git security uses signed commits and SSH keys.

Introduction to Git Security

Git security is essential for ensuring the integrity and authenticity of your codebase. This involves using signed commits to verify authorship and SSH keys to securely authenticate with remote repositories. In this guide, we'll dive into these two critical aspects of Git security.

Understanding Signed Commits

Signed commits allow you to prove that changes to a repository were made by you, using cryptographic signatures. This adds an extra layer of trust to your commits, ensuring that the changes haven't been tampered with. To start using signed commits, you need to configure Git with your GPG key.

After generating your GPG key, you can list your keys to find your key ID:

With your key ID, you can configure Git to use it for signing commits:

To sign a commit, use the -S flag:

Using SSH Keys for Authentication

SSH keys provide a secure way to authenticate when pushing changes to remote Git repositories. Unlike passwords, SSH keys are not sent over the network, making them more secure. Here's how to set up SSH keys for Git authentication:

Once you've generated your SSH key, add it to the SSH agent:

Finally, add your SSH public key to your Git hosting provider (e.g., GitHub, GitLab) to authenticate your pushes.

Conclusion

Implementing signed commits and SSH keys significantly enhances the security of your Git workflows. By verifying commit authorship and securing your authentication process, you help protect your code from unauthorized changes and access.

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