GitHub for Mac pops up “enter your password for the ssh key id_rsa” at startup each time

Question

It seems to show this dialog two or three times. If I cancel it goes away and I\'m still able to commit changes.

How do I prevent it from popping up each time and w

Answer 1

If your ssh key has been protected with a passphrase, then you need to run an ssh-agent first, in order to avoid entering said passphrase for every connections.

See GitHub article "Working with SSH key passphrases".

Initializing new SSH agent...
# succeeded
# Enter passphrase for /c/Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa:
# Identity added: /c/Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa (/c/Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa)
# Welcome to Git (version 1.6.0.2-preview20080923)
# 
# Run 'git help git' to display the help index.
# Run 'git help ' to display help for specific commands.

If you don't have your passphrase anymore, it is better to re-create a new set of public/private ssh keys (protected, if you want, with a new passphrase), and publish that new public key on your GitHub account.