---
title: Use more than one GitHub or GitLab account on one machine
description: Give each account its own SSH key and a host alias so git picks the right identity per repo.
tags: [git, ssh, github, gitlab]
---

Two accounts on one machine, personal and work, both pushing to `github.com`.
SSH can't tell which key belongs to which. The fix: one key per account, plus a
host alias so the clone URL says which identity to use.

## 1. Make a key per account

Name it after the account:

```bash
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "email@email.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_work
```

Add the public key (`id_work.pub`) to that account under **Settings → SSH keys**.

## 2. Add a host alias in `~/.ssh/config`

Give each account a made-up host suffix. Both point at the real `HostName`:

```ssh-config
Host github.com-work
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_work

Host github.com-personal
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_personal
```

Keep the suffix consistent. Whatever you write here (`github.com-work`) must
appear in every URL for that account, or git falls back to the wrong key.

## 3. Use the alias in the URL

Clone with the alias in place of `github.com`:

```bash
git clone git@github.com-work:username/reponame.git
```

For a repo you already have:

```bash
git remote set-url origin git@github.com-work:username/reponame.git
```

## 4. Set the right name and email per repo

Global config only covers one account. Override it inside each repo:

```bash
git config user.name "Your Name"
git config user.email "work@email.com"
```

## Test it

```bash
ssh -T git@github.com-work
```

It should greet you as the right user. If it uses the wrong key, run
`ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_work` and try again.

GitLab works the same way: swap `github.com` for `gitlab.com` in the config and
the URLs.