How to clone a Github Gist via SSH protocol?

Question

Github really seems to want us to use the HTTPS protocol to use Gists, for example, they only list the HTTPS url on a Gist page - e.g. https://gist.github.com/donatello/5834862

Is it possible to clone a Gist using SSH protocol?

It seems to be require me to specify the username and password on the command line each time I use the protocol. It works fine with SSH for me (no need to specify username/password every time) — donatello, Aug 02 '13 at 14:29

score 128 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 02 '13 at 14:16

128

Yes, it is possible:

git clone git@github.com:5834862.git

Just replace with your own Gist ID of course.

answered Aug 02 '13 at 14:16

donatello

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that's SSH, not git:// – Nevik Rehnel Aug 02 '13 at 14:24
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You are more than likely going to want also pass the gist name on the command line: git clone git@github.com:5834862.git gist_name – Mark Edington Nov 17 '13 at 20:35
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you edited your question to fit your answer? :D classic! Now, what is the question for the answer 42? ;) – TimoSolo Apr 14 '14 at 12:24
I'm behind a firewall, and the trick to talk SSH over port 443 (SSL) doesn't seem to work with gist.github.com the way it does with ssh.github.com. – jdsumsion Aug 08 '14 at 18:32
clones successfully but unable to push :| – Masroor Jan 27 '22 at 15:37
In 2023, we have the official GitHub CLI. Is it possible to use SSH protocol in `gh gist clone` command? – ynn Mar 09 '23 at 13:06

Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin · Answer 2 · 2021-05-23T08:17:55.223

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The dropdown on gist pages now has Embed/Share/Clone HTTPS/Clone SSH options (but the SSH option is only shown when you're logged in): gist dropdown
which show the non-obvious trick is omitting the user name:

Clone HTTPS:
https://gist.github.com/b6f4a53fac485f75afb9150d03efb2f6.git
Works for me with or without .git, and with or without the username: https://gist.github.com/cben/b6f4a53fac485f75afb9150d03efb2f6 (as usual on github, the canonical browsing URL works for git too)
Clone SSH:
git@gist.github.com:b6f4a53fac485f75afb9150d03efb2f6.git
AKA
ssh://git@gist.github.com/b6f4a53fac485f75afb9150d03efb2f6.git
Works for me with or without .git, but doesn't work with username.

I enabled github 2FA which makes HTTPS painful so I always want SSH; the following ~/.gitconfig does the translation for all gists on push:

[url "ssh://git@gist.github.com/"]
    # In case I just copy-pasted with username:
    # [only works for my (cben) gists, but those are the ones I can push]
    pushInsteadOf = https://gist.github.com/cben/
    # For gists cloned with official no-username URL:
    pushInsteadOf = https://gist.github.com/

And for regular (non-gist) repos:

[url "ssh://git@github.com/"]
    pushInsteadOf = https://github.com/
[url "ssh://git@bitbucket.org/"]
    pushInsteadOf = https://bitbucket.org/
[url "ssh://git@gitlab.com/"]
    pushInsteadOf = https://gitlab.com/

P.S. a handy easy way to debug insteadOf and pushInsteadOf configs is run git remote -v, it shows the effective URLs fetch/push will use.

edited May 23 '21 at 08:17

answered Nov 22 '16 at 13:48

Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin

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I found I had to remove `gist.` from the SSH URI to get `git clone` to succeed. If I left `gist.github.com` instead of using `github.com`, the command just hung. – binki Mar 24 '20 at 15:59
As of Sep 2020, the "Embed/Share/Clone..." menu is gone. – Alastair Irvine Sep 04 '20 at 17:52
Weird, I still see it, both logged in and not. – Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin Sep 06 '20 at 08:03
The _menu_ is visible but the option/URLs for SSH is not displayed unless you're logged in. Only displays these options/tabs to anonymous users: HTTPS, GitHub CLI, Open with GH Desktop, Download zip. – aneroid Nov 29 '20 at 00:07
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Apparently was removed. The menu is not showing for me – sehe May 21 '21 at 15:59
@sehe see my previous options — it's there but SSH is only shown when you're logged in. (In any case `git clone` won't care if you're logged in the browser, only that your SSH keys are configured.) – Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin May 23 '21 at 07:58
@BeniCherniavsky-Paskin It is not visible. I checked on my own gist and I am logged in. I see two buttons: Save using Github Desktop and Download as zip. – rofrol Jun 01 '21 at 10:55
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I see that now, in a narrow window the whole dropdown disappears. Try maximizing the browser window / reducing font size? – Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin Jun 03 '21 at 07:11
@BeniCherniavsky-Paskin Reducing font size did it! Thanks! – joeshmo Nov 12 '21 at 14:47

score 17 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 02 '13 at 15:09

https://help.github.com/articles/which-remote-url-should-i-use#ssh-readwrite---gitgithubspanspancom

git@..... is the ssh protocol

when you copy the clone url for a gist it shows you the https clone url

https://gist.github.com/5834862.git

change https:// to git@ and /****.git to :****.git

so in this case

git clone git@gist.github.com:5834862.git

Sankalp · Answer 4 · 2014-05-01T11:42:17.220

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If you want, you could grab this script and put it somewhere in your $PATH. Once that is done, you can do the following:

Clone any gist from gist.github.com using HTTPS (or if you have an already cloned gist, just proceed to the next step)
Anywhere in the gist's git directory tree, run the command

git-change-url --to-ssh

Now, provided that your public key is uploaded to your github account (it should be listed here) you should be able to work with the gist via SSH, without having to enter your github credentials.

Much less error-prone than editing git config files by hand.

Ps: If you find any bugs in the script, or have any additions to make, feel free to fork :D

edited May 01 '14 at 11:42

answered Apr 27 '14 at 22:38

Sankalp

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Not exactly what the op asked for, but still useful! I didn't want to clone my existing repository so this solution worked for me. I would add `nano $(git rev-parse --git-dir)/config` as an alternative to directly modify the entries manually. So the answer will be more self contained ;). Otherwise you first have to download a script and check if it might do harm to your system and s.o. – isaias-b Apr 22 '16 at 07:12

score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 08 '16 at 02:24

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Change https:// to ssh://git@ should do the trick, that is, change

https://gist.github.com/donatello/5834862

to

ssh://git@gist.github.com/donatello/5834862

so git clone ssh://git@gist.github.com/... should clone the project (if you have already added SSH key on Github)

In my personal opinion, the official document is unclear about SSH.

answered Aug 08 '16 at 02:24

shintaroid

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Currently https works both with and without username but SSH only without username e.g. `ssh://git@gist.github.com/5834862`. – Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin Nov 22 '16 at 12:24

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 14 '19 at 08:28

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In order for it to work, one gotta remove the username from the path, leaving only the hash / numbers alone.

answered Jan 14 '19 at 08:28

cnst

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 26 '23 at 07:35

SSH and HTTPS links to clone the gist can be copied directly through GitHub's interface, as shown by Beni Cherniavsky-Paskin's answer

However the gist is going to be put in a git directory with that ugly hash as name.

This can be avoided by specifying a directory name when cloning:

git clone git@gist.github.com:9e7f15ae79acd6b60519ef094f669b26.git speedtest-loop

score -1 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 30 '19 at 13:27

-1

It is possible, Try this:

git clone git@YOURSSHHOST:YOURGISTIDHERE.git

answered Mar 30 '19 at 13:27

One Mad Geek

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How to clone a Github Gist via SSH protocol?

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