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Manage public keys

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When you add a GPG or SSH public key to your Harness user profile, Harness uses it to verify that actions like signing commits actually come from you. This gives your team confidence that commits are authentic and untampered.

What will you learn in this topic​

By the end of this topic, you will be able to:

  • Generate a GPG or SSH key pair on your local machine.
  • Add a GPG or SSH public key to your Harness user profile.
  • Delete a key from your profile when it is no longer needed.

Before you begin​

Before you manage public keys, make a note of the following:

  • A Harness account.
  • GPG command-line tools installed on your machine (for GPG keys).
  • An SSH client installed on your machine (for SSH keys).

Generate a new GPG key​

Before you can upload a GPG public key to Harness, you need to generate a GPG key pair on your local machine.

Step 1: Install GPG​

Download and install the GPG command-line tools for your operating system:

  • macOS: brew install gnupg
  • Windows: Download Gpg4win.
  • Linux: GPG is usually pre-installed. If not, use your package manager (for example, sudo apt install gnupg).

Step 2: Generate the key pair​

Open a terminal and run:

gpg --full-generate-key

When prompted:

  1. Key type: Press Enter to accept the default (RSA and RSA).
  2. Key size: Enter 4096 for maximum security.
  3. Expiration: Press Enter for no expiration, or specify an expiration period.
  4. Confirm your selections.
  5. User ID: Enter your real name and the email address associated with your Harness account.
  6. Passphrase: Enter a secure passphrase.

Step 3: Find your key ID​

List your GPG secret keys:

gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format=long

In the output, find the sec line. The key ID follows the algorithm and key size. For example, in sec rsa4096/3AA5C34371567BD2, the key ID is 3AA5C34371567BD2.

Step 4: Export the public key​

Export your public key in ASCII armor format:

gpg --armor --export <YOUR_KEY_ID>

Copy the entire output, including the -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- and -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- lines.

Add a GPG public key to Harness​

  1. In Harness, select your avatar in the bottom-left corner to open your User Profile.
  2. Under My Public Keys, find the GPG Keys section.
  3. Select + GPG Key.
  4. In the Add new GPG key dialog, fill in:
    • Name (required): A descriptive name for the key.
    • Id: An identifier for the key (auto-generated from the name, editable).
    • Description (optional): A note about the key's purpose.
    • Tags (optional): Key-value pairs for organization.
    • Public Key (required): Paste the full PGP public key block you exported earlier.
  5. Select Save.

Harness confirms the key and adds it to your GPG Keys list, showing the key name and fingerprint.

Delete a GPG key​

  1. Navigate to the GPG key in your user profile.
  2. Select the three-dot menu (⋮) on the key card.
  3. Select Delete.
  4. Confirm the deletion in the dialog.

Generate a new SSH key​

Before you can upload an SSH public key to Harness, generate an SSH key pair on your local machine.

Step 1: Generate the key pair​

Open a terminal and run:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

Replace your_email@example.com with the email address associated with your Harness account.

note

If your system does not support Ed25519, use RSA instead:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

When prompted:

  1. File location: Press Enter to accept the default (~/.ssh/id_ed25519).
  2. Passphrase: Enter a secure passphrase (recommended) or press Enter for no passphrase.

Step 2: Start the SSH agent​

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

Step 3: Add the key to the SSH agent​

macOS:

First, add the following to your ~/.ssh/config file (create it if it does not exist):

Host *
  AddKeysToAgent yes
  UseKeychain yes
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Then add the key:

ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Linux:

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Windows (Git Bash):

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Step 4: Copy the public key​

macOS:

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Linux:

xclip -selection clipboard < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Windows (Git Bash):

clip < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Alternatively, open the file and copy its contents manually:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Add an SSH public key to Harness​

Once you have your public key copied, add it to your Harness profile so Harness can verify your identity.

  1. In Harness, select your avatar in the bottom-left corner to open your User Profile.
  2. Under My Public Keys, find the SSH Keys section.
  3. Select + SSH Key.
  4. In the New SSH Key dialog, fill in:
    • Name (required): A descriptive name for the key.
    • Id: An identifier for the key (auto-generated from the name, editable).
    • Description (optional): A note about the key's purpose.
    • Tags (optional): Key-value pairs for organization.
    • Public Key (required): Paste the SSH public key you copied earlier.
  5. Select Save.

Harness confirms the key was created and adds it to your SSH Keys list with its fingerprint.

Delete an SSH key​

  1. Navigate to the SSH key in your user profile.
  2. Select the three-dot menu (⋮) on the key card.
  3. Select Delete.
  4. Confirm the deletion in the dialog.

Next steps​

Sign commits in Harness Code Repository using your GPG or SSH keys.