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Using Git and Plink for SSH on Windows

Posted on 01/25/2010 at 11:11 am by Kevin Wentworth
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Well, I finally had an opportunity to install Git on Windows yet again.  It had been quite a while since my last time installing Git on Windows, so I was a little rusty and couldn't figure out how to get Git to use Plink for SSH.  It's actually quite simple and dependent on a Windows system variable.

Getting Git to use Plink for SSH on Windows

You need to create a system variable in Windows for GIT_SSH:

1. Go to System Properties > Advanced Settings
2. Click the button for Environment Variables
3. Click 'New' to add a new system variable
4. Under variable name, call it 'GIT_SSH'
5. Under variable value, put in the path to your Plink executable: 'C:\Program Files\PuTTY\plink.exe'
   

   

6. Click all the OKs until you are out of System Properties
7. Git should now use Plink for SSH and not the built in ssh functionality

Setting up Putty, Plink and Pageant for Git on Windows

This post doesn't describe how to get Putty, Plink and Pageant working with Git on Windows, but I did come across an excellent Git tutorial (scroll to the bottom).  It's probably the best tutorial for a non-techie that wants to install git on windows.  It's actually illustrated!

Cheers,
-Kevin Wentworth