REST API endpoints for Git SSH keys

Use the REST API to manage Git SSH keys of authenticated users.

About Git SSH key administration

If a request URL does not include a {username} parameter then the response will be for the signed-in user (and you must pass authentication information with your request). Additional private information, such as whether a user has two-factor authentication enabled, is included when authenticated through OAuth with the user scope.

List public SSH keys for the authenticated user

GET /user/keys

Lists the public SSH keys for the authenticated user's GitHub account.
OAuth app tokens and personal access tokens (classic) need the read:public_key scope to use this endpoint.

Parameters

Headers

• accept (string)
  Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path and query parameters

• per_page (integer)
  The number of results per page (max 100). For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API."
  Default: 30

• page (integer)
  The page number of the results to fetch. For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API."
  Default: 1

HTTP response status codes

• 200 - OK

• 304 - Not modified

• 401 - Requires authentication

• 403 - Forbidden

• 404 - Resource not found

Code examples

Example

Request:

curl -L \
  -X GET \
  https://api.github.com/user/keys

Response schema (Status: 200):

Array of Key:

• key: required, string
• id: required, integer, format: int64
• url: required, string
• title: required, string
• created_at: required, string, format: date-time
• verified: required, boolean
• read_only: required, boolean
• last_used: string or null, format: date-time

Create a public SSH key for the authenticated user

POST /user/keys

Adds a public SSH key to the authenticated user's GitHub account.
OAuth app tokens and personal access tokens (classic) need the write:public_key scope to use this endpoint.

Parameters

Headers

• accept (string)
  Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Body parameters

• title (string)
  A descriptive name for the new key.

• key (string) (required)
  The public SSH key to add to your GitHub account.

HTTP response status codes

• 201 - Created

• 304 - Not modified

• 401 - Requires authentication

• 403 - Forbidden

• 404 - Resource not found

• 422 - Validation failed, or the endpoint has been spammed.

Code examples

Example

Request:

curl -L \
  -X POST \
  https://api.github.com/user/keys \
  -d '{
  "title": "ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAA",
  "key": "2Sg8iYjAxxmI2LvUXpJjkYrMxURPc8r+dB7TJyvv1234"
}'

Response schema (Status: 201):

• key: required, string
• id: required, integer, format: int64
• url: required, string
• title: required, string
• created_at: required, string, format: date-time
• verified: required, boolean
• read_only: required, boolean
• last_used: string or null, format: date-time

Get a public SSH key for the authenticated user

GET /user/keys/{key_id}

View extended details for a single public SSH key.
OAuth app tokens and personal access tokens (classic) need the read:public_key scope to use this endpoint.

Parameters

Headers

• accept (string)
  Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path and query parameters

• key_id (integer) (required)
  The unique identifier of the key.

HTTP response status codes

• 200 - OK

• 304 - Not modified

• 401 - Requires authentication

• 403 - Forbidden

• 404 - Resource not found

Code examples

Example

Request:

curl -L \
  -X GET \
  https://api.github.com/user/keys/KEY_ID

Response schema (Status: 200):

Same response schema as Create a public SSH key for the authenticated user.

Delete a public SSH key for the authenticated user

DELETE /user/keys/{key_id}

Removes a public SSH key from the authenticated user's GitHub account.
OAuth app tokens and personal access tokens (classic) need the admin:public_key scope to use this endpoint.

Parameters

Headers

• accept (string)
  Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path and query parameters

• key_id (integer) (required)
  The unique identifier of the key.

HTTP response status codes

• 204 - No Content

• 304 - Not modified

• 401 - Requires authentication

• 403 - Forbidden

• 404 - Resource not found

Code examples

Example

Request:

curl -L \
  -X DELETE \
  https://api.github.com/user/keys/KEY_ID

Response schema (Status: 204):

List public keys for a user

GET /users/{username}/keys

Lists the verified public SSH keys for a user. This is accessible by anyone.

Parameters

Headers

• accept (string)
  Setting to application/vnd.github+json is recommended.

Path and query parameters

• username (string) (required)
  The handle for the GitHub user account.

• per_page (integer)
  The number of results per page (max 100). For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API."
  Default: 30

• page (integer)
  The page number of the results to fetch. For more information, see "Using pagination in the REST API."
  Default: 1

HTTP response status codes

• 200 - OK

Code examples

Example

Request:

curl -L \
  -X GET \
  https://api.github.com/users/USERNAME/keys

Response schema (Status: 200):

Array of Key Simple:

• id: required, integer
• key: required, string
• created_at: string, format: date-time
• last_used: string or null, format: date-time