How to Setup/Enable BitBucket Terminal Access on a Mac

Setting up an SSH key can be a confusing and tedious process, but it doesn't have to be. This blog post will show you a simple and straightforward method for installing an SSH key on your Mac.

Step 1: Generate the SSH Key

To generate your SSH key, open a Terminal window and type:

~ ssh-keygen

Press enter a few times to go through the prompts. This will create two files in a hidden folder in your home directory, called "id_rsa" & "id_rsa.pub." You can verify that the files have been created by typing:

~ ls ~/.ssh

id_rsa id_rsa.pub

in the Terminal.

Step 2: Add the Key to SSH-Agent

To ensure that macOS remembers to use your SSH key after a restart, you will need to add it to the SSH-Agent. To do this, type:

~ eval ssh-agent

Agent pid xxxx

in the Terminal, then:

~ ssh-add -K ~/.ssh/id_rsa

to add the key to the agent.

Step 3: Remember After Restart

To make sure that your config file is set up correctly, type:

~ touch ~/.ssh/config

and

~ open ~/.ssh/config

in the Terminal. This will open the config file in a text editor. Ensure the config file includes the following lines:

Host * 
UseKeychain yes

Step 4: Add Public Key to BitBucket

To add your public key to BitBucket, copy the key to the clipboard by typing:

~ pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

in the Terminal. Then, go to this URL: https://bitbucket.org/account/settings/ssh-keys/ and click "Add Key." Paste the key into the textbox and add a label (e.g. "MacBook Key").

Step 5: Verify Everything Works

To verify that your SSH key is working correctly, type:

~ ssh -T git@bitbucket.org | grep logged

in the Terminal. If everything is set up correctly, you should see the message "logged in as [YOUR USERNAME]."

Following these simple steps, you can easily set up an SSH key on your Mac and start accessing your BitBucket repositories through the terminal. No more confusion or long-winded instructions!