GitLab Permission Denied (publickey) Error

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

1. 1. Test the connection and read the debug output

   Copy steps
   1. Run ssh -Tv git@gitlab.com (use your instance host if self-managed).
   2. Look for "Offering public key" lines to see which key SSH tries, and whether any is accepted.
   3. A success shows "Welcome to GitLab, @username!".
   Did this fix it? Yes No

2. 2. Add your public key to GitLab

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   1. Print the key: cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub (generate one with ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com" if missing).
   2. In GitLab open your avatar > Preferences > SSH Keys > Add new key.
   3. Paste the whole .pub line and save.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

3. 3. Tell SSH which key to use

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   1. Add a block to ~/.ssh/config: Host gitlab.com, IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, IdentitiesOnly yes.
   2. Retest with ssh -T git@gitlab.com.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

4. 4. Load the key into ssh-agent

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   1. Run eval "$(ssh-agent -s)" then ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.
   2. On macOS add UseKeychain yes and AddKeysToAgent yes to the config so it survives reboots.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

5. 5. Fix file permissions

   Copy steps
   1. chmod 700 ~/.ssh
   2. chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
   3. On Windows use Git Bash or OpenSSH in the same user profile.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

6. 6. Use HTTPS with a token if SSH is blocked

   Copy steps
   1. Create a personal access token with write_repository scope.
   2. git remote set-url origin https://gitlab.com/<group>/<project>.git and use the token as the password.
   Did this fix it? Yes No

Symptoms

git clone, pull or push over SSH fails with "git@gitlab.com: Permission denied (publickey)" or "Could not read from remote repository".

Why it happens

• Public key not added to your GitLab profile
• SSH offers a different private key than the one you added
• Key not loaded in ssh-agent (common after reboot)
• Private key file permissions too open (not 600) or .ssh not 700
• Unsupported key type or a corrupted key paste

This guide also covers

• gitlab permission denied publickey
• git@gitlab.com permission denied (publickey)
• gitlab ssh key not working
• could not read from remote repository gitlab

The same problem in other apps

All not loading, error messages & connection guides →

• GitHub Permission Denied (publickey) Error (GitHub)

Other GitLab errors

• GitLab Pipeline Stuck on Pending
• GitLab Runner Not Picking Up Jobs
• GitLab "HTTP Basic: Access Denied" on Push or Clone
• GitLab "You Are Not Allowed to Push Code to Protected Branches"
• How to Resolve GitLab Merge Conflicts
• GitLab "No More Compute Minutes" or CI Minutes Quota Exceeded
• GitLab Pipeline Not Running or "yaml invalid"
• Why Is GitLab So Slow?