Configure Git to use Plink

Question

I'm trying to configure Git to use Plink. It worked for me many times before. Now, for some reason, this option isn't available to me (it is disabled):

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling Git a hundred times. Nothing. I can't get to this option enabled.

Answer 1

This looks like issue 368:

When I updated the install never asked if I wanted to use PLink.
Now, Git continues to look for an OpenSSH key. Git could not find my putty key.

I have tried loading my putty private key and reinstalling Git. No matter what I do I can't get Git to use my putty plink data and private key.

This has a workaround (issue 367)

1. making sure that plink is in PATH
2. Saving settings for one putty session (doesn't matter which one)

and by doing those before installing git.

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Even with that process, it is not easy:

I was finally able to get GIT to work with Plink.

One comment:
I did start a Plink session before installing GIT. Even with a Plink session running, I am never able to get the installer to recognize Plink was running.

My work around:

1. I finally just installed GIT 1.6.5.1.
2. I changed the Plink path to removes spaces. I changed the directory from: c:\program files\putty to c:\putty.
3. I set the environment variable GIT_SSH to the new path. c:\putty\plink.exe.

With these changes GIT is now functioning properly.

Regarding spaces, as noted by user2428118 in the comments, you can use an 8.3 path: no space needed there:

set GIT_SSH=C:\PROGRA~1\PuTTY\plink.exe

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Janusz Skonieczny adds in the comments:

To setup this quickly run PowerShell as admin:

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("GIT_SSH", "D:\your_path_here\plink.exe", "User")

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Update March 2017, for Git 2.13 (Q2 2017)

Git now auto-detects the ssh you need (OpenSSH or plink), but you can force that detection with ss.variant.

See commit dd33e07 (01 Feb 2017), and commit e9d9a8a (02 Jan 2017) by Segev Finer (segevfiner).
See commit e2824e4 (01 Feb 2017) by Johannes Schindelin (dscho).
See commit 6a4f3a9 (26 Jan 2017) by Junio C Hamano (gitster).
^{(Merged by Junio C Hamano -- gitster -- in commit be6ab59, 27 Feb 2017)}

ssh.variant:

Depending on the value of the environment variables GIT_SSH or GIT_SSH_COMMAND, or the config setting core.sshCommand, Git auto-detects whether to adjust its command-line parameters for use with plink or tortoiseplink, as opposed to the default (OpenSSH).

The config variable ssh.variant can be set to override this auto-detection;
Valid values are ssh, plink, putty or tortoiseplink.
Any other value will be treated as normal ssh.
This setting can be overridden via the environment variable GIT_SSH_VARIANT.

Answer 2

This is what I did to fix it on my machine (Windows 10 Pro x64) in January 2023.

1 & 2) Configured TortoiseGit (in its settings... Network >> SSH >> SSH client) and Git (the GIT_SSH environment variable) to both use     C:\Program Files\PuTTY\plink.exe without quotation marks.

3 & 4) Set up both Pageant and ssh-add agent to auto-start (I used the ssh agent script from https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/connecting-to-github-with-ssh/working-with-ssh-key-passphrases and use my private key.

Answer 3

I just had this problem (with a newer version of Git, 1.7.9). I used the answer from VonC, but only a couple of steps were needed:

1. Set the environment variable GIT_SSH to the location of plink.exe
2. Run pageant.exe and load your private key

On 64 bit Windows, the default location for plink is C:\Program Files (x86)\GitExtensions\PuTTY\plink.exe The spaces in the path no longer seem to be a problem.

Answer 4

I used for many years the solution with GIT_SSH environment variable, but sometime this year it stopped working (after update of git bash or putty toolkit). I've found current working soultion. First, your pageant must be running. Second you must start ssh agent, but the windows one:

eval `ssh-pageant`

It is windows equivalent of what unix users know:

eval `ssh-agent`

To add keys you can use ssh-add or Pagenant UI window.

Answer 5

If you are using TortoiseGit, you can permanently configure its plink. Of course use correct path on your machine.

setx GIT_SSH "C:\Program Files\TortoiseGit\bin\TortoiseGitPlink.exe"

Answer 6

This is an old question, and I just have the same problem, just to be sure I will write down the solution that worked for me.

• The msysgit installer didn't show the screen that allows to select between the openssh client and the Tortoise (plink)

• The solution is to install Putty (or Tortoise Plink I guess), create and save at least one session, just installing Putty didn't work, the session must be created, the installer does some weird check about that.

• When you run the Git installer again, the screen should appear.