---
name: glab-ssh-key
description: Manage SSH keys for GitLab account including add, list, and delete operations. Use when setting up SSH authentication, managing SSH keys, or configuring Git over SSH. Triggers on SSH key, add SSH key, SSH authentication, Git SSH.
---

# glab ssh-key

## Overview

```

  Manage SSH keys registered with your GitLab account.
  USAGE
    glab ssh-key <command> [command] [--flags]
  COMMANDS
    add [key-file] [--flags]   Add an SSH key to your GitLab account.
    delete <key-id> [--flags]  Deletes a single SSH key specified by the ID.
    get <key-id> [--flags]     Returns a single SSH key specified by the ID.
    list [--flags]             Get a list of SSH keys for the currently authenticated user.
  FLAGS
    -h --help                  Show help for this command.
    -R --repo                  Select another repository. Can use either `OWNER/REPO` or `GROUP/NAMESPACE/REPO` format. Also accepts full URL or Git URL.
```

## ⚠️ Security Warning: Public Keys Only

**Always verify you are uploading a PUBLIC key, not a private key.**

- ✅ Public keys: `~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub`, `~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub` (`.pub` extension)
- ❌ Private keys: `~/.ssh/id_rsa`, `~/.ssh/id_ed25519` (no extension — NEVER upload these)

Uploading a private key to GitLab would expose your credentials. Double-check the filename before running `glab ssh-key add`.

```bash
# ✅ Safe — public key
glab ssh-key add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub --title "My Laptop"

# ❌ NEVER do this — private key
# glab ssh-key add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 --title "My Laptop"
```

**Before uploading, verify your key is public:**
```bash
# Should start with 'ssh-rsa', 'ssh-ed25519', 'ecdsa-sha2-*', etc.
head -c 20 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
```

## Quick start

```bash
glab ssh-key --help
```

## Structured output

`glab ssh-key list` and `glab ssh-key get` support `--output json` / `-F json` for structured output, which is useful for agent automation.

```bash
# List SSH keys with JSON output
glab ssh-key list --output json
glab ssh-key list -F json

# Get a specific SSH key with JSON output
glab ssh-key get <key-id> --output json
glab ssh-key get <key-id> -F json
```

## Subcommands

See [references/commands.md](references/commands.md) for full `--help` output.