7 Local Setup and SSH
You’ll only need to do these steps once.
7.1 SSH Connection
We need to create an SSH connection, which is a secure link to GitHub using a cryptographic key instead of a password. It’s a highly secure method that allows you to push and pull code without having to enter your credentials every time. If you’ve already been git cloning, pushing, and pulling, you have your SSH connection set up and can skip this step.
You can run the commands in this section from anywhere in your computer - folder does not matter.
Output VS Commands in the GitHub Docs
Commands are prefixed with a $ to simulate the terminal prompt. This character indicates where a command begins but is not part of the command itself, so do not copy it.
Output is prefaced by a “>” sign.
7.1.1 Generate an SSH key
This step creates a unique cryptographic key pair that acts as a secure, digital identity for your computer.
If you have already created a SSH key and you are asked to rewrite another key, look at the highlighted section here.
Before you freak out
When typing your passphrase, your computer is so secretive that you won’t see it being typed. You won’t see a cursor moving and you won’t see ● instead of the characters you’re typing. Rest assured, your computer is receiving your text.
If you make a mistake, it’s best to hit the “delete” bar many times and retype.
7.2 GitHub Folder
7.2.1 Create your folder
Create a folder on your computer to hold all your CBW repos. We recommend placing it in your Documents folder and naming it CBWGithub, but if you’re confident with the command line, you can mix up the name and location. We will refer to this folder as CBWGithub for the rest of this document.
7.2.2 Clone the GitHub homepage
We need to download the homepage repo for the website, since you’ll be linking your workshop pages there.
Go to the folder you just created using your Terminal or PowerShell. You can do this using the command line or the shortcuts listed here. Once you’re there, run the following command:
git clone git@github.com:bioinformaticsdotca/bioinformaticsdotca.github.io.gitYou can use ls to see the contents of your folder; you should now see a subfolder named bioinformaticsdotca.github.io.