Connecting SSH Git Repositories to Jira Cloud

What’s on this page:

• Introduction
• Generating SSH Keys
  • Windows
  • Linux/MacOS
• Power Users
• Connecting SSH Git Repositories

Introduction

SSH git repositories can be integrated with Jira Cloud via Git Integration for Jira app.

Generating SSH Keys

Initially, the SSH key pair must be generated to proceed. We recommend to generate a 4096-bit key.

Windows

For Windows users, we recommend to use PuTTY and use PuTTYgen to generate public and private SSH keys.

1. Launch PuTTYgen and refer to the above image for the rest of the steps on this section.

2. Set Type of key to generate to RSA.

3. Set Number of bits in a generated key to 4096.

4. Click Generate.

5. Follow screen instructions such as moving your mouse pointer on random locations on the blank area of the PuTTYgen dialog. Do this until the progress bar completely fills up and the SSH key pair is generated.

6. Entering a Passphrase for the generated key is optional but will ensure a more secure connection.

7. Save your generated public and private key to a file by clicking the respective options.

8. Copy the generated key. This is the public key that you will be using on the SSH configuration page of your git host.

9. For the private key, see the note below.

You can also use the git bash command line to generate SSH key pair. For detailed information, see Generate SSH via Git bash.

Read on the section in our online documentation, Generating SSH Keys, and follow specific information for the git host and platform that you use.

Linux/MacOS

On Linux and MacOS, this generates an SSH key in RSA format:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -m pem -C "[email protected]"

MacOs often incorrectly creates an OpenSSH format certificate. For more details, see information on this common problem. |

Power Users

The Git Integration for Jira app supports one format for private SSH keys ➜ RSA. To change your SSH key pair to the supported format, use the following syntax on your terminal or bash/powershell:

ssh-keygen -p -P "old_password" -N "new_password" -m pem

Connecting SSH Git Repositories

1. Generate an SSH key pair as stated in the previous section.

2. Obtain the Clone SSH git URL from your git host repository page.

3. On your Jira Cloud dashboard, go to menu Apps ➜ Git Integration: Manage integrations.

4. On the top-right corner click on Add integration.

5. Under Self-hosted group, click on Plain git repository.

6. Paste the SSH git clone URL into the Host URL field.

7. Paste the Private SSH key on the provided box or click Upload Key File to upload a private SSH key file.

8. Enter the Passphrase of the private SSH key, if any. Otherwise, leave it blank.

9. Click on Add Integration to complete this process.

The connected repository is listed in the git configuration page.