Git clone / pull continually freezing at "Store key in cache?"

Question

I'm attempting to clone a repo from my BitBucket account to my Windows 10 laptop (running GitBash). I've completed all of the steps necessary to connect (set up my SSH key, verified by successfully SSHing [email protected], etc). However, whenever I attempt to clone a repo, the prompt continually hangs up after confirming that I want to cache Bitbucket's key.

User@Laptop MINGW64 /C/Repos
$ git clone [email protected]:mygbid/test.git
Cloning into 'test'...
The server's host key is not cached in the registry. You
have no guarantee that the server is the computer you
think it is.
The server's rsa2 key fingerprint is:
ssh-rsa 2048 97:8c:1b:f2:6f:14:6b:5c:3b:ec:aa:46:46:74:7c:40
If you trust this host, enter "y" to add the key to
PuTTY's cache and carry on connecting.
If you want to carry on connecting just once, without
adding the key to the cache, enter "n".
If you do not trust this host, press Return to abandon the
connection.
Store key in cache? (y/n) y

No files are cloned, and the result is an empty repo. Trying to initiate a git pull origin master from this repo also asks to cache the key, then hangs with no feedback. Despite not asking for the key to be cached when I do a test SSH, git operations always ask for the key every time before failing.

With no error messages to work with, I'm really at a loss as to what is wrong. I've tried multiple repos, including very small ones, with no success at all.

Madly

Answer 1

I had this problem when cloning a repo on Windows 10 too.

I got around it by using the Putty GUI to SSH to the server in question (in your case: bitbucket.org) then clicked 'Yes' when the prompt asks if you want to save the server key to the cache. Running the clone command again then worked for me!

Vociferant

This didn't directly fix it for me, but it lead me to realize that the problem was related to GitBash using Putty for ssh authentication instead of OpenSSH. When I deleted the GIT_SSH system variable and reset GitBash everything works fine. Thanks! – Madly

Using putty to add github key in cache worked for me – Boogie

This worked for me on Win 7 using the command console. I wish somebody could tell me why this happened rather than just a workaround. – Allx

@Allx looks like the answer might be related to github.com/mintty/mintty/issues/540 – Perrie

can anyone tell how to do above said solution – Genista

@Shreyan Mehta just open putty, under host name paste [email protected] (or whatever host you are using). Be sure to select connection type of SSH. Port number should be 22. Also be sure to have the ssh key loaded into pageant before launching this. – Parthenopaeus

Worked, thanks a lot! I cannot believe this issue still persists four and a half year later .. – Carin

Answer 2

1. Open Putty
2. Type in the Host Name (like bitbucket.org)
3. Click Open
4. Click yes in the popup to cache the host key
5. Close Putty

Nanceynanchang

I had the same problem. Looking at the output from git, it seems like git is failing to cache the host key (probably a bug). So you have to do it using the PuTTY GUI. – Nanceynanchang

I tried all steps but when I select either 'y' or 'n' nothing happeds Git Bash does nothing – Bodrogi

Did you type the right host name in step 2? Did you try restarting Git Bash? – Nanceynanchang

How is this any different than the accepted answer? – Rhodic

I up voted this answer as it provides steps. I don't like how it is a workaround (you have to repeat this for every SSH server you connect) just like the accepted answer. – Melvinmelvina

use git-codecommit.us-east-2.amazonaws.com for aws code commit – Glyptodont

Make sure to change the port if you had an internal Bitbucket server – Electrothermics

Answer 3

I managed to get it working by running plink directly, after pageant is running use the plink command directly - plink.exe -agent -v [email protected] then after this git works without hanging.

Tangent

Nice solution ! This should have marked as an answer – Tripe

This is the best answer. – Jean

I think this is not a workaround and this is the right solution – Quay

If you're having this problem with github, typing exactly that command at a dos prompt while pageant is running with your key solves this problem. I agree this is the best answer! – Encounter

This did the trick. The value from the registry has a different format so you should know it too. I'm having issues with Tortoise GIT's dialog box hanging on this and though I tried to push via windows command line it didn't work as well. Nice solution indeed! – Phene

Best and correct answer. Thank you Ben. Why can't the author pageant.exe read this post and explain to the rest of us why simple stuff like this requires hours of searching and setup. – Keratitis

Answer 4

To do this from powershell open a powershell window and paste in the following:

echo y | & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\GitExtensions\PuTTY\plink.exe' -ssh [email protected]
echo y | & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\GitExtensions\PuTTY\plink.exe' -ssh [email protected]
echo y | & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\GitExtensions\PuTTY\plink.exe' -ssh [email protected]

or with PuTTY standalone version:

echo y | & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\PuTTY\plink.exe' -ssh [email protected]
echo y | & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\PuTTY\plink.exe' -ssh [email protected]
echo y | & 'C:\Program Files (x86)\PuTTY\plink.exe' -ssh [email protected]

Also worth knowing is that putty stores known hosts under a registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SoftWare\SimonTatham\PuTTY\SshHostKeys

To shortcut the above you could put the following in a .reg file and run it:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SimonTatham\PuTTY\SshHostKeys]
"rsa2@22:github.com"="0x23,0xab603b8511a67679bdb540db3bd2034b004ae936d06be3d760f08fcbaadb4eb4edc3b3c791c70aae9a74c95869e4774421c2abea92e554305f38b5fd414b3208e574c337e320936518462c7652c98b31e16e7da6523bd200742a6444d83fcd5e1732d03673c7b7811555487b55f0c4494f3829ece60f94255a95cb9af537d7fc8c7fe49ef318474ef2920992052265b0a06ea66d4a167fd9f3a48a1a4a307ec1eaaa5149a969a6ac5d56a5ef627e517d81fb644f5b745c4f478ecd082a9492f744aad326f76c8c4dc9100bc6ab79461d2657cb6f06dec92e6b64a6562ff0e32084ea06ce0ea9d35a583bfb00bad38c9d19703c549892e5aa78dc95e250514069"
"rsa2@22:gist.github.com"="0x23,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"
"rsa2@22:bitbucket.org"="0x23,0xb9b88df3578371a7eb80c78bcda14fb30da436f11ca932a5fd5a8b6adfcc681df7a59cb4cb7ac966d9eac11daa38ebdbc0a6582a210ed4ee95a8d101c4abc925e942ab47535d64f9a5b3b68035c2ea1e900d709a1e8ea938718f532f9805a190446b92bac3040126225ae9d8374bc2008f106979d631734c7453f78c70091f4783b288869cb3c1941a784cd9baad823be27333833dc1f488a45b85952be75cf0a64965662302e3915378dcd5cfcd3ec903d804a29dff2fdf19df5deba4534b09e4dea6e44f152e339b3c43be98ddadfc56533192e216a3d673f00b4aa9cc9e7870acd8b6adb7e0feb77f2292fc2dede94819def3eb1e785541a06ab31ccf725f"

putty-hosts.reg gist

Hibbard

See also earlier question and answer about this aspect of plink: serverfault.com/questions/420526/… – Perrie

FATAL ERROR: Disconnected: No supported authentication methods available (server sent: publickey) – Gaddi

In the case that your remote operates on a port other than 22, you need to run plink with the port by passing it a -P <port> argument. – Belvia

Answer 5

To workaround this problem I configured GitBash to use plink with -batch option. The option disables all prompts - the plink will terminate without hanging and won't add any key fingerprint to cache.

To add -batch parameter to plink command executed by GitBash you can set a git config option:

git config --global core.sshCommand "plink -batch"

Or set GIT_SSH_COMMAND environment variable.

The output when you cloning a repo from unknown host will be similar to this:

The server's host key is not cached in the registry. You
have no guarantee that the server is the computer you
think it is.
The server's rsa2 key fingerprint is:
ssh-rsa 2048 97:8c:1b:f2:6f:14:6b:5c:3b:ec:aa:46:46:74:7c:40
Connection abandoned.
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.

After this message you can add a key to cache with command:

echo y | plink [email protected]

REMARK: Please check if plink is in your PATH. Alternatively use UNIX-like path in the GitBash config option, e.g.:

/c/Program\ Files/PuTTY/plink.exe -batch

Luciolucita

HI i get this message: FATAL ERROR: Disconnected: No supported authentication methods available (server sent: publickey) – Claudy

@pungggi, if you manage SSH keys in GPG then this can mean that gpg-agent is not started. Run gpg-connect-agent /bye beforehand. – Cassowary

Answer 6

Even after performing the workaround mentioned in other answers, you may encounter an error like:

FATAL ERROR: Disconnected: No supported authentication methods available (server sent: publickey)

To solve both problems at once, change git bash to use SSH instead of PuTTY by adding the following to your ~/.profile file (C:\Users\<Username>\.profile). If you don't already have this file, then create a new file with this line.

GIT_SSH="/usr/bin/ssh.exe"

Then open a new git bash window and try your git clone or git pull again.

Note that this may require you to create an SSH key if you don't already have one. To do this, follow the instructions on the Bitbucket site.

See this SO question for related info.

Surplice

Answer 7

In your git bash shell, check for existence of GIT_SSH:
echo $GIT<tab><tab>
If it exists and is set to putty, execute:
unset GIT_SSH
You'll probably want to put this into one of the git bash startup scripts.
This is NOT a universal solution. It worked in our particular case.

Malikamalin

what/where is a 'git bash startup script'? I'm only familiar with real linux. – Broncobuster

There are multiple start up scripts. Some are located in the /etc directory; others can be in your home directory. Which start up scripts are executed depend on command line options to your shell (interactive vs login). These are relevant regardless of the OS the shell runs on top of. – Malikamalin

Windows has no '/etc' directory. – Broncobuster

Bash shells that run under Windows do. They are usually mapped to someplace off the shell's base (or install) directory. Take a look a git bash and Cygwin bash. Remember, these are shells that look like and operate a lot like a shell on a linux system. – Malikamalin

Answer 8

It sounds a bit silly, but after trying all of the above, I decided to reinstall Git Bash with default options and it worked.

Worldweary

Answer 9

If you use KiTTY (instead of PuTTY), it has -auto-store-sshkey argument.

So, you can set GIT_SSH_COMMAND (or git config --global core.sshCommand) to something like c:/KiTTY/klink.exe -auto-store-sshkey.

The output still contains information about new key and the question, but it doesn't wait for the answer:

The server's host key is not cached in the registry. You
have no guarantee that the server is the computer you
think it is.
The server's ssh-ed25519 key fingerprint is:
ssh-ed25519 255 2e:65:6a:c8:cf:bf:b2:8b:9a:bd:6d:9f:11:5c:12:16
If you trust this host, enter "y" to add the key to
PuTTY's cache and carry on connecting.
If you want to carry on connecting just once, without
adding the key to the cache, enter "n".
If you do not trust this host, press Return to abandon the
connection.
Store key in cache? (y/n)
Autostore key is on

Cassowary

Answer 10

Default SSH port to connect to is 7999

Unwonted

"Any answer that gets the asker going in the right direction is helpful, but do try to mention any limitations, assumptions or simplifications in your answer. Brevity is acceptable, but fuller explanations are better." - check How do I write a good answer. Please provide some explanations on how this answer's the OP's question. – Dorsy