Complete Guide: GitHub Multi-Account Setup (Personal + Company) on Windows

Author: Md Mim Shifat

Environment: Windows 10/11 + Git Bash + SSH

Goal: Use Personal and Company GitHub accounts on the same machine without conflicts.

Why This Setup Is Needed

When you use:

👤 Personal GitHub

🏢 Company GitHub

On the same computer, two problems can happen:

1. SSH authentication conflicts (wrong account pushes)

2. Wrong commit author name/email

This guide solves both issues properly using:

Separate SSH keys

SSH config file

Proper Git identity management

This is the professional way senior developers handle multiple GitHub accounts.

PART 1 — Open Git Bash Properly

Step 1 — Open Git Bash

1. Click Windows Search 🔍

2. Type Git Bash

3. Open it

You should see something like:

Bash

MINGW64 ~

That ~ means you are in:

C:\Users\YourUsername

Good — this is your home directory.

PART 2 — Create .ssh Folder (Important)

SSH keys are stored inside a hidden folder called .ssh.

Step 2 — Create .ssh Folder

Run:

Bash

mkdir -p ~/.ssh

Now enter the folder:

Bash

cd ~/.ssh

Verify your location:

Bash

pwd

It must show:

/c/Users/YourUsername/.ssh

If yes → perfect.

PART 3 — Create SSH Keys

We will create:

id_personal → For personal GitHub

id_work → For company GitHub

Step 3 — Create Personal SSH Key

Make sure you are inside .ssh.

Run:

Bash

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_personal_email@gmail.com"

When it asks:

Enter file in which to save the key:

Type:

id_personal

Press Enter.

When it asks for passphrase:

You can press Enter twice (no password)

Or set a passphrase (recommended for security)

You should see:

Your identification has been saved in id_personal

Your public key has been saved in id_personal.pub

Step 4 — Create Work SSH Key

Still inside .ssh, run:

Bash

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_company_email@company.com"

When it asks:

Enter file in which to save the key:

Type:

id_work

Press Enter twice (or set passphrase).

Step 5 — Verify Keys

Run:

Bash

ls -la

You should see:

id_personal

id_personal.pub

id_work

id_work.pub

If yes → your keys are correctly created.

PART 4 — Start SSH Agent

SSH Agent manages your keys during the session.

Step 6 — Start SSH Agent

Bash

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

You should see:

Agent pid 1234

Step 7 — Add Keys to SSH Agent

Bash

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_personal
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_work

Verify:

Bash

ssh-add -l

You should see two identities listed.

PART 5 — Create SSH Config File

This is the most important part.

We must tell SSH:

When connecting as personal → use id_personal

When connecting as work → use id_work

Step 8 — Create Config File

Open config file:

Bash

nano ~/.ssh/config

Paste this exactly:

text

# Personal GitHub
Host github-personal
   HostName github.com
   User git
   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_personal
   IdentitiesOnly yes

# Work GitHub
Host github-work
   HostName github.com
   User git
   IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_work
   IdentitiesOnly yes

Save:

1. Press Ctrl + X

2. Press Y

3. Press Enter

Done.

PART 6 — Add Public Keys to GitHub

Now we must register keys in GitHub.

Add Personal Key

Run:

Bash

cat ~/.ssh/id_personal.pub

Copy the entire output.

Go to:

GitHub → Settings → SSH and GPG Keys → New SSH Key → Paste → Save

Add Work Key

Run:

Bash

cat ~/.ssh/id_work.pub

Copy output → Add to your company GitHub account.

PART 7 — Test Connection

Test Personal

Bash

ssh -T git@github-personal

If it asks:

Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

Type:

yes

Then you should see:

Hi username! You've successfully authenticated...

Test Work

Bash

ssh -T git@github-work

Type yes if asked.

If successful → setup complete.

PART 8 — Clone Repositories Correctly

Now cloning must use custom host names.

Clone Personal Repository

Bash

git clone git@github-personal:your-username/repo.git

Example:

Bash

git clone git@github-personal:mimshifat/small-projects.git

Clone Company Repository

Bash

git clone git@github-work:company-org/repo.git

Example:

Bash

git clone git@github-work:techcorp/backend-api.git

⚠️ **Do NOT use github.com anymore.**

Use github-personal or github-work.

PART 9 — Git Commit Identity Setup

SSH controls access.

Git config controls commit author.

Set Global (Personal Default)

Run once:

Bash

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your_personal_email@gmail.com"

Now all repos default to personal identity.

Set Company Identity (Inside Company Repo Only)

After cloning company repo:

Bash

cd repo-name
git config user.name "company-username"
git config user.email "your_company_email@company.com"

This affects *only* that repository.

Always Verify Identity

Inside any repository:

Bash

git config --show-origin user.name
git config --show-origin user.email

If it shows: file:.git/config → That means local company identity is active.

If it shows: file:C:/Users/YourUsername/.gitconfig → That means global (personal) identity is active.

Final Mental Model

Component	Responsibility
SSH Key	Can I push?
SSH Config	Which key to use?
Git user.name	Author name
Git user.email	Author email
Global config	Default identity
Local repo config	Overrides global

ComponentSSH Key

ResponsibilityCan I push?

ComponentSSH Config

ResponsibilityWhich key to use?

ComponentGit user.name

ResponsibilityAuthor name

ComponentGit user.email

ResponsibilityAuthor email

ComponentGlobal config

ResponsibilityDefault identity

ComponentLocal repo config

ResponsibilityOverrides global

🎯 Final Result

After completing this guide, you now have:

✔ Separate SSH keys

✔ Separate GitHub authentication

✔ Separate commit identities

✔ No conflicts

✔ Professional multi-account workflow

GitHub

Git

SSH

Windows

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