PHP Github Pull script error 'permission denied (publickey)'

Question

I've set up a PHP script to perform a GitHub pull:

This is contained in my Github folder /home/mysite/public_html/github

github_pull.php

<?php
echo `git pull 2>&1`;
?>

My server does already have the SSH public key, as if I perform git pull from Terminal:

ssh [email protected]
cd public_html/github
git pull

This works successfully (however I do have to enter the password for the rsa key first) Update: password is no longer needed (see comments)

However, when I run github_pull.php I get the following error: Permission denied (publickey). fatal: The remote end hung up unexpectedly

The SSH key is contained at /home/mysite/.ssh/id_rsa

When I run

<?php echo `whoami`;

It outputs mysite

Answer 1

As commented, try first an https url:

 ssh [email protected]
 cd public_html/github
 git remote set-url origin https://github.com/username/reponame
 git pull

This is far easier than tinkering with ssh keys, especially when they are passphrase protected.

---

If you must use ssh keys, then you must know the default location of the key is:

~/.ssh/id_rsa(.pub)

If the user executing the script is 'mysite', then it will look for ~mysite/.ssh/id_rsa.
And you need to make sure the ssh-agent is running as mysite user. Which is why it is easier at first to try it with a private key not passphrase-protected.

If your ssh key were to be somewhere else, then you would need a:

~mysite/.ssh/config

In that config file, as illustrated here, you can specify the location and name of the key you want to use.