CodingBowl

Using one machine for both work and personal projects is common, but GitHub's default settings make it tricky to juggle two identities. If you've ever accidentally pushed a personal side project using your corporate email, this guide is for you.

Step 1: Separate Your SSH Keys

First, generate a unique SSH key for each account. Don't overwrite your existing one! Name them clearly, such as id_ed25519_personal and id_ed25519_work.

Next, edit your ~/.ssh/config file to define how SSH should handle different GitHub "hosts":

# Personal Account
Host github-personal
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal

# Work Account
Host github-work
  HostName github.com
  User git
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work

Note: Ensure you've added these public keys to their respective GitHub accounts under Settings > SSH and GPG keys.

Step 2: Update Your Git Remotes

This is the "secret sauce." Instead of using the standard git@github.com, you must use the aliases you created in your SSH config.

Check your current remote:

git remote -v

Update it to point to the correct identity:

# For a personal repo
git remote set-url origin git@github-personal:username/repo.git

# For a work repo
git remote set-url origin git@github-work:org/repo.git

Step 3: Handling the VS Code Interface

While the SSH config handles the push/pull logic, the VS Code "Accounts" menu (bottom left) handles Pull Requests and Issues via the GitHub extension.

• You can sign into both accounts simultaneously.
• One account will be "active" at a time for extension features.
• Switch between them as needed; your SSH settings will keep the code commits going to the right place regardless.