Git over SSH

Both SSH URL forms are supported. Note that the ssh:// form uses a path separator, while the git@ shorthand uses a colon between host and org:

git@github.com:rustwasm/wasm-pack-template.git

# vs

ssh://git@github.com/rustwasm/wasm-pack-template.git

Either one can also be used as the right-hand side of .gitconfig insteadOf — see the next chapter.

cargo generate --git git@github.com:rustwasm/wasm-pack-template.git --name mywasm

How authentication works

New in version 0.24.0 is the full delegation of SSH to the system ssh binary (via gix). In practice that means:

• ssh-agent is picked up automatically wherever the OS exposes it.
• ~/.ssh/config is honored, including per-host IdentityFile, IdentitiesOnly, ProxyJump, and friends.
• Default identity discovery is whatever your ssh uses — typically ~/.ssh/id_ed25519, ~/.ssh/id_rsa, etc.
• Passphrase prompts come from ssh (or the agent) directly, so they look and behave exactly like a plain git clone.

No cargo-generate–specific configuration is needed for the common case: if git clone <ssh-url> works in your shell, so does cargo generate --git <ssh-url>.

On Windows

ssh-agent ships as an optional service with modern Windows. Follow this guide for one-time setup; once it’s running, cargo-generate uses it transparently.

Custom SSH identity file (private key)

If you need a specific key for a single invocation, pass it with -i / --identity:

cargo generate -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa_other --git git@github.com:org/template.git

Under the hood this becomes an in-memory core.sshCommand = ssh -i <path> override — equivalent to running git with GIT_SSH_COMMAND=ssh -i <path>. Passphrase prompts (if any) come from ssh directly.

For a persistent choice, ~/.ssh/config is usually the cleanest option:

Host github.com
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa_other
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Alternatively, configure it in the cargo-generate config file:

# an extract of ~/.cargo/cargo-generate.toml
[defaults]
# note that `~/` and `$HOME/` are expanded to the full path seamlessly
ssh_identity = "~/.ssh/id_rsa_other"
# equivalent to
ssh_identity = "$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa_other"
# equivalent to
ssh_identity = "/home/john/.ssh/id_rsa_other"

⚠️ NOTE: the CLI argument -i always overrules ssh_identity from the config file.