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setup-windows-git-basic.ps1

PowerShell script for installing Git for Windows and basic Git + SSH setup for a selected Windows user.

The script is designed to run on a Windows server from an elevated PowerShell session. It:

  • installs Git via winget or a local installer;
  • configures Git in a dedicated user .gitconfig;
  • accepts the SSH private key as a parameter;
  • copies the private key to %USERPROFILE%\.ssh\id_ed25519;
  • auto-generates id_ed25519.pub when possible;
  • creates or updates %USERPROFILE%\.ssh\config;
  • asks for the Git server host name at runtime if -GitServerHost is not provided;
  • writes a managed Host block for the target Git server;
  • removes an old core.sshCommand from the user .gitconfig, so Git uses the standard user OpenSSH config;
  • locks down ACLs for .ssh, keys, config, known_hosts, and .gitconfig.

What is configured

By default the script sets:

  • user.name
  • user.email
  • init.defaultBranch=main
  • fetch.prune=true
  • pull.rebase=true or false
  • push.default=simple
  • rebase.autoStash=true
  • core.autocrlf=false
  • credential.helper=manager-core unless disabled

It also creates a managed block in %USERPROFILE%\.ssh\config, for example:

Host gitlab.example.com
    HostName gitlab.example.com
    User git
    Port 22
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
    IdentitiesOnly yes
    PreferredAuthentications publickey

Required parameters

  • -Username
  • -GitUserName
  • -GitUserEmail
  • one of:
    • -SshPrivateKeyPath
    • -SshPrivateKey

Optional parameters

  • -SshPublicKeyPath
  • -SshPublicKey
  • -GitServerHost
    • if omitted, the script asks for it interactively
  • -GitServerSshUser (default: git)
  • -GitHostAlias
    • if omitted, it defaults to GitServerHost
  • -GitServerPort (default: 22)
  • -InstallMode auto|winget|local|skip
  • -LocalInstallerPath
  • -GitPackageId (default: Git.Git)
  • -DefaultBranch (default: main)
  • -PullMode rebase|merge (default: rebase)
  • -AutoCrlf false|true|input (default: false)
  • -EnableCredentialManager
  • -InstallGitLfs
  • -Force
    • allows overwriting existing id_ed25519 / id_ed25519.pub when contents differ

Examples

1. Standard run with interactive Git server prompt

Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
.\setup-windows-git-basic.ps1 `
  -Username user-git `
  -GitUserName "Alexander" `
  -GitUserEmail "alex@example.com" `
  -SshPrivateKeyPath C:\user-git\id_ed25519 `
  -InstallMode auto

2. Provide the Git server explicitly

.\setup-windows-git-basic.ps1 `
  -Username user-git `
  -GitUserName "Alexander" `
  -GitUserEmail "alex@example.com" `
  -SshPrivateKeyPath C:\user-git\id_ed25519 `
  -GitServerHost github.com `
  -GitServerSshUser git

3. Use a custom SSH alias

.\setup-windows-git-basic.ps1 `
  -Username user-git `
  -GitUserName "Alexander" `
  -GitUserEmail "alex@example.com" `
  -SshPrivateKeyPath C:\user-git\id_ed25519 `
  -GitServerHost github.com `
  -GitHostAlias my-git

4. Pass the private key as a string

$priv = Get-Content C:\user-git\id_ed25519 -Raw
.\setup-windows-git-basic.ps1 `
  -Username user-git `
  -GitUserName "Alexander" `
  -GitUserEmail "alex@example.com" `
  -SshPrivateKey $priv

Post-run checks

git --version
git config --file "C:\Users\user-git\.gitconfig" --list
type C:\Users\user-git\.ssh\config
type C:\Users\user-git\.ssh\id_ed25519.pub

SSH connectivity check:

ssh -F "C:\Users\user-git\.ssh\config" -T github.com

Notes

1. The script does not create the Windows user

The target Windows user must already exist. It is better if the user has logged in at least once so the profile already exists.

2. The key parameter is the private key

-SshPrivateKeyPath / -SshPrivateKey is the private SSH key used by Git over SSH.

3. Passphrase-protected keys

The script can still save the key, but automatic public-key generation may fail without interactive passphrase entry.

4. known_hosts is not populated automatically

The script creates an empty known_hosts, but does not pre-load server fingerprints. The first SSH connection may ask you to confirm the server host key.

5. Managed block in .ssh\config

The script does not overwrite the whole SSH config. It only creates or updates a marked block:

# BEGIN managed by setup-windows-git-basic.ps1 : <alias>
...
# END managed by setup-windows-git-basic.ps1 : <alias>