◉ ghswitch

GitHub Account Switcher for the terminal — switch git identities instantly, GitKraken-style, from the command line.

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║  ◉ ghswitch  GitHub Account Switcher   ║
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▸ Switch global profile
  ↑↓ / j k to navigate · Enter to select · q to quit

  ██  › work                  ● active
      personal
      client-acme

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Features

• Arrow-key TUI — navigate profiles like GitKraken's profile switcher
• Per-repo override — apply a profile locally without touching global config
• Full identity stack — manages git config, SSH keys, GPG signing, and gh CLI
• bash 3.2+ compatible — works on macOS (default bash), Linux, and Windows Git Bash / WSL
• Zero dependencies — just bash + git. No npm, no Python, no package manager.
• Direct switch — ghswitch work with no menu for scripting and speed

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Installation

# 1. Download
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MadhuS-1605/Github-Profile-Switcher/main/ghswitch.sh

# 2. Make executable
chmod +x ghswitch.sh

# 3. Install globally
sudo cp ghswitch.sh /usr/local/bin/ghswitch

# 4. Verify
ghswitch help

Linux (no sudo)

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
cp ghswitch.sh ~/.local/bin/ghswitch
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc

Windows (Git Bash)

mkdir -p ~/bin
cp ghswitch.sh ~/bin/ghswitch
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc

Important: Always use git@github.com:... (SSH) remote URLs — not HTTPS — so ghswitch's key management takes effect.

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Quick Start

# Add your accounts
ghswitch add          # prompts: name, email, SSH key, GPG key, gh token, gh host

# See all profiles
ghswitch list

# Launch the TUI switcher
ghswitch

# Or switch directly by name
ghswitch work
ghswitch personal

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Commands

Command	Description
ghswitch	Interactive arrow-key profile switcher
ghswitch add	Add a new profile (guided prompts)
ghswitch list	List all profiles with active marker
ghswitch local	Apply profile to current repo only (git --local)
ghswitch status	Show current git identity + gh CLI auth
ghswitch unset	Clear global git identity
ghswitch edit	Open profiles.conf in $EDITOR
ghswitch delete	Remove a profile
ghswitch <name>	Switch directly, e.g. ghswitch work
ghswitch help	Show help

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What It Manages

Layer	Config Key	Effect
Git identity	user.name / user.email	Commit author, global or per-repo
SSH key	core.sshCommand	Forces specific key with IdentitiesOnly=yes
SSH agent	(runtime)	Adds key to agent if socket is active
GPG signing	user.signingKey + commit.gpgSign	Signed commits with your key
GitHub Token	credential.helper / gh CLI	Auth for Git over HTTPS and logs into gh
gh CLI	(runtime check)	Verifies gh auth status for the configured host

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Config File

Located at ~/.config/ghswitch/profiles.conf. Created automatically on first run.

[work]
name=Jane Doe
email=jane@company.com
ssh_key=~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
gpg_key=ABCD1234
gh_token=ghp_...
gh_host=github.com

[personal]
name=Jane Doe
email=jane@gmail.com
ssh_key=~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal
gh_host=github.com

[client-acme]
name=Jane Doe
email=jane@acme.io
ssh_key=~/.ssh/id_ed25519_acme
gh_host=github.com

All fields except name and email are optional.

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SSH Key Setup

Generate a separate key per account and add each public key to the respective GitHub account under Settings → SSH and GPG keys.

# Work
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@company.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work

# Personal
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@gmail.com" -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal

# Copy public key to clipboard (macOS)
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work.pub | pbcopy

Fix permissions if you see SSH warnings:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work      # private key
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work.pub  # public key

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Per-repo Override

Apply a profile to a single repo without changing your global identity:

cd ~/projects/client-website
ghswitch local          # pick "client-acme" from the menu
git config user.email   # confirms local override is active

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Troubleshooting

Blank output / no prompts

bash -x ghswitch add 2>&1 | head -40
# If line 2 shows "set -euo pipefail" — old version is still installed
sudo cp ghswitch.sh $(which ghswitch)

403 on git push

# Switch remote from HTTPS to SSH
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:USERNAME/REPO.git

# Clear stale macOS Keychain credentials
git credential-osxkeychain erase <<EOF
protocol=https
host=github.com
EOF

Wrong key being used

ghswitch status         # check active profile and sshCommand
ghswitch edit           # fix ssh_key path — must point to private key, not .pub

gh CLI warning on switch

gh auth login --hostname github.com

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Compatibility

Platform	Shell	Status
macOS (12+)	bash 3.2 (system)	✅ Tested
macOS (12+)	zsh (via bash shebang)	✅ Works
Ubuntu / Debian	bash 5.x	✅ Tested
Windows	Git Bash (MINGW)	✅ Works
Windows	WSL2	✅ Works

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License

MIT