# Sharing credentials

When building a Dev Container on a remote server, accessing a remote server and cloning a project require authentication. The supported method of authentication is through SSH keys or a password.

If you have password authentication, refer to the following procedure on how to generate a file with the SSH keys, forward it a remote server, and share your Git credentials.

Procedure: Create and forward the SSH keys

1. Open the local terminal and generate the SSH keys with the following command:

```SHELL
ssh-keygen
```

> **Note:**
> For more information on SSH keys, refer to the [SSH](https://www.ssh.com/academy/ssh/agent) documentation.

System generates the key-pair. By default, it will be stored in your `~/.ssh/` folder where `~` is your home directory. The public key will be stored in the same location as the private key. It starts with the same name as the private key and have a `.pub` suffix. For example, `id_rsa` and `id_rsa.pub`. If you need, you can change the key-pair location.

As a result, you have the SSH key-pair file on your local machine.

2. After the key-pair is generated, install the keys on a remote server with the following command:

```SHELL
ssh-copy-id your_remote_server_name
```

The keys are added to the remote server, and you can build a Dev Container. For more information, refer to [SSH
documentation](https://www.ssh.com/academy/ssh/copy-id#copy-the-key-to-a-server).

3. Connect to a remote server and clone a project into a Dev Container.

![Adding New Dev Container](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/remote_server_dev_container.png) For more detailed information, refer to [Dev Container overview](connect-to-devcontainer.html).

4. Make sure you are authenticated on GitHub. You can either use the [SSH agent forwarding](https://docs.github.com/en/authentication/connecting-to-github-with-ssh/using-ssh-agent-forwarding#setting-up-ssh-agent-forwarding) or log in to your GitHub account.

![Git login](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/github_login_dev_container.png)

5. After the Dev Container environment is prepared, click Continue to open a project.

![Environment prepared](https://resources.jetbrains.com.cn/help/img/idea/2026.2/cloning_to_dev_container.png)