Coding⏱️ 3 min read📅 2026-06-15

How to Fix: Git commit signing with SSH keys — stubborn error about allowedSignersFile

Git commit signing with SSH keys error, how to fix it, Git config gpg.ssh.allowedSignersFile

Quick Answer: The issue is caused by the 'allowedSignersFile' not being configured correctly. The user needs to update the configuration to include the correct path to the allowed signers file.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 🛑 Root Causes of the Error
  2. 🔧 Proven Troubleshooting Steps
  3. 💡 Conclusion

Git commit signing with SSH keys is a relatively new feature added in Git version 2.34, and it's designed to provide an alternative to PGP/GPG-based signing.

The issue you're facing occurs when you've set up git commit signing using SSH keys but are encountering an error about the allowedSignersFile.

🛑 Root Causes of the Error

  • The first main reason for this error is that the allowedSignersFile needs to be configured and exist for ssh signature verification. This file specifies which users or groups can sign commits.
  • An alternative reason could be that the SSH key used for signing doesn't have the necessary permissions or access rights.

🔧 Proven Troubleshooting Steps

Configuring the allowedSignersFile

  1. Step 1: Create a new file named .gitconfig in your user directory (~/.gitconfig) if it doesn't already exist.
  2. Step 2: Add the following line to the .gitconfig file: [gpg.ssh] allowedSignersFile = ~/.ssh/allowed_ssh_signers
  3. Step 3: Make sure this file exists and is readable by the git user.
  4. Step 4: Verify that the allowedSignersFile has been correctly set up by running the command $ git config gpg.ssh.allowedSignersFile
  5. Step 5: method_2_name

Alternative Advanced Fix

  1. Step 1: Check the permissions of your SSH key file (~/.ssh/git-key.ed25519) and ensure it's readable by the git user.
  2. Step 2: If the SSH key doesn't have the necessary permissions, try changing the ownership or adding a group to which the key belongs.

💡 Conclusion

After following these steps, you should be able to successfully configure your Git repository for commit signing using SSH keys. Remember to verify that your allowedSignersFile is set up correctly and that your SSH key has the necessary permissions.

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