How to fix ssh: connect to host github.com port 22: Connection timed out in Git

GitHub offers SSH connectivity over port 443, which bypasses most firewall restrictions. Test if this alternative works:

ssh -T -p 443 [email protected]

If successful, you'll see:

Hi username! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

If this works, proceed to the next step to make this configuration permanent.

Create or edit your SSH config file to always use port 443 when connecting to GitHub:

# Create the .ssh directory if it doesn't exist
mkdir -p ~/.ssh

# Edit (or create) the SSH config file
nano ~/.ssh/config

Add the following configuration:

Host github.com
    Hostname ssh.github.com
    Port 443
    User git

Save the file, then test your connection:

ssh -T [email protected]

Your Git operations should now work normally without any changes to your remote URLs.

Instead of modifying your SSH config, you can configure Git to automatically rewrite GitHub URLs:

git config --global url."ssh://[email protected]:443/".insteadOf "[email protected]:"

This tells Git to automatically convert any [email protected]: URLs to use the port 443 endpoint. To verify the configuration:

git config --global --get-regexp url

To undo this configuration later:

git config --global --unset url."ssh://[email protected]:443/".insteadOf

If SSH continues to be problematic, you can switch your repository to use HTTPS:

# Check your current remote URL
git remote -v

# Change from SSH to HTTPS
git remote set-url origin https://github.com/username/repository.git

For authentication with HTTPS, you'll need to use either:
- A Personal Access Token (PAT) instead of your password
- Git Credential Manager for caching credentials

To create a PAT: Go to GitHub Settings > Developer settings > Personal access tokens > Generate new token.

Ensure your SSH key is correctly set up with GitHub:

# List your SSH keys
ls -la ~/.ssh

# Check if ssh-agent is running and has your key
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add -l

# If no keys are listed, add your key
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
# or for RSA keys:
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa

Verify your public key is added to GitHub:
1. Copy your public key: cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
2. Go to GitHub > Settings > SSH and GPG keys
3. Ensure your key is listed there

Verify basic network connectivity and DNS resolution:

# Test DNS resolution
nslookup github.com
# or
dig github.com

# Test if you can reach GitHub at all
ping github.com

# Test HTTPS connectivity
curl -v https://github.com

If DNS fails, try using a different DNS server:

# Temporarily use Google DNS (Linux)
echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

# Or Cloudflare DNS
echo "nameserver 1.1.1.1" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

Your local firewall might be blocking outbound SSH connections:

On Linux (iptables/ufw):

# Check UFW status
sudo ufw status

# Temporarily disable to test
sudo ufw disable
# Test SSH, then re-enable
sudo ufw enable

On Windows:
1. Open Windows Defender Firewall
2. Click "Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall"
3. Ensure your Git/SSH client is allowed for outbound connections

On macOS:

# Check if the firewall is enabled
sudo /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --getglobalstate

# Temporarily disable for testing
sudo /usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --setglobalstate off

As a diagnostic step, try connecting from a different network:

- Switch from WiFi to mobile hotspot
- Try from home if you're at the office (or vice versa)
- Use a VPN to route around network restrictions

If the connection works on a different network, the issue is definitely with your original network's firewall or proxy configuration. You'll need to use the port 443 workaround or HTTPS method described above.