How to fix error: Load key "/home/user/.ssh/signing_key": No such file or directory in Git

GitBEGINNERMEDIUM

This error occurs when Git tries to sign a commit using an SSH key that doesn't exist at the configured path. The fix involves verifying the key file path in your Git configuration and ensuring the SSH signing key actually exists.

What this error means

This error indicates that Git is configured to sign commits or tags using an SSH key, but the key file specified in your `user.signingkey` configuration cannot be found at the expected location. When you enable SSH commit signing in Git (by setting `gpg.format = ssh`), Git uses ssh-keygen to sign commits instead of GPG. The `user.signingkey` setting should point to your SSH key file. If this file doesn't exist, has been moved, deleted, or if the path is misconfigured, ssh-keygen will fail with this "Load key... No such file or directory" error. This is different from SSH authentication errors (used for pushing/pulling). SSH signing keys are specifically used to cryptographically sign commits to prove authorship, which platforms like GitHub and GitLab can verify.

How to fix "error: Load key "/home/user/.ssh/signing_key": No such file or directory"

1Check your current signing key configuration

First, see what Git has configured for signing:

bash

# Check signing-related configuration
git config --global --get gpg.format
git config --global --get user.signingkey

# Or see all signing config
git config --global --list | grep -E "(gpg|signing)"

Expected output for SSH signing:

bash

gpg.format=ssh
user.signingkey=/home/user/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Note the path shown in user.signingkey - this is where Git expects to find your signing key.

2Verify the key file exists

Check if the key file actually exists at the configured location:

bash

# Replace with your actual configured path
ls -la ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

# Or check the exact path from config
KEY_PATH=$(git config --global --get user.signingkey)
ls -la "$KEY_PATH"

If the file doesn't exist, you either need to:
1. Generate a new SSH key (Step 3)
2. Update the config to point to an existing key (Step 4)

If using tilde (~) in the path, verify it expands correctly:

bash

# This should show your home directory
echo ~

# Test if the path resolves
ls -la $(git config --get user.signingkey)

3Generate a new SSH signing key (if needed)

If you don't have an SSH key for signing, create one:

bash

# Generate a new Ed25519 key (recommended)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]" -f ~/.ssh/signing_key

# Or use an existing key by noting its path
ls ~/.ssh/*.pub

You can use the same key for both authentication and signing, or create a dedicated signing key.

Note: For SSH signing, you can point to either the public key (.pub) or the private key. When using ssh-agent, the public key is used to identify which private key to use for signing.

4Update the signing key path in Git config

Set the correct path to your SSH signing key:

bash

# Point to your public key file (recommended when using ssh-agent)
git config --global user.signingkey ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

# Or use absolute path if tilde expansion is problematic
git config --global user.signingkey /home/username/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

# Verify the change
git config --global --get user.signingkey

Important: Make sure gpg.format is set to ssh:

bash

git config --global gpg.format ssh

Alternative: Use ssh-agent default key:

bash

# Use whatever key is loaded in ssh-agent
git config --global gpg.ssh.defaultKeyCommand "ssh-add -L"

5Ensure ssh-agent is running and has your key

The ssh-agent must be running and have your signing key loaded:

bash

# Start ssh-agent if not running
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

# Add your signing key to the agent
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

# Verify the key is loaded
ssh-add -l

For persistent agent on login (add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc):

bash

# Start ssh-agent if not already running
if [ -z "$SSH_AUTH_SOCK" ]; then
  eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
  ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
fi

On macOS, use Keychain:

bash

ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

6Test commit signing

Verify that signing now works:

bash

# Create a test commit with explicit signing
git commit --allow-empty -S -m "Test signed commit"

# If auto-signing is enabled, a regular commit should work
git commit --allow-empty -m "Test auto-signed commit"

To verify the signature:

bash

# Show signature on last commit
git log --show-signature -1

# Or use git verify-commit
git verify-commit HEAD

For signature verification to work, you need an allowed_signers file:

bash

# Create allowed_signers file
echo "$(git config --get user.email) $(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)" >> ~/.ssh/allowed_signers

# Tell Git about it
git config --global gpg.ssh.allowedSignersFile ~/.ssh/allowed_signers

7Check for conflicting GPG configuration

If you previously used GPG signing, there may be conflicting settings:

bash

# Check if gpg.format is correctly set to ssh
git config --global --get gpg.format

# If it shows nothing or 'openpgp', set it to ssh
git config --global gpg.format ssh

# Check for local repository overrides
git config --local --list | grep -E "(gpg|signing)"

To remove conflicting local settings:

bash

# Unset local signing config to use global
git config --local --unset user.signingkey
git config --local --unset gpg.format

Common issue: If user.signingkey contains a GPG key ID (like ABC123DEF456) instead of a file path, Git will look for a file with that name:

bash

# Wrong (GPG key ID, not a path)
user.signingkey = ABC123DEF456

# Correct (file path for SSH signing)
user.signingkey = ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

8Register signing key with GitHub/GitLab

For platforms to verify your signed commits, register your public key:

bash

# Copy your public key
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

For GitHub:
1. Go to Settings > SSH and GPG keys
2. Click "New SSH key"
3. Select "Signing Key" as the key type
4. Paste your public key
5. Click "Add SSH key"

Note: You can use the same SSH key for both authentication and signing, but you must add it twice - once as an "Authentication Key" and once as a "Signing Key".

For GitLab:
1. Go to Preferences > SSH Keys
2. Paste your public key
3. Select "Signing" under Usage type
4. Click "Add key"

After registering, your signed commits will show as "Verified" on the platform.

How to fix error: Load key "/home/user/.ssh/signing_key": No such file or directory in Git

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How to fix "error: Load key "/home/user/.ssh/signing_key": No such file or directory"

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