How to fix Received disconnect from host: Too many authentication failures in Git

What this error means

The "Too many authentication failures" error occurs when Git tries to connect to a remote repository over SSH, but the SSH client offers too many keys before finding one the server accepts. Each rejected key counts as a failed authentication attempt, and SSH servers have a limit (MaxAuthTries, typically 6) on how many attempts are allowed before disconnecting. This commonly happens when you have multiple SSH keys loaded in your ssh-agent. For example, if you have keys for GitHub, GitLab, personal servers, and work machines, the SSH client will try each one in sequence. If the correct key isn't among the first few tried, the server disconnects before reaching it. The error can appear as: - "Received disconnect from host: Too many authentication failures" - "Too many authentication failures for git" - "Connection reset by peer" (with verbose mode showing multiple key attempts) This is particularly common when using Git with multiple services (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket) or when working with both personal and enterprise accounts that each require different SSH keys.

Typical symptoms

• Git push, pull, fetch, or clone operations fail with 'Too many authentication failures'
• SSH connection to Git hosting services disconnects immediately
• The error appears after adding new SSH keys to your system
• Git operations work with one account but fail with another
• Adding the -v flag to ssh shows multiple keys being offered and rejected
• Git operations over HTTPS work fine, but SSH connections fail
• The error occurs inconsistently, sometimes working and sometimes failing

Common causes

1. Multiple SSH keys loaded in ssh-agent are tried before the correct one
2. No SSH config specifying which key to use for each host
3. ssh-agent automatically offers all loaded keys to every server
4. The correct key is loaded but tried after too many incorrect keys
5. SSH server's MaxAuthTries limit is set lower than the number of keys you have
6. IDE or Git GUI tools use different SSH agent settings
7. Recent system or SSH configuration changes added new keys to the agent
8. fail2ban or DenyHosts on the server has blocked your IP after previous failures

How to fix "Received disconnect from host: Too many authentication failures"

# Test connection to GitHub
ssh -vT git@github.com

# Test connection to GitLab
ssh -vT git@gitlab.com

# Test connection to Bitbucket
ssh -vT git@bitbucket.org

debug1: Offering public key: /home/user/.ssh/id_rsa
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey
debug1: Offering public key: /home/user/.ssh/id_ed25519
debug1: Authentications that can continue: publickey
...
Received disconnect from 192.30.255.112: Too many authentication failures

ssh-add -l

# Create the file if it doesn't exist
touch ~/.ssh/config
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config

# Edit the file
nano ~/.ssh/config
# or: vim ~/.ssh/config
# or: code ~/.ssh/config

# GitHub
Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/github_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# GitLab
Host gitlab.com
    HostName gitlab.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/gitlab_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Bitbucket
Host bitbucket.org
    HostName bitbucket.org
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/bitbucket_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Work GitHub Enterprise
Host github.mycompany.com
    HostName github.mycompany.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/work_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes

ssh -T git@github.com
# Expected: "Hi username! You've successfully authenticated..."

ssh-add -D

# Add a specific key
ssh-add ~/.ssh/github_key

# Verify only that key is loaded
ssh-add -l

ssh -T git@github.com

# Remove all keys from agent and keychain
ssh-add -D
ssh-add -K  # (deprecated, use --apple-use-keychain in newer macOS)

# Add just the key you need to the keychain
ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/github_key

GIT_SSH_COMMAND="ssh -i ~/.ssh/github_key -o IdentitiesOnly=yes" git clone git@github.com:user/repo.git

# Inside a repository, set the SSH command for that repo only
git config core.sshCommand "ssh -i ~/.ssh/github_key -o IdentitiesOnly=yes"

git config --global core.sshCommand "ssh -i ~/.ssh/default_key -o IdentitiesOnly=yes"

export GIT_SSH_COMMAND="ssh -i ~/.ssh/github_key -o IdentitiesOnly=yes"
git pull

# Personal GitHub
Host github.com
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/personal_github
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Work GitHub (same host, different key)
Host github-work
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/work_github
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Personal account
git clone git@github.com:personal/repo.git

# Work account (note the alias)
git clone git@github-work:company/repo.git

# View current remote
git remote -v

# Change to use the alias
git remote set-url origin git@github-work:company/repo.git

# Check if fail2ban blocked you
sudo fail2ban-client status sshd

# Unban an IP
sudo fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip YOUR_IP_ADDRESS

# Check /etc/hosts.deny for DenyHosts
sudo cat /etc/hosts.deny | grep YOUR_IP
# Remove the line if found
sudo nano /etc/hosts.deny

# Private keys must be readable only by you
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/github_key

# Public keys can be less restrictive
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

# SSH config file
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config

# .ssh directory itself
chmod 700 ~/.ssh

# View the key type and fingerprint
ssh-keygen -l -f ~/.ssh/github_key

# Verify the public key matches what's on GitHub/GitLab
cat ~/.ssh/github_key.pub
# Compare with: GitHub > Settings > SSH and GPG keys

# Generate a new ed25519 key (more secure, widely supported)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your_email@example.com"

# Or an RSA key with SHA-256
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

Advanced notes

# Per-repo configuration
git config core.sshCommand "ssh -i ~/.ssh/work_key -o IdentitiesOnly=yes"

# Check the current setting
git config --get core.sshCommand

Host bastion
    ForwardAgent yes
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/bastion_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes  # Important!

git config --global core.sshCommand "C:/Windows/System32/OpenSSH/ssh.exe"

Host github.com
    ProxyJump bastion.company.com
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/github_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Host bastion.company.com
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/bastion_key
    IdentitiesOnly yes

# Maximum verbosity
ssh -vvv git@github.com

# Check which config file is being used
ssh -G git@github.com | grep -i identity

Frequently asked questions

What does "Received disconnect from host: Too many authentication failures" mean?

The "Too many authentication failures" error occurs when Git tries to connect to a remote repository over SSH, but the SSH client offers too many keys before finding one the server accepts. Each rejected key counts as a failed authentication attempt, and SSH servers have a limit (MaxAuthTries, typically 6) on how many attempts are allowed before disconnecting. This commonly happens when you have multiple SSH keys loaded in your ssh-agent.

How do I fix "Received disconnect from host: Too many authentication failures"?

This error occurs when the SSH client offers too many keys to the server before finding the correct one. The SSH server disconnects after reaching its MaxAuthTries limit (default 6). The fix is to configure SSH to use only the correct key for your Git host.

What causes "Received disconnect from host: Too many authentication failures"?

Multiple SSH keys loaded in ssh-agent are tried before the correct one No SSH config specifying which key to use for each host ssh-agent automatically offers all loaded keys to every server

Is the "Received disconnect from host: Too many authentication failures" error serious?

It is a medium-severity error — more of a blocker than a risk. The steps above resolve it.

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Official resources & further reading

• 📚Git Official Documentation
• 💬
  SSH: too many authentication failures - Stack Overflow(Stack Overflow)
• 📖
  Git & SSH - Too many authentication failures - Daggerhart Lab(Official Docs)
• 💬
  GitLab - Too many authentication failures for git - Stack Overflow(Stack Overflow)
• 📖
  How to Fix SSH Too Many Authentication Failures Error - TecMint(Official Docs)
• 💬
  Fixing 'Too many authentication failures' SSH error - GitHub Gist(Stack Overflow)
• 💬
  How to recover from Too many Authentication Failures - Server Fault(Stack Overflow)