Trusting a server's host key with no UI

[Yuval]

I have the same issue described in this 2016 post:
Trust A Server's Host Key when No Button is Available to Trust It | Sourcetree | Atlassian Documentation

But both options are not immediately applicable to me.

Option one "Just get SourceTree to use Embedded Git and get it to trust the host" - What does this mean? How may that be achieved?

Option two "Run putty\plink.exe ..." - I don't have putty on my machine. Should I install it?

Can I do that from windows' cmd/powershell instead?

[Martin Runge]

Hi @Yuvalm2

Welcome to the Atlassian community.

Good question. 

Option one involves using embedded Git in Sourcetree with an SSH client set to OpenSSH via Tools > Options > General, then running ssh -T git@yourhost in Action > Open in Terminal to confirm the fingerprint. Sourcetree stores this info for push or fetch.

Option two doesn't require PuTTY; instead, use Sourcetree's plink.exe in its folder, run plink.exe -ssh git@yourhost in cmd, answer y, and the host key gets cached in the Windows registry, which PuTTY mode reads.

Both methods use separate trust stores, so switching SSH clients repeats the trust step. Are you still troubleshooting, or have you found a workaround?

Cheers, Martin