Guide to setting up Yubikey on GitHub

If you're unfamiliar with Yubikey or more specifically Universal 2nd Factor (U2F), then we encourage you to first read our blog post on the subject. If you are familiar, already have your Yubikey, and are looking to set it up with GitHub this guide should get you all setup.

Setup Steps

  1. First head over to your account security page on GitHub: https://github.com/settings/security
  2. Then walk through the standard steps of enabling SMS for two-factor authentication. Once you're done you should arrive at a page to further configure your 2FA. If you had already enabled 2FA you can click the Edit button in the image above or directly visit: https://github.com/settings/two_factor_authentication/configure
  3. On this page you'll need to scroll down to the bottom of the page. Here you'll find the section to register your new device. Click it and you'll be prompted to register it:

Success!

Now you're all setup and good to go. Each time you login to GitHub and need your 2nd factor simply tap your yubikey and you're in.