if you sign with a key the server doesn't recognize, the error is: $ git push --signed Counting objects: 23, done. Delta compression using up to 4 threads. Compressing objects: 100% (23/23), done. Writing objects: 100% (23/23), 6.32 KiB | 0 bytes/s, done. Total 23 (delta 18), reused 0 (delta 0) remote: Your push was not signed. You must use git push --signed! To ssh://git@git.gentoo.org/repo/gentoo.git ! [remote rejected] master -> master (pre-receive hook declined) error: failed to push some refs to 'ssh://git@git.gentoo.org/repo/gentoo.git' it should instead extract the key used, display it, and then list the keys that it would have accepted for the active user