diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index 69ce082..92101bd 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -410,6 +410,11 @@ URL to use for attachment and log links. Defaults to `http://IP:PORT`.
 **Default:** `off`  
 If enabled, mod replies will use their nicknames (on the inbox server) instead of their usernames
 
+#### useGitForGitHubPlugins
+**Default:** `off`  
+If enabled, GitHub plugins will be installed with `git` rather than by downloading the archive's tarball.  
+This is useful if you are installing plugins from private repositories that require ssh keys for authentication.
+
 ## Advanced options
 
 #### extraIntents
diff --git a/src/data/cfg.jsdoc.js b/src/data/cfg.jsdoc.js
index bd6976a..84e84f5 100644
--- a/src/data/cfg.jsdoc.js
+++ b/src/data/cfg.jsdoc.js
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@
  * @property {*} [logOptions.allowAttachmentUrlFallback=false]
  * @property {number} [port=8890]
  * @property {string} [url]
+ * @property {boolean} [useGitForGitHubPlugins=false]
  * @property {array} [extraIntents=[]]
  * @property {*} [dbType="sqlite"]
  * @property {object} [sqliteOptions]
diff --git a/src/data/cfg.schema.json b/src/data/cfg.schema.json
index f24de07..2ef31ab 100644
--- a/src/data/cfg.schema.json
+++ b/src/data/cfg.schema.json
@@ -409,6 +409,11 @@
       "type": "string"
     },
 
+    "useGitForGitHubPlugins": {
+      "$ref": "#/definitions/customBoolean",
+      "default": false
+    },
+
     "extraIntents": {
       "$ref": "#/definitions/stringArray",
       "default": []
diff --git a/src/plugins.js b/src/plugins.js
index 2c32f16..0b95228 100644
--- a/src/plugins.js
+++ b/src/plugins.js
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ const path = require("path");
 const threads = require("./data/threads");
 const displayRoles = require("./data/displayRoles");
 const { PluginInstallationError } = require("./PluginInstallationError");
+const config = require("./cfg");
 
 const pluginSources = {
   npm: {
@@ -17,25 +18,28 @@ const pluginSources = {
       return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
         console.log(`Installing ${plugins.length} plugins from NPM...`);
 
-        // Rewrite GitHub npm package names to full GitHub tarball links to avoid
-        // needing to have Git installed to install these plugins.
+        let finalPluginNames = plugins;
+        if (! config.useGitForGitHubPlugins) {
+          // Rewrite GitHub npm package names to full GitHub tarball links to avoid
+          // needing to have Git installed to install these plugins.
 
-        // $1 package author, $2 package name, $3 branch (optional)
-        const npmGitHubPattern = /^([a-z0-9_.-]+)\/([a-z0-9_.-]+)(?:#([a-z0-9_.-]+))?$/i;
-        const rewrittenPluginNames = plugins.map(pluginName => {
-          const gitHubPackageParts = pluginName.match(npmGitHubPattern);
-          if (! gitHubPackageParts) {
-            return pluginName;
-          }
+          // $1 package author, $2 package name, $3 branch (optional)
+          const npmGitHubPattern = /^([a-z0-9_.-]+)\/([a-z0-9_.-]+)(?:#([a-z0-9_.-]+))?$/i;
+          finalPluginNames = plugins.map(pluginName => {
+            const gitHubPackageParts = pluginName.match(npmGitHubPattern);
+            if (! gitHubPackageParts) {
+              return pluginName;
+            }
 
-          return `https://api.github.com/repos/${gitHubPackageParts[1]}/${gitHubPackageParts[2]}/tarball${gitHubPackageParts[3] ? "/" + gitHubPackageParts[3] : ""}`;
-        });
+            return `https://api.github.com/repos/${gitHubPackageParts[1]}/${gitHubPackageParts[2]}/tarball${gitHubPackageParts[3] ? "/" + gitHubPackageParts[3] : ""}`;
+          });
+        }
 
         let stderr = "";
         const npmProcessName = /^win/.test(process.platform) ? "npm.cmd" : "npm";
         const npmProcess = childProcess.spawn(
           npmProcessName,
-          ["install", "--verbose", "--no-save", ...rewrittenPluginNames],
+          ["install", "--verbose", "--no-save", ...finalPluginNames],
           { cwd: process.cwd() }
         );
         npmProcess.stderr.on("data", data => { stderr += String(data) });