Several tools exist to generate SSH public/private key pairs. The following sections show how to generate an SSH key pair on UNIX, UNIX-like and Windows platforms.
Generating an SSH Key Pair on UNIX and UNIX-Like Platforms Using the ssh-keygen Utility
A keypair consists of a private key and a public key, which are separate. A private key should never be sent to another party. It is private. If this is the first time you are using public keys, we recommend the page Public keys in SSH. Pes 11 keygen serial key generator. Generate public/private keypair. Apr 12, 2018 Generating public/private rsa key pair. Enter file in which to save the key (/ yourhome /.ssh/idrsa): Press ENTER to save the key pair into the.ssh/ subdirectory in your home directory, or specify an alternate path. To generate an SSH key pair, run the command ssh-keygen. It will look like this when you run it: laptop1: yourname$ ssh-keygen Generating public/private rsa key pair. You'll be prompted to choose the location to store the keys. The default location is good unless you already have a key. Press Enter to choose the default location.
When you launch an instance, you specify the key pair. You can specify an existing key pair or a new key pair that you create at launch. At boot time, the public key content is placed on the instance in an entry within /.ssh/authorizedkeys. In order to provide a public key, each user in your system must generate one if they don’t already have one. This process is similar across all operating systems. First, you should check to make sure you don’t already have a key. By default, a user’s SSH keys are stored in that user’s /.ssh directory. To sign an assembly with a strong name, you must have a public/private key pair. This public and private cryptographic key pair is used during compilation to create a strong-named assembly. You can create a key pair using the Strong Name tool (Sn.exe). Key pair files usually have an.snk extension.
UNIX and UNIX-like platforms (including Solaris and Linux) include the ssh-keygen utility to generate SSH key pairs.
- Navigate to your home directory:
- Run the ssh-keygen utility, providing as
filename
your choice of file name for the private key:The ssh-keygen utility prompts you for a passphrase for the private key.
- Enter a passphrase for the private key, or press Enter to create a private key without a passphrase:
Note:
While a passphrase is not required, you should specify one as a security measure to protect the private key from unauthorized use. When you specify a passphrase, a user must enter the passphrase every time the private key is used.
The ssh-keygen utility prompts you to enter the passphrase again.
- Enter the passphrase again, or press Enter again to continue creating a private key without a passphrase:
- The ssh-keygen utility displays a message indicating that the private key has been saved as
filename
and the public key has been saved asfilename
.pub
. It also displays information about the key fingerprint and randomart image.
Generating an SSH Key Pair on Windows Using the PuTTYgen Program
The PuTTYgen program is part of PuTTY, an open source networking client for the Windows platform.
- Download and install PuTTY or PuTTYgen.
To download PuTTY or PuTTYgen, go to http://www.putty.org/ and click the You can download PuTTY here link.
- Run the PuTTYgen program.
- Set the Type of key to generate option to SSH-2 RSA.
- In the Number of bits in a generated key box, enter 2048.
- Click Generate to generate a public/private key pair.
As the key is being generated, move the mouse around the blank area as directed.
- (Optional) Enter a passphrase for the private key in the Key passphrase box and reenter it in the Confirm passphrase box.
Note:
While a passphrase is not required, you should specify one as a security measure to protect the private key from unauthorized use. When you specify a passphrase, a user must enter the passphrase every time the private key is used.
- Click Save private key to save the private key to a file. To adhere to file-naming conventions, you should give the private key file an extension of
.ppk
(PuTTY private key).Note:
The.ppk
file extension indicates that the private key is in PuTTY's proprietary format. You must use a key of this format when using PuTTY as your SSH client. It cannot be used with other SSH client tools. Refer to the PuTTY documentation to convert a private key in this format to a different format. - Select all of the characters in the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file box.
Make sure you select all the characters, not just the ones you can see in the narrow window. If a scroll bar is next to the characters, you aren't seeing all the characters.
- Right-click somewhere in the selected text and select Copy from the menu.
- Open a text editor and paste the characters, just as you copied them. Start at the first character in the text editor, and do not insert any line breaks.
- Save the text file in the same folder where you saved the private key, using the
.pub
extension to indicate that the file contains a public key. - If you or others are going to use an SSH client that requires the OpenSSH format for private keys (such as the
ssh
utility on Linux), export the private key:- On the Conversions menu, choose Export OpenSSH key.
- Save the private key in OpenSSH format in the same folder where you saved the private key in
.ppk
format, using an extension such as.openssh
to indicate the file's content.
The PuTTYgen program is part of PuTTY, an open source networking client for the Windows platform.
Generate Public Private Key Pair Ssh Code
- Download and install PuTTY or PuTTYgen.
To download PuTTY or PuTTYgen, go to http://www.putty.org/ and click the You can download PuTTY here link.
- Run the PuTTYgen program.
- Set the Type of key to generate option to SSH-2 RSA.
- In the Number of bits in a generated key box, enter 2048.
- Click Generate to generate a public/private key pair.
As the key is being generated, move the mouse around the blank area as directed.
- (Optional) Enter a passphrase for the private key in the Key passphrase box and reenter it in the Confirm passphrase box.
Note:
While a passphrase is not required, you should specify one as a security measure to protect the private key from unauthorized use. When you specify a passphrase, a user must enter the passphrase every time the private key is used.
- Click Save private key to save the private key to a file. To adhere to file-naming conventions, you should give the private key file an extension of
.ppk
(PuTTY private key).Note:
The.ppk
file extension indicates that the private key is in PuTTY's proprietary format. You must use a key of this format when using PuTTY as your SSH client. It cannot be used with other SSH client tools. Refer to the PuTTY documentation to convert a private key in this format to a different format. - Select all of the characters in the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file box.
Make sure you select all the characters, not just the ones you can see in the narrow window. If a scroll bar is next to the characters, you aren't seeing all the characters.
- Right-click somewhere in the selected text and select Copy from the menu.
- Open a text editor and paste the characters, just as you copied them. Start at the first character in the text editor, and do not insert any line breaks.
- Save the text file in the same folder where you saved the private key, using the
.pub
extension to indicate that the file contains a public key. - If you or others are going to use an SSH client that requires the OpenSSH format for private keys (such as the
ssh
utility on Linux), export the private key:- On the Conversions menu, choose Export OpenSSH key.
- Save the private key in OpenSSH format in the same folder where you saved the private key in
.ppk
format, using an extension such as.openssh
to indicate the file's content.