Where are SSH keys stored in Windows?
The contents of your public key (\. ssh\id_ed25519. pub) needs to be placed on the server into a text file called administrators_authorized_keys in C:\ProgramData\ssh\. You can copy your public key using the OpenSSH scp secure file-transfer utility, or using a PowerShell to write the key to the file.
SSH keys are typically configured in an authorized_keys file in . ssh subdirectory in the user's home directory. Typically a system administrator would first create a key using ssh-keygen and then install it as an authorized key on a server using the ssh-copy-id tool.
By default, the system will save the keys to C:\Users\your_username/. ssh/id_rsa. You can use the default name, or you can choose more descriptive names. This can help distinguish between keys, if you are using multiple key pairs.
- Open the PuTTYgen program.
- For Type of key to generate, select SSH-2 RSA.
- Click the Generate button.
- Move your mouse in the area below the progress bar. ...
- Type a passphrase in the Key passphrase field. ...
- Click the Save private key button to save the private key.
Whether you use Command Prompt or Windows Terminal, type ssh-keygen and hit Enter. This will automatically generate the SSH keys. In our tests on Windows 11, it created a 2048-bit RSA key. If you'd like to use a different algorithm—GitHub recommends Ed25519, for example—then you'd type ssh-keygen -t ed25519 .
- Use the Windows search box to find cmd and open the Command Prompt window.
- In the prompt, type: ssh-keygen. The command starts the program for generating the key pair. ...
- If you set up a specific location for the keys, type in the path now. ...
- Enter the passphrase to encrypt the private key.
- Create a .ssh directory in your home directory if it does not already exist: $ mkdir /home/ username /.ssh. ...
- Run ssh-keygen to generate an SSH key-pair. Run the following command in the .ssh folder. ...
- Retrieve the public key file. ...
- Use the key in an async session.
To start the agent you can simply type ssh-agent . Some nice things about this solution: You won't need to start the ssh-agent every time you restart your computer. Identities that you've added (using ssh-add) will get automatically added after restarts.
You can use Session > Install Public Key into Server command on the main window, or Tools > Install Public Key into Server command on SSH > Authentication page page on Advanced Site Settings dialog. The functionality of the command is similar to that of OpenSSH ssh-copy-id command.
pub from the file name (in any instance). Remember id_rsa is the private key and id_rsa. pub is the public key. And that's all there is to viewing your SSH public and private keys on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
What is SSH key file?
An SSH key is an access credential for the SSH (secure shell) network protocol. This authenticated and encrypted secure network protocol is used for remote communication between machines on an unsecured open network. SSH is used for remote file transfer, network management, and remote operating system access.
- Create a .ssh directory in your home directory if it does not already exist: $ mkdir /home/ username /.ssh. ...
- Run ssh-keygen to generate an SSH key-pair. Run the following command in the .ssh folder. ...
- Retrieve the public key file. ...
- Use the key in an async session.
- In a terminal window, enter the following command: ssh-keygen -t rsa.
- Follow the prompts to generate the key. You must provide a file name and a passphrase. A public and a private key are generated. ...
- Copy the public key to each node computer, by using the following command: ssh-copy-id username @ node_name.
- SSH to your server.
- Edit ~/. ssh/authorized_keys.
- Remove the line containing your key.
- Save and exit.
