SSH: Create Private/Public Key Pair
An SSH key pair is needed to connect to an SSH server. Follow the instructions below to create a new key pair:
1. Install OpenSSH. On Ubuntu, you can install OpenSSH by opening your terminal and typing:
sudo apt-get install openssh-client
2. Once OpenSSH is installed, stay in the terminal and type:
ssh-keygen -t rsa
3. When prompted, press Enter to accept the default file name for your key.
4. Next, enter then confirm a password to protect your SSH key. Your key pair will be stored in ~/.ssh/ as id_rsa.pub [public key] and id_rsa [private key]
Next, you will need to copy the contents of id_rsa.pub to a file named authorized_keys and transfer the file to the target system you wish to connect to. Follow the instructions below:
1. Create the new file with the following command:
touch ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
2. Apply the correct permissions:
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
3. Copy the contents of id_rsa.pub to the new file:
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
Finish by transferring the new file to the target server. You should now be able to connect to your SSH server.
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