SSH Pub/Priv Keys
General Information
Create public/private key pair to login to remote systems with no password prompt.
Checklist
- Distro(s): Any
From the local client
Create public/private key pair
ssh-keygen -t rsa Enter file to save the key (Enter for default). Enter password twice to encrypt key pair.
Two files are created:
- $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa = private key (do not share)
- $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub = public key (this will go on server)
Put public key on remote server(s)
ssh-copy-id -i $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub username@server
If ssh-copy-id is not installed, use scp instead
scp $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub username@server:~/tmp.pub ssh username@server cat $HOME/tmp.pub >> .ssh/authorized_keys rm tmp.pub
Ensure ssh-agent is running and add private key passphrase
eval $(ssh-agent) ssh-add
Enter private key passphrase to add private key to the ssh-agent.
Login to server, no password prompt because of ssh-agent/ssh-add
ssh username@server