2/22/25, 12:52 PM How To Generate SSH Key With ssh-keygen In Linux?
- GeeksforGeeks
How To Generate SSH Key With ssh-keygen In Linux?
Last Updated : 20 Sep, 2024
Secure Shell(SSH) is a cryptographic network protocol used for operating remote
services securely. It is used for remote operation of devices on secure channels using a
client-server architecture that generally operates on Port 22. SSH is the successor of
Telnet. SSH uses public and private keys to validate and authenticate users. ssh-keygen
is used to generate these key pairs.
You can learn more about SSH and Telnet here.
Table of Content
How does SSH work?
What is SSH-KEYGEN?
Files generated by ssh-keygen
Generating SSH Key Pairs Using ssh-keygen
Copying Public key to the remote server
Method 1: Using ssh-copy-id
Method 2: Manually copying the public key
How does SSH work?
SSH functions using a client-server architecture that requires a pair of cryptographic
keys: a public key and a private key.
Public Key: This key is added to the remote server in the
“$HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys” file.
Private Key: The private key remains on the client machine. When the remote server
sends a response encrypted with the public key, only the client with the private key
can decrypt it.
This process ensures that the client-server connection is secure, and only the
authorized client (with the private key) can access the remote server.
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How SSH works
What is SSH-KEYGEN?
ssh-keygen is the utility used to generate, manage, and convert authentication keys for
SSH. ssh-keygen comes installed with SSH in most of the operating systems. ssh-
keygen is able to generate a key using one of three different digital signature algorithms.
RSA: One of the most commonly used encryption methods.
DSA: An older algorithm, not recommended for new implementations.
ECDSA: Offers faster computations with smaller key sizes.
Files generated by ssh-keygen
$HOME/.ssh/identity: File containing the RSA private key when using SSH protocol
version 1.
$HOME/.ssh/identity.pub: File containing the RSA public key for authentication
when you are using the SSH protocol version
$HOME/.ssh/id_dsa: File containing the protocol version 2 DSA authentication
identity of the user.
$HOME/.ssh/id_dsa.pub: File containing the DSA public key for authentication when
you are using the SSH protocol version.
$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa: File containing the protocol version 2 RSA authentication
identity of the user. This file should not be readable by anyone but the user.
$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub: File containing the protocol version 2 RSA public key for
authentication.
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“.pub” files should be copied to the $HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys file of the remote
system where a user wants to log in using SSH authentication.
Generating SSH Key Pairs Using ssh-keygen
Almost all Unix and Linux Distro’s come pre-installed with SSH and ssh-keygen, so we
will have no need to install. We will get started directly. This process is almost similar to
almost all Linux Distro’s
Open your terminal and type ssh-keygen
ssh-keygen
It asks for the names of the ssh key pairs. If you wish to enter the passphrase, go on
and ssh-keygen will automatically create your keys.
//Output
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
// enter the name for ssh key pairs
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/kushwanth/.ssh/id_rsa): gfg
// enter passpharse for security
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
// ssh keys generated
Your identification has been saved in gfg
Your public key has been saved in gfg.pub
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ssh key gen created
A public key looks like the one below.
Sample public key
This is the key you need to copy into your remote device to get successful SSH
authentication.
Copying Public key to the remote server
After the key pair is created, now we need to copy the public key into the server. There
are 2 ways to do this, using ssh-copy-id (or) manually copying it into the server.
Method 1: Using ssh-copy-id
Use the “ssh-copy-id” command to copy your public key file (e.g.,
$HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub) to your user account on the remote server.
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ssh-copy-id -i $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub <user>@<your-remote-host>
Method 2: Manually copying the public key
Login to your remote server using the password and create a directory at $HOME/.ssh.
You can use the command below.
ssh <user>@<your-remote-host> "umask 077; test -d .ssh || mkdir .ssh"
ssh <user>@<host> allows you to login into your remote host server
If the .ssh directory is already present, it will set the permissions of the directory to
077 so that it allows read, write, and execute permission for the file’s owner, but
prohibits reading, writing, and execute permission for everyone else.
If the directory is not present, then it will create a new one.
Now send your public key to the remote server,
cat $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | ssh <user>@<your-remote-host> "cat >>
.ssh/authorized_keys"
cat allows you to print the contents of the file in the terminal.
The output from the cat is piped into SSH to append the public key to a remote
server.
Now you can logout and test whether you can connect to the remote server using the
SSH protocol.
Conclusion
Setting up SSH and using ssh-keygen to generate key pairs simplifies and secures the
process of accessing remote servers. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you
can create a passwordless authentication system for SSH, significantly improving your
remote management efficiency.
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