SSH

SSH#

Generating an SSH keys#

Warning

This will generate a new SSH key pair id_rsa and id_rsa.pub in the ~/.ssh directory. It will overwrite existing ones. So, if you already have an SSH key pair, you should backup them before generating a new one.

  • Open your terminal and enter the following command. Change the your_email@gmail.com to your own email address or other comments.

$ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@gmail.com"

  • This will start the process of generating your SSH key and you will be directed to enter a file name for the key.

  • Press Enter to accept the default file names (id_rsa for the private key and id_rsa.pub for the public key) and the default location (~/.ssh directory).

  • Enter a passphrase for the key. This is optional but highly recommended for added security.(Pressing Enter to leave it blank will not use any passphrase.)

Don’t share with others your private key at ~/.ssh/id_rsa and passphrase.

You can view the public key by:

$ cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Adding the ssh key to the ssh-agent#

We refer to Github instructions on generating SSH keys

More information#

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