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werelax/private-key-ssh-howto.md

Last active September 3, 2016 17:17
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Generate ssh .pem and .pub files for privateKey-based server auth
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private-key-ssh-howto.md

Generate a key pair for SSH authentication

Very useful to log into a server without sharing any passwords. A common use case: deploy scripts.

1. Generate the key pair

$ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048 -v

When asked where to put the files, just type key. That would generate two files: ./key.pub and ./key.

2. Copy the public key to the target server

$ ssh-copy-id -i ./key.pub user@server

In OSX you can install ssh-copy-id with brew install ssh-copy-id.

3. Rename the private key and set the right permissions

$ mv ./key ./key.pem
$ chmod 0400 ./key.pem

4. Log in using the private key

$ ssh -i ./key.pem user@server
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