SSH keys are an access credential used in SSH protocol (Secure Shell) which is a network protocol that helps to login from one computer to another securely, as well as to manage networks, operating systems, and configurations. This snippet is going to help you add an SSH key to the ssh-agent, generate a new SSH key, learn how to find the SSH key of your PC and how to connect it with your GitHub/bitbucket account. You can also find information on the use of SSH keys.
Aug 09, 2018 S SH, the secure shell, is often used to access remote Linux systems. But its authentication mechanism, where a private local key is paired with a public remote key, is used to secure all kinds of online services, from GitHub and Launchpad to Linux running on Microsoft’s Azure cloud. By following this post you will be able to generate SSH keys on Windows 10 using Ubuntu on Windows. Jul 29, 2019 On the client system, use the ssh-copy-id command to copy the identity information to the Ubuntu server. Ssh-copy-id username@ Replace serverIP with the actual IP address of your server. If this is the first time you’re connecting to the server, you may see a message that the authenticity of the host cannot be established.
Now let's find out how we can checkout PC's SSH keys.
Checking PC's SSH Keys
Type ls -al ~/.ssh so as to see your ssh keys:
By default, the filenames of the public keys are one of the following:
Generate a new SSH key
Type this below, using your GitHub's account email:
The following text will show up after which you can hit the “Enter” button:
In this section, you can hit “Enter” again or type the secure passphrase (more about passphrase).
Adding an SSH key to the ssh-agent
Now let’s find out how we can add the SSH key to ssh-agent. Before adding, check your ssh keys or generate a new key.
- Be sure ssh-agent is enabled:
- Add your SSH key to the ssh-agent. If you used an existing SSH key rather than generating a new SSH key, you would need to replace id_rsa in the command with the name of your existing private key file:
How To Add SSH Key To Github Account
- Log into your Github's account. In the top right corner of any page, click your profile photo, then click Settings.
- In the user settings sidebar, go to SSH and GPG keys.
- Click New SSH key.
- Type Title and your SSH Key.
You can get your ssh key by typing below.
Generate Ssh Key Putty
Now you have added your PC's SSH key to your Github's account.
Back up old SSH keys
If there are existing SSH keys, but you do not want to use them for connecting to Bitbucket Server, you should back up these old keys running the following:
Why we need SSH key (for Linux and OSX)
If you use Git and want to clone anything from remote repositories, you have to choose one of these two ways: HTTPS or SSH. If you use HTTPS, you have to type your account access every time you communicate with the remote repository, or change your configs and fill your account data (access). Another modern way is to use the SSH authentication method. It is used in many Version Control Systems to have command line access into your servers, etc. SSH key pairs can be used for authentication instead of passwords. Each key pair consists of a private key and a corresponding public key. When you use SSH key for Git, you inform Git that this PC is authenticated for that Github account, and it will never ask you about any access again because you have already given it your SSH key.