Generate Ssh Key Windows Command Line
ssh-keygen - Creation, management, and conversion of keys used for client and server authentication.
May 16, 2018 How to Use Windows 10’s SSH Client. You can now use the SSH client by running the ssh command. This works in either a PowerShell window or a Command Prompt window, so use whichever you prefer. To quickly open a PowerShell window, right-click the Start button or press Windows+X and choose “Windows PowerShell” from the menu. PuTTY is the world's most popular free SSH and telnet client. Downloads, tutorials, how-tos, vulnerabilities.
Synopsis
- Oct 22, 2019 A better solution would be to share the same set of SSH keys between Windows and WSL so that you have one set of keys for one machine. Setup SSH on Windows first. My recommendation is that you set up SSH on the Windows side first. Follow the instructions over on Github’s documentation to do this. It will walk you through generating the key.
- To Generate an SSH key in Windows 10, Open a new command prompt. Type ssh-keygen and hit the Enter key. The app will ask for the save location, offering C: users your user name.ssh idrsa by default. Next, you will be prompted to enter a passphrase. You can just hit the Enter key to skip it. Finally, you will see the fingerprint for your key and SHA256.
Description
You can use the ssh-keygen command line utility to create RSA and DSA keys for public key authentication, to edit properties of existing keys, and to convert file formats. When no options are specified, ssh-keygen generates a 2048-bit RSA key pair and queries you for a key name and a passphrase to protect the private key. Public keys are created using the same base name as the private key, with an added .pub extension. The key location is displayed when key generation is complete.
Options
Specifies the key size. Up to a point, a larger key size improves security. Increasing key size slows down the initial connection, but has no effect on the speed of encryption or decryption of the data stream after a successful connection has been made. The length of key you should use depends on many factors, including: the key type, the lifetime of the key, the value of the data being protected, the resources available to a potential attacker, and the size of the symmetric key you use in conjunction with this asymmetric key. To ensure the best choice for your needs, we recommend that you contact your security officer. Key sizes are rounded up to the next value evenly divisible by 64 bits. The default for DSA keys is 1024 bits; for RSA it is 2048 bits.
Shows the fingerprint of the specified key in SHA-1 Bubble Babble format. You can specify the key file using -f. If you don't specify a file, you are queried for a filename. You can specify the private or public key name, but in either case, the public key must be available.
-c
Requests a change of the comment in the private and public key files. This operation is only supported for RSA1 keys. The program will prompt for the file containing the private keys, for the passphrase if the key has one, and for the new comment.
Specifies information for the comment field within the key file. Use quotation marks if the string includes spaces. If you do not specify a comment when you create a key, a default comment is created that includes the key type, creator, date, and time.
Uses the specified OpenSSH public or private key to generate a public key in Reflection format. You can specify the key file using -f. If you don't specify a file, you are queried for a filename.
Specifies the filename for the generated private key. (A public key is also created and is always given the same name as the private key plus a .pub file extension.) This option can also be used in combination with -e, -i, -l, -p, -y, and -B to specify the input filename.
Converts the specified Reflection public key to OpenSSH format. You can specify the key file using -f. If you don't specify a file, you are queried for a filename.
Displays a summary of command line options.
Show fingerprint of specified public key file using the MD5 hash. You can specify the key file using -f. If you don't specify a file, you are queried for a filename. If you specify a private key, ssh-keygen tries to find the matching public key file and prints its fingerprint.
Sets the passphrase. For example, to specify the passphrase for a new key:
To create a new key that is not passphrase protected:
You can also use -N in combination with -p and -P to change the passphrase of an existing key.
Use this option to change the passphrase of an existing private key. If you use this option alone, the program prompts for the file containing the private key, for the old passphrase, and twice for the new passphrase. You can use it in combination with -f, -P, and -N to change the passphrase non-interactively. For example:
Provides the (old) passphrase.
Silence ssh-keygen.
Generate Ssh Key Windows Command Line
Specifies the algorithm used for key generation. The possible values are 'rsa' or 'dsa' for protocol version 2.
Uses the specified private key to derive a new copy of the public key. You can specify the key file using -f. If you don't specify a file, you are queried for a filename.
Return values
ssh-keygen returns 0 (zero) if the command completes successfully. Any non-zero value indicates a failure.
How to generate an SSH key in Windows 10
To generate an SSH key in Windows 10:
- Ensure the Windows 10 OpenSSH client is installed.
- Run “ssh-keygen” in Command Prompt and follow the instructions to generate your key.
Generate Ssh Key Windows Command Line Cheat Sheet
Applies to Windows 10 1803, and up
Generating SSH keys in a Windows environment used to be a convoluted process which required the installation of third-party tools. Since the Windows 10 April 2018 update, Windows has shipped with a preinstalled OpenSSH client, which means you can use ssh-keygen to generate SSH keys. Read on as we walk you through the entire process.
First, you’ll need to make sure OpenSSH is installed on your machine – if you upgraded from an earlier version of Windows 10, you may need to manually enable it. Launch the Settings app and click the “Apps” category. Next, click the “Manage optional features” link. If you don’t see “OpenSSH Client” in the list which appears, click the “Add a feature” button and install it. You might need to reboot your PC after the installation.
Once OpenSSH is installed, you’re ready to proceed. Open Command Prompt from the Start menu. Type “ssh-keygen” (without the quotes) into the terminal window and press enter. You’ll be prompted to confirm the save location. We recommend pressing enter to use the default location in your user directory. Otherwise, type a path to save the key in and then press enter.
You can now choose to add a passphrase (password) to the key. If you add one, you’ll need to supply it whenever you use the key. Either type a passphrase and press enter or press enter immediately to proceed without one.
Windows will now generate your RSA public/private key pair. The public key will be stored as “id_rsa.pub” in the directory you specified. Upload this key to any machines you need to SSH into. You can then open a connection using Windows’ built-in SSH client – type “ssh [email protected]” to connect and authenticate using your generated credentials.