Mar 13, 2019 How to generate SSH keys on macOS Mojave Open the terminal app. This task will be done via the macOS terminal application. Generating the SSH keys. Accept the default directory. Copy your key to a server. Now that you have the key pair, how do you use them?
Introduction
Secure Shell (SSH) is an encrypted protocol used by Linux users to connect to their remote servers.
Generally, there are two ways for clients to access their servers – using password based authentication or public key based authentication.
Using SSH keys for authentication is highly recommended, as a safer alternative to passwords.
This tutorial will guide you through the steps on how to generate and set up SSH keys on CentOS 7. We also cover connecting to a remote server using the keys and disabling password authentication.
1. Check for Existing Keys
Prior to any installation, it is wise to check whether there are any existing keys on the client machines.
Open the terminal and list all public keys stored with the following command:
The output informs you about any generated keys currently on the system. If there aren’t any, the message tells you it cannot access /.ssh/id_*.pub , as there is no such file or directory.
2. Verify SSH is Installed
To check if thw package is installed, run the command:
If you already have SSH, the output tells you which version it is running. Currently, the latest version is OpenSSH 8.0/8.0p1.
Generate Ssh Key Mac Bitbucket
Note: Refer to our guide If you need to install and enable SSH on your CentOS system.
Steps to Creating SSH keys on CentOS
Step 1: Create SSH Key Pair
1. Start by logging into the source machine (local server) and creating a 2048-bit RSA key pair using the command:
If you want to tighten up security measures, you can create a 4096-bit key by adding the -b 4096 flag:
2. After entering the command, you should see the following prompt:
3. To save the file in the suggested directory, press Enter. Alternatively, you can specify another location.
Note: If you already have a key pair in the proposed location, it is advisable to pick another directory. Otherwise it will overwrite existing SSH keys.
4. Next, the prompt will continue with:
Although creating a passphrase isn’t mandatory, it is highly advisable.
5. Finally, the output will end by specifying the following information:
Now you need to add the public key to the remote CentOS server.
You can copy the public SSH key on the remote server using several different methods:
- using the ssh-copy-id script
- using Secure Copy (scp)
- manually copying the key
The fastest and easiest method is by utilizing ssh-copy-id. If the option is available, we recommend using it. Otherwise, try any of the other two noted.
1. Start by typing the following command, specifying the SSH user account, and the IP address of the remote host:
If it is the first time your local computer is accessing this specific remote server you will receive the following output:
2. Confirm the connection – type yes and hit Enter.
3. Once it locates the id_rsa.pub key created on the local machine, it will ask you to provide the password for the remote account. Type in the password and hit Enter.
4. Once the connection has been established, it adds the public key on the remote server. This is done by copying the ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file to the remote server’s ~/.ssh directory. You can locate it under the name authorized_keys.
5. Lastly, the output tells you the number of keys added, along with clear instructions on what to do next:
1. First, set up an SSH connection with the remote user:
2. Next, create the ~/.ssh directory as well as the authorized_keys file:
3. Use the chmod command to change the file permission:
chmod 700 makes the file executable, while chmod 600 allows the user to read and write the file.
4. Now, open a new terminal session, on the local computer.
5. Copy the content from id_rsa.pub (the SSH public key) to the previously created authorized_keys file on the remote CentOS server by typing the command:
With this, the public key has been safely stored on the remote account.
1. To manually add the public SSH key to the remote machine, you first need to open the content from the ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub file:
2. As in the image below, the key starts with ssh-rsa and ends with the username of the local computer and hostname of the remote machine:
3. Copy the content of the file, as you will need later.
4. Then, in the terminal window, connect to the remote server on which you wish to copy the public key. Use the following command to establish the connection:
5. Create a ~/.ssh directory and authorized_keys file on the CentOS server with the following command:
6. Change their file permission by typing:
7. Next, open the authorized_keys file with an editor of your preference. For example, to open it with Nano, type:
8. Add the public key, previously copied in step 2 of this section, in a new line in (under the existing content).
9. Save the changes and close the file.
10. Finally, log into the server to verify that everything is set up correctly.
Once you have completed the previous steps (creating an RSA Key Pair and copying the Public Key to the CentOS server), you will be able to connect to the remote host without typing the password for the remote account.
All you need to do is type in the following command:
If you didn’t specify a passphrase while creating the SSH key pair, you will automatically log in the remote server.
Otherwise, type in the passphrase you supplied in the initial steps and press Enter.
Once the shell confirms the key match, it will open a new session for direct communication with the server.
Although you managed to access the CentOS server without having to provide a password, it still has a password-based authentication system running on the machine. This makes it a potential target for brute force attacks.
You should disable password authentication entirely by following the outlined steps.
Generating the Public Key - Windows 1. At the command prompt, type the following: openssl rsa -in rsa.private -out rsa.public -pubout -outform PEM 2. The public key is saved in a file named rsa.public located in the same folder. Generating the Private Key - Linux 1. Open the Terminal. Navigate to the folder with the ListManager directory. Generate public key and private key using openssl download.
Note: Consider performing the following steps through a non-root account with sudo privileges, as an additional safety layer.
1. Using the SSH keys, log into the remote CentOS server which has administrative privileges:
2. Next, open the SSH daemon configuration file using a text editor of your choice:
3. Look for the following line in the file:
4. Edit the configuration by changing the yes value to no. Thus, the directive should be as following:
5. Save the file and exit the text editor.
6. To enable the changes, restart the sshdservice using the command:
7. Verify the SSH connection to the server is still functioning correctly. Open a new terminal window and type in the command:
In this article, you learned how to generate SSH key pairs and set up an SSH key-based authentication. We also covered copying keys to your remote CentOS server, and disabling SSH password authentication.
Next, You Should Read:
You generate an SSH key through Mac OS X by using the Terminal application. Once you upload a valid public SSH key,Gerrit can authenticate you based on this key.
Generate Ssh Keys On Macos Mac
An SSH key consists of a pair of files. One is the private key, which you should never give to anyone. No one will everask you for it and if so, simply ignore them - they are trying to steal it.The other is the public key. When you generate your keys, you will use ssh-keygen to store the keys in a safe locationso you can authenticate with Gerrit.
To generate SSH keys in Mac OS X, follow these steps:
-
Enter the following command in the Terminal window:
This starts the key generation process. When you execute this command, the ssh-keygen utility prompts you to indicate where to store the key.
-
Press the
ENTERkey to accept the default location. The ssh-keygen utility prompts you for a passphrase. -
Type in a passphrase. You can also hit the
ENTERkey to accept the default (no passphrase). However, this is not recommended.
Generate Ssh Keys On Mac Os X
Warning
You will need to enter the passphrase a second time to continue.
Random steam game key generator. After you confirm the passphrase, the system generates the key pair and you will see output like this:
Your private key is saved to the id_rsa file in the .ssh subdirectory of your home directory and is used to verifythe public key you use belongs to your Gerrit account.
Warning
Never share your private key with anyone! Ever! We mean it!
Your public key is saved to a file called id_rsa.pub in the .ssh subdirectory of your home directory. You can copyit to your clipboard using the following command:
Now you can head over to Gerrit, go to settings and paste your public key as described here.
Gerrit is using the special port 29418 instead of the default SSH port 22 which has to be configured accordingly. This can be done in your local ~/.ssh/config file which would contain the following sections then:
Testing your connection: