Ssh keypair

Setting up an ssh keypair from a linux system

If you haven't already, create a keypair.

$ ssh-keygen -t rsa

Enter a password for the private key. Store the key in your password vault. If you go with defaults, the filename created for your public key will be id_rsa.pub and will be located in your .ssh folder. Next, copy your public key to the destination system.

$ scp -P <port> ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub username@<ip address>:

Log into the destination system.

$ ssh -p <port> username@<ip address>

If needed, create a hidden directory to store ssh data and create an authorized keys file.

$ mkdir -p ~/.ssh && touch ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Add your public key to the authorized keys file.

$ cat ~/id_rsa.pub >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

If desired, confirm that your key was successfully entered into the file.

$ more ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

If desired, remove the public key file.

$ rm ~/id_rsa.pub

Log out of the system. Try logging in again; you should be prompted to enter the password you set for the key in the first step.

$ ssh -p <port> username@<ip address>

Once confirmed, log out of the system. If desired, create a file to make future logins easier:

$ sudo nano /usr/local/bin/<desired name>

Paste the command you used in the above step and save the file. Set it as executable

$ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/<desired name>

You can now log into the remote system simply by executing

$ <desired name>