Configure and manage SSH keys

Generate an SSH key when creating a VM

When <a href="https://gcore.com/docs/cloud/virtual-instances/create-an-instance" target="_blank"<creating a Virtual Machine, in Step 8, you'll be asked to choose one of the following options in the “SSH key” section:

• Select SSH key: Add a key that's already stored in the Gcore Customer Portal by selecting it from the dropdown list.
• Add a new SSH key: Add an existing key generated via CLI tools or SSH client.
• Generate an SSH key: Create a new key.

To generate a key

1. Select the Generate SSH key link.

1. In a new dialog that opens, enter the key name to identify the key in the system.

2. Select Create SSH key and save the public key locally.

Generate an SSH key in the SSH Keys section

You can generate a pair of SSH keys separately and then use a public key for authentication during the creation of your VM.

To generate the keys:

1. In the Gcore Customer Portal, go to Cloud > SSH Keys.

2. Click Autogenerate SSH key.

3. Enter the key name and select Create SSH key.

4. The public key will be added to a Virtual Machine and the private key will be saved to your local storage.

Terminal or Command Prompt

Follow these instructions to generate SSH keys on Linux, macOS, or Windows 10/11 devices:

1. Open Terminal (Linux, macOS) or Command Prompt (cmd.exe on Windows).

2. Run the following command to generate a key pair:

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    ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048

You'll be asked to enter the file where the keys should be saved. You can specify a custom location (for example, .ssh/), or press Enter to save the keys to the default directory. The default directory is ~/. for Linux/macOS and C:\Users\\ for Windows.

4. Press Enter.

5. You’ll be asked to enter a password for the key as an additional security step. You can either create a password and enter it every time you connect via SSH or leave the field empty and press Enter to create the key without a password.

6. Confirm the password by entering it again, or leave the field empty and press Enter. You can find your key in the default directory or in the custom location you've specified during the key creation.

7. The public key will be saved in the .pub file. You need to add this public key to a VM as described in the Add a public SSH key to the Customer Portal section.

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

You can use different distributions of Linux on Windows 11 to generate SSH keys and connect to your VM. To do this, you need to have WSL installed on your device.

To generate SSH keys via WSL:

1. Open Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell.

2. Launch a default Linux distribution inside your current command line by running this command: wsl.exe. There are multiple ways to run a Linux distribution, you can read more about them in the following guide: Ways to run multiple Linux distributions with WSL.

3. Run the following command to generate a key pair:

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4. You'll be asked to enter the file where the keys should be saved. You can specify a custom location (for example, .ssh/) or press Enter to save the keys to the default directory. The default directory is C:\Users\\.

5. Press Enter.

6. You’ll be asked to enter a password for the key. You can either create a password or leave the field empty and press Enter to create the key without a password.

7. Confirm the password by entering it one more time or leave the field empty and press Enter. You can find your key in the default directory or in the custom location you've specified during the key creation.

8. The public key will be saved in the .pub file. You need to add this public key to an instance as described in the Add a public SSH key to the Customer Portal section.

PuTTY

Follow these instructions to generate SSH keys on Windows 10/11 devices:

1. Download and install the PuTTY package.

2. Launch the PuTTYgen app.

3. Find the “Type of key to generate” parameter and select RSA.

4. In the “Number of bits in a generated key” field, set the value to 2048.

5. Click Generate. While the key is being generated, move the cursor in the “Key” field until the key appears in the field.

6. (Optional) You can enhance the security of your private key by setting up a passphrase, which will be required each time you connect via SSH. To set it up, enter a passphrase in the ‘Key passphrase' field and retype it in the 'Confirm passphrase' field.

7. Select Save private key to download the key to your local storage.