Generating SSH Keys on Local Computer

Here we will cover how to generate SSH keys for VPS and Dedicated plans with Root Access on a local computer for Windows, Unix, and macOS.

Generating SSH keys locally is necessary if you need to create new authentication key pairs for SSH. Such key pairs are used to automate logins, single sign-on, and authenticate hosts.

Please keep in mind that all solutions listed below will require root access. If this needs to be obtained, follow the guide on requesting root access.

Related Articles

Create Root SSH Keys
SSH into Shared Server
SSH into Cloud VPS
How to SSH into VPS or Dedicated Servers

Windows with PuTTy

1. Open the PuTTYgen application
2. For ‘Type of key to generate‘, select RSA
3. For ‘Number of bits in a generated key‘, select 4096
4. Click Generate
   
   
5. Move your mouse pointer around in the Key section until the progress bar is full
6. Recommended: Type a secure passphrase into the Key passphrase field, and again into the Confirm passphrase field
7. Click the Save public key and the Save private key buttons
   
   
   1. Be sure to save both keys in your user’s .ssh directory inside their home directory. For instance:
      

      C:\Users\userna5\.ssh\id_rsa.pub

      C:\Users\userna5\.ssh\id_rsa.ppk

Windows with Powershell

1. Open the Start menu and type Powershell
   
2. Right-click on Powershell and click the Run as Administrator option
   
3. Continue to step 2 in the macOS & Unix instructions below

macOS & Unix

1. Open Terminal from your Application list
2. Type the following and hit Enter: ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
3. Press Enter again when you see a prompt to “Enter file in which to save the key“
4. When prompted, type a secure passphrase, and press Enter
   TIP: You may not be able to see the passphrase as you type it. It is still being typed, but the characters aren't displayed.
   
5. When prompted, type the secure passphrase again to confirm, and press Enter
6. You should see the following message containing the details that pertain to your key that was generated:
   

   userna5@localhost ~ $ ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
   Generating public/private rsa key pair.
   Enter file in which to save the key (/home/userna5/.ssh/id_rsa):  Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):  
   Enter same passphrase again:  
   Your identification has been saved in /home/userna5/.ssh/id_rsa. 
   Your public key has been saved in /home/userna5/.ssh/id_rsa.pub. 
   The key fingerprint is: SHA256:PRxLu/LU6ZfFDve1sTIR0nK86NJVYRxRONCz0N5oy7U userna5@localhost The key's randomart image is:
    +---[RSA 4096]----+ 
    |            .+.+=| 
    |            . *+ | 
    |          o oo.*.| 
    |         + * ==.o|
    |        S * =o++.|
    |           = =+E=|
    |        . = + .**|
    |         = + oooo|
    |          o ..o  |
    +----[SHA256]-----+
   

   TIP: If you are unable to locate this file, in a new command, type cd ~/.ssh to navigate to the .ssh folder, then type ls -lah to list all files in that directory.
   

   NOTE: The public key has been saved to /home/userna5/.ssh/id_rsa.pub. The text in this file is the public key that you will need to enter into the Manage SSH Keys.