SSH Configuration

SSH (Secure Shell) allows secure authentication and communication with remote systems. This guide walks you through setting up SSH keys for authentication.

Generating SSH Keys

SSH keys provide a secure authentication method. We’ll use the modern Ed25519 algorithm for strong security and small key size.

Silent Key Generation

Generate SSH keys automatically without prompts. This will create or overwrite ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 (private key) and ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub (public key):

ssh-keygen -q -t ed25519 -N '' <<< $'\ny' >/dev/null 2>&1

Interactive Key Generation

Alternatively, generate keys interactively with prompts for passphrase and file location:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

Verifying SSH Keys

Check if your private key exists:

test -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 && echo "Private key exists" || echo "Private key not found"

Check if your public key exists:

test -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub && echo "Public key exists" || echo "Public key not found"

Next Steps

After generating your SSH keys:

• Add your public key (~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub) to your GitHub account or other remote systems
• Use your private key for secure authentication to remote servers
• Consider adding a passphrase to your SSH key for additional security