How to Generate SSH Keys in Windows 10 and Windows 11

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To generate SSH keys in Windows 10 and Windows 11, you can use the following steps:

  1. Open Command Prompt.
  2. Type the following command:
Code snippet
ssh-keygen
  1. Press Enter.
  2. You will be prompted to enter a name for your key. You can enter any name you want.
  3. You will then be prompted to enter a passphrase for your key. This is optional, but it is recommended that you do so.
  4. Press Enter to generate your key.

Your SSH keys will be generated in the following location:

Code snippet
C:\Users\<username>\.ssh

The file name will be id_rsa for a RSA key or id_ed25519 for an Ed25519 key.

You can use your SSH keys to securely access remote servers. To do this, you will need to add your public key to the authorized_keys file on the remote server.

Here are some additional tips for generating SSH keys:

  • Make sure that you choose a strong passphrase for your key. This will help to protect your key from unauthorized access.
  • You can generate multiple SSH keys. This is useful if you need to access different servers with different passphrases.
  • You can export your SSH keys so that you can use them on other computers. To do this, use the following command:
Code snippet
ssh-keygen -e -f ~/.ssh/id_rsa

This will create a file called id_rsa.pub that contains your public key. You can then copy this file to the remote server and add it to the authorized_keys file.

If you lose your SSH keys, you can generate new ones. However, you will need to update the authorized_keys file on any remote servers that you use your old keys to access.