How to create an SSH public key

For security reasons we only hand over VMs using an SSH public key configuration, so you will need to set up an SSH key before you apply. This is a much more secure and modern alternative to connecting using a password.

Follow one of the instructions listed below to create an SSH key, according to your needs.

Keep backward compatibility with older SSH clients

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

Use a stronger cypher without backward compatibility with older SSH clients

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

You will be prompted to save and name the key:

Generating public/private RSA key pair. Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/USER/.ssh/id_rsa):

Next, you will be asked to create and confirm a passphrase for the key (highly recommended):

Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:

This will generate two files, by default called id_rsa and id_rsa.pub. Copy and paste the contents of the .pub file, typically id_rsa.pub, into your application.