Knowledge Base - SSH

How to Setup Passwordless SSH Login — concise version

Setup SSH Passwordless Login

1. Create ~/.ssh/config entry for remote machine.

2. Check for existing SSH key pair.

   ls -al ~/.ssh/id_*.pub

3. If necessary, generate a new SSH key pair.

   ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096

   Press Enter to accept the default file location and file name:

   Enter file in which to save the key (/home/yourusername/.ssh/id_rsa):

   Press Enter to leave passphrase empty:

   Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):

4. Copy the public key

   ssh-copy-id remote_username@server_ip_address

   or

   ssh-copy-id ~/.ssh/config alias

   You will be prompted to enter the remote_username password.

5. Login to your server using SSH keys

   After completing the steps above you should be able log in to the remote server without being prompted for a password.

   To test it just try to login to your server via SSH:

   ssh remote_username@server_ip_address