How to set up SSH keys on a Windows machine.

SSH on Windows.md

SSH on Windows

🔑 Generating SSH Keys with OpenSSH

1. Open a terminal in the directory where you want to save your key.

2. Run this command to generate a new SSH key:

   ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "Your Key Name"

   For older systems that don't support Ed25519, use RSA instead:

   ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "Your Key Name"

3. Follow the prompts. Once done, you'll have both a private and public key saved. Copy the contents of the .pub file to your VCS (Version Control System) service of choice.

   See below links for your service:

   • GitHub - Adding a new SSH key to your account
   • GitLab - Add an SSH key to your GitLab account

4. To SSH into a server using your key:

   ssh -i "<PathToPrivateKeyFile>" <username>@<ServerIpAddress>

🚀 Auto-Loading Keys with OpenSSH Authentication Agent

1. Open a terminal as Administrator in the directory where your key is stored.

2. Start the OpenSSH agent and set it to launch automatically:

   Start-Service ssh-agent
   Set-Service -Name ssh-agent -StartupType Automatic

3. Add your private key to the agent:

   ssh-add ./YourPrivateKey

4. Make Git explicitly use OpenSSH:

   git config --global core.sshCommand C:/Windows/System32/OpenSSH/ssh.exe

💡 Tip

Want other ways to auto-load SSH keys? Check out this helpful post: Server Fault - Does ssh autoload everything in .ssh?