greentornado · March 28, 2023 04:01 · Jul 16, 2018
diff --git a/sshPemKey.md b/sshPemKey.md
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# Create an SSH key in PEM format
+
+I have not been able to use `ssh-keygen -e` to reliably generate a private key for SSH in PEM format.  This format is sometimes used by commercial products.  Instead, I had to convert the key using `openssl`.
+
+``` bash
+# generate an RSA key of size 2048 bits
+ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048 -f jabba -C 'ronnie-jabba'
+
+# copy key to 10.1.56.50 and add to authorized_keys
+
+# convert private key to PEM format
+openssl rsa -in jabba -outform PEM -out jabba.pem
+chmod 700 jabba.pem
+
+# test key
+ssh -i ./jabba.pem rmaini@10.1.56.50 -p 2222
+
+# add a passphrase
+ssh-keygen -p -f jabba.pem
+
+# does it have a passphrase
+ssh-keygen -y -f jabba.pem
+
+# test key, now with passphrase
+ssh -i ./jabba.pem rmaini@10.1.56.50 -p 2222
+```