For this method to work, you must already have password-based SSH access to your server.

The ssh-copy-id tool is included by default in many operating systems, so you may have it available on your local system. If you do not have ssh-copy-id available to you on your client machine, you may use one of the two alternate methods provided in this section (copying via password-based SSH, or manually copying the key). Due to its simplicity, this method is highly recommended if available. The quickest way to copy your public key to the Ubuntu host is to use a utility called ssh-copy-id. Step 2 - Copy the Public Key to Ubuntu Server The next step is to place the public key on your server so that you can use SSH-key-based authentication to log in. You now have a public and private key that you can use to authenticate. Your identification has been saved in /your_home/.ssh/id_rsa. You should then see the following output:

A passphrase adds an additional layer of security to prevent unauthorized users from logging in. Here you optionally may enter a secure passphrase, which is highly recommended.

You should then see the following prompt:Įnter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): Be very careful when selecting yes, as this is a destructive process that cannot be reversed. If you choose to overwrite the key on disk, you will not be able to authenticate using the previous key anymore.

Ssh copy key file