# Creating an SSH Key

Follow these instructions to create or add SSH keys on Linux, MacOS & Windows.

## Create a new key pair, if needed

To create an SSH Key, open a terminal and run the following command:

```
ssh-keygen
```

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`. Next, add this public key.

## Add the public key

Copy and paste the contents of the **.pub** file, typically id\_rsa.pub, into the **SSH Public Key** field.

```
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
```

{% hint style="info" %}
You don't need to use this command - you can simply right-click the id\_rsa.pub file and open it with your favorite IDE and copy the contents from there into the **SSH Public Key** field.
{% endhint %}

Your public (.pub) SSH Key should look something like this:

![](https://3594988393-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-legacy-files/o/assets%2F-MhnK0SlNFUfBHuu-EZn%2F-MhoxE_DshxLX0gkrsbU%2F-Mhp2to2HqAm3uvKNvza%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=ddf84234-14d5-4621-af08-e85faca2b59a)