SSH key

What is a SSH key?

SSH keys are used for secure connections across a network. They come in pairs, so you have a public key and a private key.

Here is an example of a DSA public key in OpenSSH format (usually they are all in one line):

ssh-dss AAAAB3NzaC1kc3MAAACBAJ3hB5SAF6mBXPlZlRoJEZi0KSIN+NU2iGiaXZXi9CDrgVxTp6/
sc56UcYCp4qjfrZ2G3+6PWbxYso4P4YyUC+61RU5KPy4EcTJske3O+aNvec/20cW7PT3TvH1+sxwGry
mD50kTiXDgo5nXdqFvibgM61WW2DGTKlEUsZys0njRAAAAFQDs7ukaTGJlZdeznwFUAttTH9LrwwAAA
IAMm4sLCdvvBx9WPkvWDX0OIXSteCYckiQxesOfPvz26FfYxuTG/2dljDlalC+kYG05C1NEcmZWSNES
GBGfccSYSfI3Y5ahSVUhOC2LMO3JNjVyYUnOM/iyhzrnRfQoWO9GFMaugq0jBMlhZA4UO26yJqJ+BtX
IyItaEEJdc/ghIwAAAIBFeCZynstlbBjP648+mDKIvzNSS+JYr5klGxS3q8A56NPcYhDMxGn7h1DKbb
2AV4pO6y+6hDrWo3UT4dLVuzK01trwp PYp6JXTSZZ12ZaXNPz7sX9/z6pzMqhX4UEfjVsLcuF+ZS6a
QCPO0ZZEa1z+EEIZSD/ykLQsDwPxGjPBqw== someone@somewhere.com

The idea is that you put your public key on servers that you want to establish a connection with. The server will only grant access to someone who has the matching private key.

Why do I need a SSH key?

Our CVS server uses OpenSSH, so if are a Moodle developer and you want to make your logins easier (by avoiding typing in your password all the time) then you will need to submit public key in Openssh format via the "Update my developer information" tab at http://moodle.org/cvs.

How do I create a SSH key pair?

Unix/Linux

1. Run: ssh-keygen -d
2. Look in your ~/.ssh directory (or wherever you saved the output). You'll find id_dsa (private) and id_dsa.pub (public).
3. Cut and paste the contents of id_dsa.pub into your developer profile on http://moodle.org/cvs
4. Put the private key wherever you will be calling CVS from (in your .ssh directory, for example). Make sure it's secure!