Create SSH keys
This document describes how to create an SSH key pair for Compute Engine
virtual machine (VM) instances.
Before you begin
Create an SSH key pair
If you connect to VMs using the Trusted Cloud console or the
Google Cloud CLI, Compute Engine creates SSH keys on your behalf. For
more information on how Compute Engine configures and stores keys, see
About SSH connections.
If you connect to VMs using third party tools or OpenSSH, you need to
add a key to your VM before you can connect. If you don't have an SSH key,
you must create one. VMs accept the key formats listed in the sshd_config
file.
Linux and macOS
On Linux and macOS workstations, use the
ssh-keygen utility
to create a new SSH key pair. The following example creates an RSA key pair.
Open a terminal and use the ssh-keygen command with the -C flag to
create a new SSH key pair.
ssh-keygen -t rsa -f ~/.ssh/KEY_FILENAME -C USERNAME
Replace the following:
KEY_FILENAME: the name for your SSH key file.
For example, a filename of my-ssh-key generates a private key file named
my-ssh-key and a public key file named my-ssh-key.pub.
USERNAME: your username on the VM. For example,
cloudysanfrancisco, or cloudysanfrancisco_gmail_com.
For Linux VMs, the USERNAME can't be root,
unless you configure your VM to allow root login. For more information,
see Connect to VMs as the root user.
For Windows VMs that use Active Directory (AD), the username must be
prepended with the AD domain, in the format of
DOMAIN\. For example, the user
cloudysanfrancisco within the ad.example.com AD has a
USERNAME of example\cloudysanfrancisco.
ssh-keygen saves your private key file to
~/.ssh/KEY_FILENAME and your public key file to
~/.ssh/KEY_FILENAME.pub.
A public key for the user cloudysanfrancisco looks similar to the
following:
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDAu5kKQCPF... cloudysanfrancisco
Windows 10 or later
On workstations with Windows version 10 or later, use the
ssh-keygen utility
to create a new SSH key pair. The following example creates an RSA key pair.
Open Command Prompt and use the ssh-keygen command with the -C flag to
create a new SSH key pair.
ssh-keygen -t rsa -f C:\Users\WINDOWS_USER\.ssh\KEY_FILENAME -C USERNAME
Replace the following:
WINDOWS_USER: your username on the Windows
machine.
KEY_FILENAME: the name for your SSH key file.
For example, a filename of my-ssh-key generates a private key file named
my-ssh-key and a public key file named my-ssh-key.pub.
USERNAME: your username on the VM. For example,
cloudysanfrancisco, or cloudysanfrancisco_gmail_com.
For Linux VMs, the USERNAME can't be root,
unless you configure your VM to allow root login. For more information,
see Connect to VMs as the root user.
For Windows VMs that use Active Directory (AD), the username must be
prepended with the AD domain, in the format of
DOMAIN\. For example, the user
cloudysanfrancisco within the ad.example.com AD has a
USERNAME of example\cloudysanfrancisco.
ssh-keygen saves your private key file to
C:\Users\WINDOWS_USER\.ssh\KEY_FILENAME
and your public key file to
C:\Users\WINDOWS_USER\.ssh\KEY_FILENAME.pub.
A public key for the user cloudysanfrancisco looks similar to the
following:
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDAu5kKQCPF... cloudysanfrancisco
Windows 8 or earlier
On workstations with Windows version 8 or earlier, use the PuTTYgen tool to
create a new SSH key pair. The following example creates an RSA key pair.
Download puttygen.exe
if you haven't already.
Open PuTTYgen.
Under Parameters specify the following:
- Type of key to generate:
RSA
- Number of bits in a generated key:
2048 or more
Click Generate and follow the on-screen instructions.
The tool displays the public key value.
In the Key comment section, replace the pre-populated text with your
username. For example, cloudysanfrancisco, or
cloudysanfrancisco_gmail_com.
For Linux VMs, the Key comment can't be root, unless you configure
your VM to allow root login. For more information,
see Connect to VMs as the root user.
For Windows VMs that use Active Directory (AD), the Key comment must
be prepended with the AD domain, in the format of
DOMAIN\. For example, the user
cloudysanfrancisco within the ad.example.com AD has a Key comment
of example\cloudysanfrancisco.
Optional: enter a Key passphrase to password-protect your key.
Click Save private key to choose a location to save the private key
to.
PuTTYgen writes the private key to a file with a .ppk extension.
Click Save public key to choose a location to save your public key
to. Keep the PuTTYgen window open.
Copy the text from the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH
authorized_keys file field.
Open the public key file. The public key has a format similar to the
following:
---- BEGIN SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ----
Comment: "USERNAME"
KEY_VALUE
---- END SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ----
Replace the entire contents of the public key file with the value you
copied from the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys
file field, so that your public key file matches the following format:
KEY_VALUE USERNAME
A public key for the user cloudysanfrancisco looks similar to the
following:
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDAu5kKQCPF... cloudysanfrancisco
What's next?
Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies. Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-08-26 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-26 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eThis document guides users on creating SSH key pairs for Compute Engine virtual machines (VMs) for connections outside the Google Cloud console or CLI.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eAuthentication setup is required for accessing Google Cloud services and APIs, which can be done through the Google Cloud CLI or REST API.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eFor Linux and macOS, and Windows 10 or later, the \u003ccode\u003essh-keygen\u003c/code\u003e utility is used to generate SSH key pairs, specifying the key file name and username for the VM.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eWindows 8 or earlier users should use PuTTYgen, downloading \u003ccode\u003eputtygen.exe\u003c/code\u003e, selecting RSA key type, and setting key parameters before saving the private and public keys.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe public key file's content must be modified to match the format "KEY_VALUE USERNAME," and users can optionally set a key passphrase for added security.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Create SSH keys\n\nLinux Windows\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nThis document describes how to create an SSH key pair for Compute Engine\nvirtual machine (VM) instances.\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\n- If you haven't already, set up [authentication](/compute/docs/authentication). Authentication verifies your identity for access to Google Cloud services and APIs. To run code or samples from a local development environment, you can authenticate to Compute Engine by selecting one of the following options:\n\n Select the tab for how you plan to use the samples on this page: \n\n ### Console\n\n\n When you use the Google Cloud console to access Google Cloud services and\n APIs, you don't need to set up authentication.\n\n ### gcloud\n\n 1.\n [Install](/sdk/docs/install) the Google Cloud CLI.\n\n After installation,\n [initialize](/sdk/docs/initializing) the Google Cloud CLI by running the following command:\n\n ```bash\n gcloud init\n ```\n\n\n If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first\n [sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity](/iam/docs/workforce-log-in-gcloud).\n | **Note:** If you installed the gcloud CLI previously, make sure you have the latest version by running `gcloud components update`.\n 2. [Set a default region and zone](/compute/docs/gcloud-compute#set_default_zone_and_region_in_your_local_client).\n\n ### REST\n\n\n To use the REST API samples on this page in a local development environment, you use the\n credentials you provide to the gcloud CLI.\n 1. [Install](/sdk/docs/install) the Google Cloud CLI. After installation, [initialize](/sdk/docs/initializing) the Google Cloud CLI by running the following command: \n\n ```bash\n gcloud init\n ```\n 2. If you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first [sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity](/iam/docs/workforce-log-in-gcloud).\n\n\n For more information, see\n [Authenticate for using REST](/docs/authentication/rest)\n in the Google Cloud authentication documentation.\n\nCreate an SSH key pair\n----------------------\n\nIf you connect to VMs using the Google Cloud console or the\nGoogle Cloud CLI, Compute Engine creates SSH keys on your behalf. For\nmore information on how Compute Engine configures and stores keys, see\n[About SSH connections](/compute/docs/instances/ssh).\n\nIf you connect to VMs using third party tools or OpenSSH, you need to\nadd a key to your VM before you can connect. If you don't have an SSH key,\nyou must create one. VMs accept the key formats listed in the `sshd_config`\nfile. \n\n### Linux and macOS\n\nOn Linux and macOS workstations, use the\n[`ssh-keygen` utility](https://man.openbsd.org/ssh-keygen)\nto create a new SSH key pair. The following example creates an RSA key pair.\n\nOpen a terminal and use the `ssh-keygen` command with the `-C` flag to\ncreate a new SSH key pair. \n\n```\nssh-keygen -t rsa -f ~/.ssh/KEY_FILENAME -C USERNAME\n```\n\nReplace the following:\n\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eKEY_FILENAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name for your SSH key file.\n\n For example, a filename of `my-ssh-key` generates a private key file named\n `my-ssh-key` and a public key file named `my-ssh-key.pub`.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eUSERNAME\u003c/var\u003e: your username on the VM. For example,\n `cloudysanfrancisco`, or `cloudysanfrancisco_gmail_com`.\n\n For Linux VMs, the \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eUSERNAME\u003c/var\u003e can't be `root`,\n unless you configure your VM to allow root login. For more information,\n see [Connect to VMs as the root user](/compute/docs/connect/root-ssh).\n\n For Windows VMs that use Active Directory (AD), the username must be\n prepended with the AD domain, in the format of\n \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eDOMAIN\u003c/var\u003e`\\`. For example, the user\n `cloudysanfrancisco` within the `ad.example.com` AD has a\n \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eUSERNAME\u003c/var\u003e of `example\\cloudysanfrancisco`.\n\n`ssh-keygen` saves your private key file to\n`~/.ssh/`\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eKEY_FILENAME\u003c/var\u003e and your public key file to\n`~/.ssh/`\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eKEY_FILENAME\u003c/var\u003e`.pub`.\n\nA public key for the user `cloudysanfrancisco` looks similar to the\nfollowing: \n\n```\nssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDAu5kKQCPF... cloudysanfrancisco\n```\n\n### Windows 10 or later\n\nOn workstations with Windows version 10 or later, use the\n[`ssh-keygen` utility](https://man.openbsd.org/ssh-keygen)\nto create a new SSH key pair. The following example creates an RSA key pair.\n\nOpen Command Prompt and use the `ssh-keygen` command with the `-C` flag to\ncreate a new SSH key pair. \n\n```\nssh-keygen -t rsa -f C:\\Users\\WINDOWS_USER\\.ssh\\KEY_FILENAME -C USERNAME\n```\n\nReplace the following:\n\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eWINDOWS_USER\u003c/var\u003e: your username on the Windows\n machine.\n\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eKEY_FILENAME\u003c/var\u003e: the name for your SSH key file.\n\n For example, a filename of `my-ssh-key` generates a private key file named\n `my-ssh-key` and a public key file named `my-ssh-key.pub`.\n- \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eUSERNAME\u003c/var\u003e: your username on the VM. For example,\n `cloudysanfrancisco`, or `cloudysanfrancisco_gmail_com`.\n\n For Linux VMs, the \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eUSERNAME\u003c/var\u003e can't be `root`,\n unless you configure your VM to allow root login. For more information,\n see [Connect to VMs as the root user](/compute/docs/connect/root-ssh).\n\n For Windows VMs that use Active Directory (AD), the username must be\n prepended with the AD domain, in the format of\n \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eDOMAIN\u003c/var\u003e`\\`. For example, the user\n `cloudysanfrancisco` within the `ad.example.com` AD has a\n \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eUSERNAME\u003c/var\u003e of `example\\cloudysanfrancisco`.\n\n`ssh-keygen` saves your private key file to\n`C:\\Users\\`\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eWINDOWS_USER\u003c/var\u003e`\\.ssh\\`\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eKEY_FILENAME\u003c/var\u003e\nand your public key file to\n`C:\\Users\\`\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eWINDOWS_USER\u003c/var\u003e`\\.ssh\\`\u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eKEY_FILENAME\u003c/var\u003e`.pub`.\n\nA public key for the user `cloudysanfrancisco` looks similar to the\nfollowing: \n\n```\nssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDAu5kKQCPF... cloudysanfrancisco\n```\n\n### Windows 8 or earlier\n\nOn workstations with Windows version 8 or earlier, use the PuTTYgen tool to\ncreate a new SSH key pair. The following example creates an RSA key pair.\n\n1. [Download `puttygen.exe`](http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/%7Esgtatham/putty/download.html)\n if you haven't already.\n\n2. Open PuTTYgen.\n\n3. Under **Parameters** specify the following:\n\n - **Type of key to generate** : `RSA`\n - **Number of bits in a generated key** : `2048` or more\n4. Click **Generate** and follow the on-screen instructions.\n\n The tool displays the public key value.\n5. In the **Key comment** section, replace the pre-populated text with your\n username. For example, `cloudysanfrancisco`, or\n `cloudysanfrancisco_gmail_com`.\n\n For Linux VMs, the **Key comment** can't be `root`, unless you configure\n your VM to allow root login. For more information,\n see [Connect to VMs as the root user](/compute/docs/connect/root-ssh).\n\n For Windows VMs that use Active Directory (AD), the **Key comment** must\n be prepended with the AD domain, in the format of\n \u003cvar translate=\"no\"\u003eDOMAIN\u003c/var\u003e`\\`. For example, the user\n `cloudysanfrancisco` within the `ad.example.com` AD has a **Key comment**\n of `example\\cloudysanfrancisco`.\n6. Optional: enter a **Key passphrase** to password-protect your key.\n\n7. Click **Save private key** to choose a location to save the private key\n to.\n\n PuTTYgen writes the private key to a file with a `.ppk` extension.\n8. Click **Save public key** to choose a location to save your public key\n to. Keep the PuTTYgen window open.\n\n9. Copy the text from the **Public key for pasting into OpenSSH\n authorized_keys file** field.\n\n10. Open the public key file. The public key has a format similar to the\n following:\n\n ```\n ---- BEGIN SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ----\n Comment: \"USERNAME\"\n KEY_VALUE\n ---- END SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ----\n ```\n11. Replace the entire contents of the public key file with the value you\n copied from the **Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys\n file** field, so that your public key file matches the following format:\n\n ```\n KEY_VALUE USERNAME\n ```\n\nA public key for the user `cloudysanfrancisco` looks similar to the\nfollowing: \n\n```\nssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQDAu5kKQCPF... cloudysanfrancisco\n```\n\nWhat's next?\n------------\n\n- Learn how to [Add SSH keys to VMs](/compute/docs/connect/add-ssh-keys)\n- Learn [About SSH connections](/compute/docs/instances/ssh) work on Compute Engine"]]
