How to setup SSH private and public keys

• 1)
  % ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 Generating public/private rsa key pair.
  Enter file in which to save the key (~/.ssh/id_dsa): (just press Enter) 
  Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): (enter a passphrase and then press Enter or if you don't want want one just press Enter) 
  Enter same passphrase again: (repeat last action) 
  Your identification has been saved in ~/.ssh/id_rsa
  Your public key has been saved in ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
  The key fingerprint is:
  A long string appears here
  %
• 2)
  Paste the content of the  ~/.ssh/id_dsa.pub file that just got generated on your local host into the file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the remote host and save.
• 3)
  Set proper permissions on your local host keys and .ssh directory:
  chmod 700 ~/.ssh
  chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
  chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
  set proper permissions on your remote host authorized_keys and .ssh directory
  chmod 700 ~/.ssh
  chmod 644 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
  

Removing passphrase from a SSH key

If you have a SSH key and are tired of typing it over and over, there is an easy way to remove it.

Open a *nix terminal and type :

bash-3.2$ ssh-keygen -p

Enter file in which the key is (/home/myuser/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter old passphrase:
Key has comment '/home/myuser/.ssh/id_rsa'
Enter new passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved with the new passphrase.