SSH

In software development, managing automated access with minimal rights is one of the most important aspects. If done incorrectly, this often leads to news articles and/or lawsuits. This page describes how to set up SSH authentication, a safe way to manage access to code repositories and virtual machines.

During the workshop, this form of authentication is used to give access to protected resources, like the code repository.

Generating an SSH key

Typically, SSH keys are stored in the ~/.ssh folder. New keys can be generated using the ssh-keygen CLI tool:

ssh-keygen -t <ENCRYPTION> -f <NAME>

E.g. to generate a key for GitLab using the EdDSA algorithm as an encryption type:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f gitlab

Two files will be generated in the ~/.ssh folder, gitlab and gitlab.pub. The gitlab file contains the secret private key. The gitlab.pub file contains the public key, which can be used to grant access. In GitLab, this key can be added via the website under the account preferences.

Warning

Never share your private key with anyone!