Creating an SSH Key on Windows

The steps for generating an SSH keypair on Windows will be different depending on whether you are using a modern Windows installation, such as Windows 11, or an older version of Windows.

Modern Windows Systems

The easiest way to create an SSH key on Windows is with the built-in ssh-keygen utility that comes with Windows 10/11 as part of OpenSSH. Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run this command.

ssh-keygen

You'll be prompted for a filename, which tells ssh-keygen where to store your generated public and private keys and determines the first part of the file names. If you accept the default, your private key will be C:\Users\<YourName>\.ssh\id_rsa and your public key will be C:\Users\<YourName>\.ssh\id_rsa.pub.

ssh-keygen also prompts you for a passphrase, which is not the same as your account password. The SSH key passphrase is optional. If you supply a passphrase, you will need to enter the passphrase every time you authenticate using your key.

Upload your public key to your account, and add your private key to your SFTP client. Never give your private key to anyone.

Older Windows Systems

If you're using an older version of Windows (such as Windows 7 or early Windows 10) that doesn't have OpenSSH built-in, the easiest method to generate SSH keys is with PuTTYgen, part of the PuTTY suite.

1. Download PuTTYgen from the PuTTY site. You can download either the full Windows Installer, which includes PuTTYgen, or just the standalone puttygen.exe.

2. Run puttygen.exe.

3. Select RSA for the key type. 4096 bits is recommended.

4. Click to generate the keypair.

5. Move your mouse to generate randomness.

6. Optionally add a comment to the key. The comment does not impact how the key works.

7. Optionally add a passphrase. If you supply a passphrase, you will need to enter it every time you authenticate using your key.

8. Copy the contents of the "Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file" box. Paste those contents into a text file. This is the public key you will upload to ExaVault.

9. Save your private key using the Save private key button.

Upload the key from step 8 to your account, and add your private key to your SFTP client. Never give your private key to anyone.