Benjamin Diedrichsen
94 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
94 lines
2.7 KiB
Markdown
# ssh-keygen
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**Generate SSH key for a given user**
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## Purpose
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This cube generates a new SSH key pair for a specified user, which can be used for secure, passwordless authentication to remote servers and services like GitHub, GitLab, or other SSH-accessible systems.
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## What are SSH Keys?
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SSH keys provide a more secure and convenient way to authenticate compared to passwords:
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- **Public key**: Shared with servers/services you want to access (like GitHub)
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- **Private key**: Kept secret on your local machine, never shared
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- **Passphrase-free**: This cube generates keys without a passphrase for automation
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- **Algorithm support**: RSA (traditional) or Ed25519 (modern, recommended)
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## What This Cube Does
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1. Creates the `.ssh` directory with proper permissions (700)
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2. Generates an SSH key pair using the specified algorithm
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3. Saves the keys as `id_{SUFFIX}` and `id_{SUFFIX}.pub`
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4. Logs the public key to the console for easy copying
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## Configuration
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### Parameters
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- **SUFFIX** (string, default: `'ed25519'`)
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- Suffix for keyname (e.g., `github` → `id_github.pub`)
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- Helps identify the purpose of the key
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- **EMAIL** (string, default: `'undefined@bitsquare.dev'`)
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- Email address to associate with the SSH key
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- Used as a comment in the public key
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- **ALGORITHM** (enum: `'rsa'` | `'ed25519'`, default: `'ed25519'`)
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- SSH key algorithm type
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- **Ed25519**: Modern, faster, more secure (recommended)
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- **RSA**: Traditional, widely supported
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- **USER** (string, default: `'vagrant'`)
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- Username for which to generate the SSH key
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- Inherited from `user-add` dependency
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## Dependencies
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- **user-add** - Creates the user account first
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## Post-Installation
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After the key is generated:
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1. The public key will be logged to the console
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2. Copy the public key and add it to the target service:
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- **GitHub**: Settings → SSH and GPG keys → New SSH key
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- **GitLab**: Preferences → SSH Keys
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- **Remote server**: Add to `~/.ssh/authorized_keys`
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3. SSH config is automatically set up for the key
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## Key Locations
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- Private key: `/home/{USER}/.ssh/id_{SUFFIX}`
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- Public key: `/home/{USER}/.ssh/id_{SUFFIX}.pub`
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## Algorithm Comparison
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**Ed25519** (Recommended):
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- Smaller keys (256-bit)
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- Faster generation and verification
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- More secure against certain attacks
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- Not supported on very old systems
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**RSA**:
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- Larger keys (2048-4096 bit)
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- Universally supported
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- Slower than Ed25519
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- Well-tested and trusted
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## Example Usage
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Generate a key for GitHub access:
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```javascript
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exec('ssh-keygen', {
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SUFFIX: 'github',
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EMAIL: 'myemail@example.com',
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ALGORITHM: 'ed25519',
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USER: 'myuser'
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})
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```
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This creates `id_github` and `id_github.pub` in `/home/myuser/.ssh/`.
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