This article provides step-by-step instructions for generating an SSH key pair on Windows OS, uploading the public key to the console, creating an instance with that key, and accessing the instance.

Step 1: Open PowerShell

  1. Click on the Start menu.

  2. Type PowerShell, right-click on it, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Generate SSH Key Pair

Run the following command in PowerShell to create an SSH key pair:

ssh-keygen


  • When prompted to enter a file in which to save the key, you can press Enter to accept the default location (C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.ssh\).

  • You may also set a passphrase for added security or leave it empty.

Step 3: Locate the Generated Keys 

By default, your keys will be saved in the 'C:\Users\<YourUsername>\.ssh\' directory. You should see two files:

  • id_ed25519 (your private key)

  • id_ed25519.pub (your public key)

Step 4: Upload Public Key to Console

To add a new SSH key, please follow these steps:

  1. Open the console dashboard and click on 'Keys & Tokens' in the left sidebar.

  2. In the 'SSH Keys' section, click on the 'Add new key' button located in the top-right corner of that section.

  3. A new popup window will appear; here, you can enter your SSH Public Key, assign it a name, and then click on the 'Save' button to complete the process.

  • For more information on 'How to Upload SSH Public Keys' click here 

Step 5: Create an Instance Using the Public Key

Please visit the given link for more information on how to create an instance: 

How to Create an Instance 

Step 6: Access the Instance

To access the created instance using your private key, open a terminal on your local system and use the following command:

ssh ubuntu@<public_ip_address>


  • Replace <public_ip_address> with the public IP address of your instance.

If everything is set up correctly, you should now have access to your instance.

To Generate SSH Keys and Access Instance on Linux/macOS, Click here.