Skip to navigation
Tools

SSH Keys

SSH keys let you log in to your VMs securely without a password. Save a key once in a workspace, then select it when you deploy a VM in that workspace — the public key is added to the VM at first boot.

SSH keys belong to a workspace. A key saved in one workspace is not available in another; save it in each workspace where you deploy VMs.

Before you begin

  • A workspace in an active organization (Create an organization)
  • Write access to the workspace — members with read-only access can view keys but cannot add or delete them

Open SSH Keys

In the portal sidebar, click SSH Keys under Tools. The page lists the keys saved in the current workspace.

You have two ways to add a key:

OptionUse it when
Create Key PairYou don’t have a key yet. IBEE generates a new key pair and your browser downloads the private key.
Import KeyYou already have a key pair on your computer and want to add its public key.

Create a key pair

1

Start

On SSH Keys, click Create Key Pair.

2

Name the key

Enter a Key Pair Name (for example my-laptop-key) and, optionally, a Description. Names must be unique within the workspace.

3

Create and download

Click Create & Download. Your browser downloads the private key as a .pem file named after the key.

The private key is downloaded only once. IBEE stores only the public key and cannot show or re-send the private key. Keep the .pem file safe — if you lose it, create a new key pair.

Before using the downloaded key, restrict its permissions:

chmod 600 ~/Downloads/my-laptop-key.pem

Import an existing public key

If you don’t have a key pair yet and prefer to create one locally, generate it first:

# ed25519 (recommended)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your-email@example.com"
# or RSA
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your-email@example.com"

Your public key is at ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub (or ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub).

1

Start

On SSH Keys, click Import Key.

2

Name the key

Enter a Key Pair Name and, optionally, a Description.

3

Add the public key

Paste the key into Public Key, or click Choose public key file to upload it. The portal accepts a one-line OpenSSH public key (such as ssh-ed25519 …, ssh-rsa …, or ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 …) or a PEM file containing a public key. Files must be smaller than 64 KB.

4

Import

Click Import Key. The key appears in the list.

SSH keys list

ColumnDescription
NameKey name
Key TypeAlgorithm, for example ssh-ed25519 or ssh-rsa
FingerprintFingerprint for verifying the key
Created AtDate the key was added
ActionsView · Delete

Click View to open SSH Key Details, where you can copy the fingerprint and the full public key.

Delete a key

Click Delete in the Actions column, then Delete Key to confirm.

Deleting a key removes it from the workspace, so it can no longer be selected for new VMs. The portal warns that servers using the key will stop accepting it. To be certain access is revoked on a running VM, remove the key from the VM under Settings → Access, or delete it from ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the VM.

Use a key when deploying a VM

In the VM deploy form, select one or more saved keys in the SSH Keys section, or click Add Key to create or import one without leaving the form. The SSH Keys section is not shown for Windows images. See Create a VM.

To add or remove keys on a VM that is already running, open the VM and go to Settings → Access.

Connect to a VM

Find the VM’s IP address and login user under Overview → Connection Details, then connect with the matching private key:

# Key pair created in the portal
ssh -i ~/Downloads/my-laptop-key.pem <user>@<vm-ip>
# Imported key
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 <user>@<vm-ip>

Troubleshooting

“Private key files cannot be imported.” You pasted or uploaded the private key. Import the public key instead — the .pub file, or a PEM file that contains PUBLIC KEY.

“A key with this name already exists.” Key names must be unique in the workspace. Choose a different name.

I can’t see my key when deploying a VM. Keys belong to a workspace. Check that you are deploying in the same workspace where the key is saved, or import the key into this workspace.

Permission denied (publickey) when connecting

  • Check that you are using the private key that matches a key selected for the VM, with -i.
  • Check the login user shown under Overview → Connection Details.
  • If you used a downloaded .pem file, run chmod 600 on it.
  • Make sure the VM is running and its firewall group allows SSH (TCP 22) from your IP address.

The .pem file didn’t download or was lost. The private key can’t be downloaded again. Delete the key and create a new key pair, then add the new key to your VMs under Settings → Access.