ssh-keygen-g3 — authentication key pair generator
ssh-keygen-g3 (ssh-keygen-g3.exe on Windows) is a tool that generates and manages authentication keys for Secure Shell. Each user wishing to use a Secure Shell client with public-key authentication can run this tool to create authentication keys. Additionally, the system administrator can use this to generate host keys for the Secure Shell server.
By default, if no path for the key files is specified, the key
pair is generated under the user's home directory
($HOME/.ssh2
on Unix, "%USERPROFILE%\Application
Data\SSH\UserKeys
" on Windows). If no filename is specified, the
key pair is likewise stored under the user's home directory with such
filenames as id_dsa_1024_a
and
id_dsa_1024_a.pub
.
The following options are available:
-1
file
Converts a key file from the SSH1 format to the SSH2 format.
-b
bits
Specifies the length of the generated key in bits (default:
2048
).
-B
num
Specifies the number base for displaying key information (default:
10
).
-c
comment
Specifies a comment string for the generated key.
-D
file
Derives the public key from the private key
file
.
-e
file
Edits the specified key. Makes ssh-keygen-g3 interactive. You can change the key's passphrase or comment.
-F
file
Dumps the fingerprint of the given public key. By default, the
fingerprint is given in the SSH Babble format, which makes the
fingerprint look like a string of "real" words (making it easier to
pronounce). The format can be changed with the
--fingerprint-type
option.
-H, --hostkey
Stores the generated key pair in the default host key directory
(/etc/ssh2
on Unix, "C:\Program Files\SSH Communications Security\SSH Tectia\SSH Tectia Server
" on
Windows). Specify the -P
option to store the private key
with an empty passphrase.
-i
file
Loads and displays information on the key file
.
-p
passphrase
Specifies the passphrase for the generated key.
-P
Specifies that the generated key will be saved with an empty passphrase.
-q
Hides the progress indicator during key generation.
-r
file
Adds entropy from file
to the random pool. If file
contains 'relatively random' data (i.e. data unpredictable by a
potential attacker), the randomness of the pool is increased. Good
randomness is essential for the security of the generated keys.
-t
dsa
| rsa
Selects the type of the key. Valid options are dsa
(default) and rsa
.
-x
file
Converts a private key from the X.509 format to the SSH2 format.
-k
file
Converts a PKCS #12 file to an SSH2-format certificate and private key.
-7
file
Extracts certificates from a PKCS #7 file.
--fingerprint-type
[
=babble
| babble-upper
| pgp-2
| pgp-5
| hex
| hex-upper
]
Specifies the output format of the fingerprint. If this option is
given, the -F
option and the key filename must precede
it. The default format is babble
.
See the section called “Examples” for examples of using this option.
--fips-mode
Generates the key using the FIPS mode for the cryptographic library. In the FIPS mode, only DSA keys of 1024 bits and RSA keys of at least 512 bits can be generated, and the keys must have non-empty passphrases. By default (if this option is not given), the key is generated using the standard mode for the cryptographic library.
--fips-crypto-dll-path
PATH
Specifies the location of the FIPS cryptographic DLL.
--import-public-key
infile
outfile
Attempts to import a public key from
infile
and store it to
outfile
in SSH2 native format.
--import-private-key
infile
outfile
Attempts to import an unencrypted private key from
infile
and store it to
outfile
in SSH2 native private key
format.
--import-ssh1-authorized-keys
infile
outfile
Imports an SSH1-style authorized_keys file
infile
and generates an SSH2-style
authorization file outfile
, and stores the
keys from infile
to generated files into the
same directory with outfile
.
--overwrite
[
=yes
| no
]
Overwrite files with the same filenames. The default is to overwrite.
--set-hostkey-owner-and-dacl
file
On Windows, sets the correct owner and DACL (discretionary access
control list) for the host key file
. This option
is used internally when a host key is generated during SSH Tectia Server
installation.
-V
Displays version string and exits.
-h, --help
Displays a short summary of command-line options and exits.
Create a 1024-bit RSA key pair using the cryptographic library in the
FIPS mode and store the key pair in the default user key directory with
filenames newkey
and
newkey.pub
:
$ ssh-keygen-g3 --fips-mode -t rsa -b 1024 newkey
Convert an SSH1 key oldkey
to SSH2 format:
$ ssh-keygen-g3 -1 oldkey
Display the fingerprint of a server host public key in SSH babble (default) format:
$ ssh-keygen-g3 -F hostkey.pub Fingerprint for key: xeneh-fyvam-sotaf-gutuv-rahih-kipod-poten-byfam-hufeh-tydym-syxex
Display the fingerprint of a server host public key in hex format:
$ ssh-keygen-g3 -F hostkey.pub --fingerprint-type=hex Fingerprint for key: 25533b8c7734f6eb1556ea2ab4900d854d5d088c