In public-key authentication, the server authenticates the user by the presence of the user's public key in the user's $HOME/.ssh2 directory on the server. The public key ties the user ID to the user's private key stored on the client.

Keys can be generated using the ssh-keygen-g3 tool (ssh-keygen-g3(1)), and they can be distributed to the remote hosts using the ssh-keydist-g3 tool (ssh-keydist-g3(1)).

For more information and examples on public-key authentication, see User Authentication with Public Keys in a File.