> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://doc.cloudbit.ch/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://doc.cloudbit.ch/products/compute/keypairs.md).

# Keypairs

Using Keypairs (SSH keys) allows you to secure SSH access to instances (VMs). You can generate a key pair on a client from which you will connect to instances via SSH. The private key will be stored on the client, and the public key will need to be uploaded and specified during instance creation. It will be injected into the instance by cloud-init and used for OpenSSH authentication.

## Quickstart

1. Start by clicking the **Wizard** button in the [Control Panel](https://my.cloudbit.ch). Click **Create Key Pair.**<br>
2. Name your Keypair.<br>
3. Under **Keypair**, paste your public key in the empty field or upload a file by clicking on "or select file". The Keypair should have the following format:\
   \
   `ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQClkRUh/9D7QmZSPvWqJc1NBqs07t77s8lAwrVzsZMgP/vFZJtXQCRJ2NTxQOoJk7q1QEPqJtidIIz/oau2QkvOWvWB/gorbI2iCDDkK1j9XBsnp+DVmu126lAcGUb/V0U/5J3PCHYE2K4gKNoiQShIQbp/7JTsNCxwLaz2oZ5/brG5X+it6triEhRG/lqh6QiVvGWiQPaJTp6mBSQQF6AAaEMXLXeQkBiVW+UrV6bSC+tV5A5aBMwNP8L90TXl/sBoqlpuDMnIXOPwPt8UFSos/AR7hMl1JueRohuG26PNwwZ2NDCH+Uk3ER4hXZmIWEup99QJA3pmFGhJADIFy/Qh`<br>
4. Click on **Next**. In the summary window, click on **Finish** to complete the process. The new Keypair can now be used when creating new instances.

## Adding Keypairs to an existing instance

For security reasons, you can’t add or modify the Keypairs (SSH keys) on your instance using the control panel after you create it, but you have several options to add and modify them via the command line. If you currently have SSH access to the instance, you can upload keys:

* **From your local computer, using `ssh-copy-id`**, which is included in many Linux distribution's OpenSSH packages.<br>
* **From your local computer by piping the contents of the public key** into the `~/.ssh/authorized_keys` file. This is a good choice if you don’t have `ssh-copy-id`.<br>
* **By SSHing to your instance and adding the public key manually**, which is necessary if you do not have password-based SSH access.

## Regional Availability

Keypairs are available in all regions.

## Limitations

Keypairs are only supported for Linux and Unix-based instances.


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