Create an SSH key and add it to your account

SFTP logins to your hosting account use an SSH key instead of a password. A key comes as a pair:

• the private key stays on your computer, and only there; treat it like a password
• the public key (a single line, the file ending in .pub) is what you give us

Creating a key

Windows 10 and 11, macOS, Linux: open a terminal (on Windows: PowerShell) and run

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@yourcomputer"

Press Enter to accept the file name, and choose a passphrase to protect the key. It creates two files in the .ssh folder of your user folder: id_ed25519 (private) and id_ed25519.pub (public).

PuTTY / WinSCP users: open PuTTYgen, choose EdDSA (Ed25519), Generate, set a passphrase, Save private key (.ppk). The public key is the text in the box at the top, Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file.

Adding it to your account

1. In the Control Panel, open SFTP and SSH keys.
2. Under Add a public key, paste the public key: one line starting with ssh-ed25519, ecdsa-sha2-... or ssh-rsa.
3. Add key. Our staff add it to your account, usually within a working day; the request shows under Requests.

Ed25519, ECDSA and RSA keys of at least 2048 bits are accepted. A private key is always refused, to protect you.

Removing a key

Under SFTP and SSH keys, Remove next to the key. Do this for a key that was on a lost or replaced computer. Each key's fingerprint helps you tell them apart: ssh-keygen -lf id_ed25519.pub shows the fingerprint of yours.

Good to know

• Use one key per computer: losing one then only means removing that one.
• We never ask for your private key. Do not send it to anyone, including us.