Step 2: Create an SSH key

This article is part of the Admin Setup (Step-by-Step) guide.

SSH is a means to securely access remote servers, such as the one you'll be setting up on DigitalOcean to host your wallets and admin.

Like cryptocurrency wallets, SSH uses cryptographic public and private keypairs.

Your public SSH key is what you'll provide DigitalOcean in order to authorise access to your server. Your private key remains on your computer and is required to log into your server.

Create a SSH keypair by following the directions below based on your computer's operating system.

Creating an SSH key

Linux or Mac OS

Follow the directions found here: How to Create SSH Keys with OpenSSH on Linux or macOS

Windows

If using Windows, download and run the 64-bit MSI installer from the PuTTY website.

Then follow the directions here: How to Create SSH Keys with PuTTY on Windows

Your public key

Linux or Mac OS

After generating an SSH keypair, run the following command in your terminal to display your public key:

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Copy the output to a text file, as we'll use it when creating a DigitalOcean droplet in the next steps.

Windows

After you created your SSH keypair, PuTTYgen displays your public key in the box labeled, 'Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file'.

Copy the output to a text file, as we'll use it when creating a DigitalOcean droplet in the next steps.

Continue to the next step ⮕