Saving ssh key fails

Question

i just started a Git tutorial and I get to a deadend: I try to generate a rsa key part and it fails. I did this, in git bash:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "myemail@myemail.com"

And i got this:

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Users/Eva/.ssh/id_rsa):
enter passphrase:
enter same passphrase again:
open /c/Users/Eva/.ssh/id_rsa failed: no such file or directory.
Saving the key failed:/c/Users/Eva/.ssh/id_rsa.

I tried to save in a different folder and it went OK. but now i do the command ssh -T git@github.com and it gives me the error permisson denied (publickey).

score 50 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 23 '19 at 16:10

If you're using Windows, the unix-style default path of ssh-keygen is at fault.

In Line 2 it says Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Users/Eva/.ssh/id_rsa):. That full filename in the parantheses is the default, obviously Windows cannot access a file like that. If you type the Windows equivalent (c:\Users\Eva\.ssh\id_rsa), it should work.

Before running this, you also need to create the folder. You can do this by running mkdir c:\Users\Eva\.ssh, or by created the folder ".ssh." from File Explorer (note the second dot at the end, which will get removed automatically, and is required to create a folder that has a dot at the beginning).

c:\Users\Administrator\.ssh>ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "myemail@myemail.com"
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/Administrator/.ssh/id_rsa): C:\Users\Administrator\.ssh\id_rsa
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in C:\Users\Administrator\.ssh\id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in C:\Users\Administrator\.ssh\id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
... myemail@myemail.com
The key's randomart image is:...`

I know this is an old thread, but I thought the answer might help others.

Note that you must create the directory before running the command. To Create a windows directory starting with a . you have to put a . before it and it will automatically be removed ".ssh." creates ".ssh". — marsh, Apr 27 '17 at 14:28
That IS the answer. I've been suffering from the same problem and that i.e. entering the pathname the Windows way, solved the problem instantly. Thank you! — Terry, May 23 '19 at 13:02

score 18 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 22 '11 at 06:16

If you prefer to use a GUI to create the keys

Use Putty Gen to generate a key
Export the key as an open SSH key
As mentioned by @VonC create the .ssh directory and then you can drop the private and public keys in there
Or use a GUI program (like Tortoise Git) to use the SSH keys

For a walkthrough on putty gen for the above steps, please see http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_create_and_use_public_keys_with_ssh.html

score 13 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 01 '15 at 20:40

13

I had the same issue. I had to provide the full path using Windows conventions. At this step:

Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Users/Eva/.ssh/id_rsa):

Provide the following value:

c:\users\eva\.ssh\id_rsa

answered Apr 01 '15 at 20:40

Jared

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OSX too: instead of ~/.ssh/id_rsa I had to use /Users//.ssh/id_rsa – AVProgrammer Mar 17 '16 at 15:47
Yep, on macOS I needed to type in the whole path of the intended keyfile for the *second* SSH key I generated (the first one worked with just the file name). – Aditya M P Dec 11 '16 at 13:58
I had to provide the full path too on High Sierra. – BaDr Amer Mar 12 '18 at 08:35

score 13 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 15 '11 at 12:01

13

It looks like you are executing that command from a DOS session (see this thread), and that means you need to create the .ssh directory before said command.

Or you can execute it from the bash session (part of the msysgit distribution), and it should work.

answered Sep 15 '11 at 12:01

VonC

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In my case this was the correct answer, just forgot to create the directories specified in path – blissini May 06 '16 at 09:55

score 5 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 26 '13 at 03:29

5

You have to create the .ssh folder yourself for saving ssh keys.

By the way, I used this path style: C:/Users/you/.ssh/id_rsa

answered Dec 26 '13 at 03:29

whenov

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score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Jan 14 '17 at 16:22

I struggled with the same problem for a while just now (using Mac). Here is what I did and it finally worked:
(1) Confirm the .ssh directory exists:

#show all files including hidden
ls -a

(2) Accept all default values by just pressing enter at the prompt

Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/username/.ssh/id_rsa): 
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): 
Enter same passphrase again:

You should get a message :

Your identification has been saved in /Users/username/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /Users/username/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
BZA156:HVhsjsdhfdkjfdfhdX+BundfOytLezXvbx831/s youremail.@email.com
The key's randomart image is:XXXXX

PS If you are configuring git for rails, do the following (source):

git config --global color.ui true
git config --global user.name "yourusername"
git config --global user.email "youremail@email.com"
ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "youremail@email.com"

(then accept all defaults by pressing enter)

score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Jan 21 '15 at 14:12

In Windows I had to create the environment variable HOME pointing to my user profile first (C:\Users\<name>) or whatever directory you prefer.

Then start a new command line window, create a a .ssh directory in your user profile or choosen diretory using mkdir ".ssh" command.

After doing that I was able to use the ssh-keygen without any path problems.

score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jul 07 '14 at 05:41

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I was using bash on windows that came with git. The problem was I assumed the tilde (~) which I was using to denote my home path would expand properly. It does work when using cd, but to fix this error I had to just give it the absolute path.

answered Jul 07 '14 at 05:41

Despertar

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score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Aug 06 '18 at 09:54

Your method should work fine on a Mac, but on Windows, two additional steps are necessary.

Create a new folder in the desired location and name it ".ssh." (note the closing dot - this will vanish, but is required to create a folder beginning with ".")
When prompted, use the file path format C:/Users/NAME/.ssh/id_rsa (note no closing dot on .ssh).

Saving the id_rsa key in this location should solve the permission error.

score 1 · Answer 10 · answered May 19 '19 at 23:08

I faced the same problem. Solution on windows:

open start menu and type cmd
Right and choose run as administrator
Then type cd Users_YOURUSERNAME_\ Replace "YOURUSERNAME" with your windows account name
The type: mkdir .ssh

This will create a .ssh folder.

score 1 · Answer 11 · answered Dec 07 '19 at 21:51

For MacOS

Open terminal and make sure you have .ssh directory.

On your home(~) folder enter ls -hal and you will see all hidden directories and make sure you have .ssh directory, if not do mkdir .ssh

then enter this ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "myemail@myemail.com"

then you have: Generating public/private rsa key pair. Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/YOURUSERNAME/.ssh/id_rsa):

press Enter (you don't need to enter nothing if you agree with that path or you need to enter your path from root of volume)

then follow answer what is gonna ask press Enter.

Check it here https://help.github.com/en/enterprise/2.16/user/authenticating-to-github/generating-a-new-ssh-key-and-adding-it-to-the-ssh-agent

its not working Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): – Tippu Fisal Sheriff Apr 26 '23 at 17:11 — Tippu Fisal Sheriff, Apr 26 '23 at 17:11

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Jul 10 '20 at 05:30

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For windows use enter button 3 times

Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Users/Rupesh/.ssh/id_rsa): Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): Enter same passphrase again:

its work for me...

answered Jul 10 '20 at 05:30

Rupesh Shitole

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score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Sep 16 '22 at 08:36

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on Mac, you first have tocd ~/.ssh then you can do ssh-keygen

answered Sep 16 '22 at 08:36

dre_84w934

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Allan Freitas · Answer 14 · 2020-03-26T23:49:15.247

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On Windows 8.1 using CMDER, I created the ssh key with this file path /c/Users/youruser/.ssh/id_rsa_whatever, the problem was the : that I was using. With this path I didn't create the folder before running the command, there is no need to run mkdir because the command will create the folder automatically.

edited Mar 26 '20 at 23:49

answered Mar 09 '20 at 23:22

Allan Freitas

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score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Jun 08 '20 at 09:18

For Linux on terminal use:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "<comment>"

this generate new modeled key. Or can create as:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 2048 -C "any comment"

Then continue following terminal.. give any name to the file as asked Again follow it with empty passphrase..and continue

Then goto the /home/user/.ssh/id_ed25519 or /home/user/.ssh/id_rsa (is hidden file..look by doing ctrl+h to unhide hidden file) and copy it to gitlab => profile => setting => ssh => create new key there by pasting copied key and NOTE: public key always starts with ssh. Enjoy! Help:gitlab-Help

score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Nov 27 '21 at 05:19

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In my case just went to the .ssh directory with git-bash -

Users\User\.ssh

and then tried ssh-keygen command to generate the key and Voila, it worked!

answered Nov 27 '21 at 05:19

Bip Lob

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Saving ssh key fails

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