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Overview

The “SSH Keys” page stores the public keys you use to log in to your servers. A saved key does nothing on its own. It is added to a server only when you pick it while ordering a new server or reinstalling an existing one. Open the Ascienth console at https://console.advinservers.com and click “SSH Keys” under “Setup” in the left sidebar. Keys are saved in the team you are working in. Each team has its own list, so switch to the right team before you add a key.
We only store your public key. Never paste a private key into the console. A private key is rejected.

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Supported Keys

Paste the contents of your .pub file, for example ssh-ed25519 AAAA... you@laptop. We accept: The console also tidies up common copy-and-paste problems for you:
  • A key that was split across several lines is joined back into one line.
  • A key pasted without its type at the start has the type added back.
  • A public key in PEM format (BEGIN PUBLIC KEY) or exported from PuTTY is converted to the one-line OpenSSH format.
If the key still cannot be read, you will see: That does not look like an SSH public key. Paste the contents of a .pub file, for example "ssh-ed25519 AAAA… you@laptop".

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Adding a Key

1

Open the form

On the “SSH Keys” page, click Add SSH Key.
2

Fill in the key

  • Name: a label for the key, up to 64 characters. Each name can only be used once in your account.
  • Public key: the full public key, up to 4096 characters.
  • Default: tick this to have the key selected for you on the order and reinstall forms. You can mark more than one key as default.
3

Save

Click Create. The key appears in the list with its type and its SHA256: fingerprint, which you can compare against ssh-keygen -lf <keyfile> on your computer.
You can also add a key straight from the order or reinstall form with Create SSH Key. The new key is selected for you.

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Editing a Key

Click the menu at the end of the key’s row and choose Edit. You can change the name, replace the key itself, and turn Default on or off. Click Save when you are done.
Editing a key does not change servers that already have it. They keep the old key until you reinstall them. To rotate a key on a running server, update ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server yourself.

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Deleting a Key

Click the menu at the end of the key’s row and choose Delete. To confirm, type the key’s name and click Delete.
Deleting a key only removes it from the console. Servers that already have the key still accept it. To revoke access, remove the key from ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on each server, or reinstall the server.

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Where Keys Are Used

Saved keys appear as tiles in the “SSH Keys” section of two forms:
  • Ordering a server, on the “Order a Server” page. Keys marked Default are selected for you.
  • Reinstalling a server, on the server’s “Reinstall” tab. Keys marked Default are selected for you. If you have no default keys, all of your keys are selected. See Server Reinstallation.
Click a tile to select or clear it. You can add up to 25 keys to one server. When a server is built with at least one SSH key, password login over SSH may be turned off on the new server, so sign in with your key. Your root password still works on the server’s console.
Windows servers do not use SSH keys. The “SSH Keys” section is hidden when you pick a Windows operating system. See Windows.

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Team Permissions

The team owner can always manage keys. Members need these permissions in their role: If the team owner has more than one team, they can also choose Move to team from a key’s menu to move it to another of their teams. See Team Members and Roles.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Saved keys are only added when a server is ordered or reinstalled. For a server that is already running, add the key to ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the server yourself.
Yes, as long as each copy has a different name. This can help if you want one entry per machine the key belongs to.
RSA keys shorter than 1024 bits are refused because the server cannot use them. Generate a new key, for example with ssh-keygen -t ed25519.

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Using the API

You can manage keys with an API key that has the View SSH keys, Manage SSH keys or Delete SSH keys permission for its team.
See the API introduction for how to create a key and for the full list of endpoints.