# Creating a  customized SSH key on Linux Mint 21 vanessa: step-by-step

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## **SSH**

SSH, which stands for Secure Shell, is a cryptographic network protocol used for secure communication over an unsecured network. It is commonly used to access and manage remote systems securely.

SSH provides a secure channel over an insecure network by using strong encryption to protect the communication between a client and a server, preventing eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other attacks.

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## SSH key

An SSH key is a pair of cryptographic keys used for secure communication between a client and a server using the SSH (Secure Shell) protocol. The two components of an SSH key pair are the private key and the public key.

Using SSH keys for authentication is considered more secure than traditional password-based authentication. The private key acts as a form of digital signature, and even if someone gains access to the public key, they cannot easily derive the corresponding private key.

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### **Let's get down to business**

shall we?

![The-office GIFs - Get the best GIF on GIPHY](https://media1.giphy.com/media/BpGWitbFZflfSUYuZ9/giphy.gif align="left")

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## Solution

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## **Check your OS**

This step is just to make sure you have **Linux Mint** or a **Ubuntu-**based Linux distribution.

```
cat /etc/os-release
lsb_release -a
uname -a
hostnamectl
```

Output

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1696187393881/b9d11c02-f4db-4f41-bce5-fd13d690c4c1.png?auto=compress,format&format=webp align="left")

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### List all SSH keys

```ruby
ls ~/.ssh/
```

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### Generate the SSH key

```plaintext
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "Pro Bug Hunter Mint SSH Key" -f ~/.ssh/pbh_mint_ssh_key
```

Output

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1700274813575/4cc1ab4b-13ed-499b-8d3a-03f3bffa2cf8.png align="center")

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### **Brief explanation**

* `-t ed25519`: The `-t` flag stands for type. It specifies the type of key to create, in this case, Ed25519.
    
* `-C "`Pro Bug Hunter Mint SSH Key`"`: `-C` stands for comment. It adds a comment to the key. Make sure to include the comment in double quotes.
    
* `-f ~/.ssh/ebh_fedora_ssh_key`: `-f` stands for filename. It specifies the filename of the key.  
    

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## Enter your passphrase

Leave empty if you prefer.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1700274813575/4cc1ab4b-13ed-499b-8d3a-03f3bffa2cf8.png align="center")

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## Visualize your key

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1700274947145/6eb6e33a-bc9a-4249-b18c-2d4bfe49f44c.png align="center")

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## List your keys

```plaintext
ls ~/.ssh/
```

Output

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1700275004317/60296fde-0cbc-4cca-a5e9-d15527d3008f.png align="center")

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## Done

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## Celebrate

Well-done. You did a great job!

![image.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1670125312642/Mk2RfkJIJ.png?auto=compress,format&format=webp align="left")

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## **Let's become friends**

* [**Github**](https://github.com/elitebughunter)
    
* [**LinkedIn**](https://linkedin.com/in/alexandrecalacaofficial)
    
* [**Hashnode**](https://hashnode.com/onboard?next=/@alexandrecalaca)
    
* [**Youtube**](https://www.youtube.com/@alexandrecalacaofficial)
    

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## Final thoughts

Thank you for reading this article.

If you have any questions, thoughts, suggestions, or corrections, please share them with us.

We appreciate your feedback and look forward to hearing from you.

Feel free to suggest topics for future blog articles. Until next time!

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