# Generating your own SSH key #### Windows To generate an SSH key on Windows you will need to download PuttyGen from [https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html](https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html) Once you have PuttyGen downloaded, open it and you should see a screen such as the one below.[![puttygen_2023-04-12_21-50-38.png](https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/uploads/images/gallery/2023-04/scaled-1680-/8vn9hQxPm06sPjf0-puttygen-2023-04-12-21-50-38.png)](https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/uploads/images/gallery/2023-04/8vn9hQxPm06sPjf0-puttygen-2023-04-12-21-50-38.png) We would recommend changing the Parameters at the bottom so that `EdDSA` is selected, this will allow you to generate a key quickly and provide a shorter yet very secure key. Once you have selected EdDSA click on the generate button. [![puttygen_2023-03-23_02-18-27.png](https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/uploads/images/gallery/2023-03/scaled-1680-/5AuIGa9hObsE1dee-puttygen-2023-03-23-02-18-27.png)](https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/uploads/images/gallery/2023-03/5AuIGa9hObsE1dee-puttygen-2023-03-23-02-18-27.png) You will now need to move your mouse around in the box below the progress bar to generate your key. [![puttygen_2023-03-23_02-18-40.png](https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/uploads/images/gallery/2023-03/scaled-1680-/dkOAqLrmVWUr35iw-puttygen-2023-03-23-02-18-40.png)](https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/uploads/images/gallery/2023-03/dkOAqLrmVWUr35iw-puttygen-2023-03-23-02-18-40.png) Once the key has been generated and the progress bar disappears, click on the Save public key and the Save private key and save them to a safe location on your computer, you can also set a passphrase/password on the keys if you desire. [![puttygen_2023-03-23_02-19-40.png](https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/uploads/images/gallery/2023-03/scaled-1680-/JH4BmMbxoLYOBTzk-puttygen-2023-03-23-02-19-40.png)](https://www.creeperhost.net/wiki/uploads/images/gallery/2023-03/JH4BmMbxoLYOBTzk-puttygen-2023-03-23-02-19-40.png) #### macOS/Linux - Open the terminal app on your operating system - macOS - Open Launchpad and type Terminal in the search bar at the top - Linux - How you open the terminal varies depending on your flavour of Linux, it also may be named console or Konsole - Once the terminal is open, type `ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f myCreeperHostSSHKey` and press enter. - You may be asked about entering a passphrase/password, you don't need to set a passphrase but it does increase the security of your key - You will now have generated a key in your user directory and will need to upload the public key to your server - To get your public key, type the following in the terminal `cat myCreeperHostSSHKey.pub` - You should now see the public key be printed in the terminal, copy this, then paste it into the box on the panel. - NEVER share your private key with anyone, as this will allow them to access your server.