Why you need an SSH key

The trust that other people put in your Launchpad identity is no more important than when they use code that you've uploaded to Launchpad.

An SSH key secures the connection between your computer and Launchpad while you're pushing Bazaar branches up to Launchpad.

To push code branches to Launchpad, you first need to generate your SSH key. The key is made up of two parts: a private key that stays on your computer and a public key that you register with Launchpad. As you might expect, you shouldn't share the private key with anyone.

Creating the key

How you create your SSH key pair depends on which operating system you use.

If the instructions for your operating system are not here, [:Feedback:get in touch to request them] or, if you know what to do, add them to this page.

Ubuntu

Step 1: Install OpenSSH by opening your terminal and typing:

sudo apt-get install openssh-client

Step 2: Once OpenSSH is installed, stay in the terminal and type:

ssh-keygen -t rsa

Step 3: When prompted, press Enter to accept the default file name for your key.

Step 4: Next, enter then confirm a password to protect your SSH key.

Now you need to upload the public portion of your SSH key to Launchpad.

Registering the key with Launchpad

Step 1: Open your public key in a text editor and copy its contents to your clipboard. The public key file has the extension .pub. For example: id_rsa.pub

Step 2: Visit https://edge.launchpad.net/people/+me/+editsshkeys

Step 3: Paste your public key into the text box and then click the Import public key button to continue.