I was set up to get into a website I maintain via SSH/private key using Cyberduck. I go back to use it again and it wants a password.
I absolutely, positively did not use a passphrase when I set it up.
No matter what I do Cyberduck wants a password to log in to the site.
I don't have a good understanding of this key crap . . . wondering if anyone's available to walk me through it.
Thanks . . .

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]

A key is generated by the webserver. From my understanding of it, the key's are created in order for your client to be 'sure' that it's talking to the right server...i.e. someone in the middle doesn't try to intercept your packets. Thus, each time you log back into the server, the keys will match and therefore 'insure' the integrity of the site that you've just SSH'd into.

Again, from my understanding, you must have setup a login username and password in order to SSH into a server. Does cyberduck have a default password that it uses? Check your Keychain Access in your Utilities folder. See if you have a password with cyberduck or the SSH server that you logged into.

GL.

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All I ever really needed to know, I learned from watching Star Trek.

Your public key needs to be on the server in

~/.ssh/authorized_keys2

In your home directory, your private key should be found at

~/.ssh/id_rsa

and your public key at id_rsa.pub

If your public key is not in the server's authorized_keys2 file, you should try opening it in a text editor, copying and pasting the text in the id_rsa.pub file at the end of it (if it is not empty), and saving it back to the server in the same place.

Alternatively, you could just use SFTP to transfer files with Cyberduck.
It uses the same secure protocol as public private key auth, it just means you need to save your password in the Apple Keychain.
PKA is very geeky, so unless you're really comfortable with command lines and stuff, you're probably better off ignoring it.

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I am not Ryan Seacrest, and I do not approve this message.

Thanks, got it figured out. I guess I didn't do a good job describing the problem (?) Cyberduck seems to be a bit buggy, losing and jumbling passwordsand preferences-- I had to find the magic info to set it up all over again and it works, at least for this session.
-h'

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New forum user map 8/2015: [www.zeemaps.com]