Supported Key Formats

Security credentials called a key pair are frequently used for proving your identity when accessing a remote SSH service. This pair includes a public key and a private key. If your device requires a key when connecting over SSH, you will need to upload your private key to Mutexer.

Supported Formats

Mutexer supports both the traditional OpenSSH key format, and the modern OpenSSH key format.

The traditional OpenSSH key format refers to the traditional format used by the OpenSSH suite for storing cryptographic keys, including both private and public keys. It typically consists of a base64-encoded key data, sometimes with additional metadata.

On the other hand, the OpenSSH key new format, also known as the OpenSSH "new" private key format, was introduced to address certain limitations of the original format. This new format provides several improvements, including better support for modern cryptographic algorithms, enhanced security features, and improved compatibility with other software and platforms.

INFO

Supported OpenSSH keys should start with either:

• -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
• -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----

Unsupported Formats

The following key formats are not directly supported. If your key is in one of the following formats, you will need to convert it into one of the supported formats above.

• PEM format (.pem): PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) is a common format for storing cryptographic keys and certificates. Private keys in PEM format are often base64-encoded and encapsulated between "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----" and "-----END PRIVATE KEY-----" delimiters.
• PKCS#8 format (.pk8 or .p8): PKCS#8 (Public-Key Cryptography Standards #8) defines a standard syntax for storing private key information. It includes metadata such as the key type and algorithm, along with the actual key data.
• PuTTY Private Key (.ppk): PuTTY, a popular SSH client for Windows, uses its proprietary .ppk format to store private keys. These keys may include additional metadata specific to PuTTY configurations.
• SSH.com format (.ssh2): SSH.com, another SSH implementation, employs its own format for private keys, typically stored in files with the .ssh2 extension. These files contain encrypted key data and associated metadata.

Password Protected Private Keys

At this point Mutexer does not support private keys protected with passwords.

Converting PuTTY Private Keys to OpenSSH Format

Using PuTTYGen on Windows

1. Download and Install PuTTYgen:

   • If you haven't already, download and install PuTTYgen from the PuTTY website.

2. Open PuTTYgen:

   • Launch PuTTYgen from your computer's applications menu or by searching for it.

3. Load Your Putty Format Key:

   • Click on the "Load" button in PuTTYgen.
   • Navigate to the directory where your Putty format private key is located.
   • Select the key file and click "Open."

4. Convert the Key:

   • Once the key is loaded, PuTTYgen will automatically detect the key type.
   • To convert the key to OpenSSH format, click on the "Save private key" button.
   • Choose a location and file name for the converted key.
   • Make sure to select "SSH-2 RSA" as the file format.
   • Click "Save" to save the key in OpenSSH format.

5. Conversion Complete:

   • Your Putty format private key is now converted to OpenSSH format and saved to the specified location.

Using PuTTYGen on Mac or Linux

1. Open a Terminal or Command Prompt:

   • Launch the terminal or command prompt on your system.

2. Navigate to PuTTY Installation Directory:

   • If PuTTY is not in your system's PATH, navigate to the directory where PuTTY is installed.

3. Convert the Key:

   • Use the puttygen command followed by the path to your Putty format private key and the -O flag to specify the output format.
   • For example:

   puttygen path/to/putty-private-key.ppk -O private-openssh -o path/to/openssh-private-key

4. Verify Conversion:

   • Once the command executes successfully, verify that the OpenSSH format private key has been created in the specified location.

5. Conversion Complete:

   • Your Putty format private key is now converted to OpenSSH format using the command line.