By default, the system adds keys for all identities to the /Users/yourname/.ssh directory. The following procedure creates a default identity.

• Open a terminal in your local system.
• Enter ssh-keygen at the command line.
  The command prompts you for a file to save the key in:

  manthony@PHOENIX ~
  $ ssh-keygen
  Generating public/private rsa key pair.
  Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Documents and Settings/manthony/.ssh/id_
  rsa):
          
  

• Press enter to accept the default key and path, /c/Documents and Settings/manthony/.ssh/id_rsa, or you can create a key with another name.
  To create a key with a name other than the default, specify the full path to the key. For example, to create a key called my-new-ssh-key, you would enter a path like this at the prompt:

  manthony@PHOENIX ~
  $ ssh-keygen
  Generating public/private rsa key pair.
  Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Documents and Settings/manthony/.ssh/id_
  rsa): /c/Documents and Settings/manthony/My Documents/keys/my-new-ssh-key
          
  

• Enter and renter a passphrase when prompted.
  Unless you need a key for a process such as script, you should always provide a passphrase.
  The command creates your default identity with its public and private keys. The whole interaction looks similar to the following:

  manthony@MANTHONY-PC ~
  $ ssh-keygen
  Generating public/private rsa key pair.
  Enter file in which to save the key (/c/Users/manthony/.ssh/id_rsa):
  Created directory '/c/Users/manthony/.ssh'.
  Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
  Enter same passphrase again:
  Your identification has been saved in /c/Users/manthony/.ssh/id_rsa.
  Your public key has been saved in /c/Users/manthony/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
  The key fingerprint is:
  e7:94:d1:a3:02:ee:38:6e:a4:5e:26:a3:a9:f4:95:d4 manthony@MANTHONY-PC
  manthony@MANTHONY-PC ~
  $
          
  

• List the contents of ~/.ssh to view the key files.
  You should see something like the following:

  $ ls ~/.ssh id_rsa id_rsa.pub

  The command created two files, one for the public key ( for example id_rsa.pub ) and one for the private key (for example, id_rsa ).