# Creating SSH keys to interact with Kit
#       (or other git servers)

To interact with Kit securely, you will need a pair of SSH keys (public and
private).  You'll share the public key with Kit, which will allow you to
easily interact with Kit as if you were logging in and providing a password
each time (but without having to actually do so).

Like the git configuration, this is a one-time-only command on any given
machine, although you’ll have to do it again if you later switch to a
different computer.)  If you already have a public/private pair of keys on
your machine, you can skip directly to the last step:
Sharing Your Public Key with Kit.  (If you're not sure, on Unix/Linux
machines, they would generally be in a directory called ~/.ssh, and would be
named something like id_rsa and id_rsa.pub.)

## Generating Public/Private SSH Keys

The instructions below are similar to those in
https://help.github.com/articles/connecting-to-github-with-ssh/.

First, from a Unix/Linux/bash command line, generate the keys.  **When you
are prompted for a filename & pass phrase, press return to leave them blank.**

    ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

Then register the key with the SSH agent:

    eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
    ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa


## Sharing Your Public Key with Kit

Now that you have a public and private key, copy the public key so that you
can paste it later.

    cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Copy **everything** that is printed, from the `ssh-rsa` at the beginning up
to and including your email address at the end, using copy-and-paste
techniques.

In a browser window, go to kit.cs.kzoo.edu and log in.  Notice that your name,
in the top-right corner of the page, is a pull-down menu; choose "SSH Keys".

Click on "Add SSH Key".  Paste your public key into the box and give it a
label.  (This would help you differentiate among keys if you have different
public/private key pairs for different devices, for example.)  Click on
"Add key".