Generate SSH Key Pair Access to Google Cloud

 

Step #1: Generate Your SSH Key Pair

Use the ssh-keygen command to create a new key pair. Replace [KEY_FILENAME] with a descriptive name and [USERNAME] with the desired login user (usually your Linux username).

ssh-keygen -t rsa -f ~/.ssh/[KEY_FILENAME] -C [USERNAME]

Example:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -f ~/.ssh/ssh-key-pair -C ologucci888

Step #2: Navigate to the Key Directory

Change directory to your local .ssh folder where the new keys were created.

cd ~/.ssh

Step #3: Restrict Private Key Permissions

For security, the private key file must have restrictive permissions, allowing only the owner to read it.

chmod 400 [KEY_FILENAME]

Example:

chmod 400 ssh-key-pair

Step #4: Display the Public Key 

View the content of the public key (the file ending in .pub). You will need to copy this entire output.

cat [KEY_FILENAME].pub

Example:

cat ssh-key-pair.pub

Step #5: Upload Public Key to Google Cloud Metadata

Log into your Google Cloud console and paste the entire output from the previous step into the SSH Keys section of the Compute Engine Metadata.

Metadata Link: https://console.cloud.google.com/compute/metadata?project=n8n-train-468804&scopeTab=projectMetadata&resourceTab=sshkeys

Final Step: Connect to Your VM Instance

Once the key is saved in the metadata, you can connect from your local machine using the private key (-i flag), your user ID, and the external IP address.

ssh -i YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY YOUR_USER@YOUR_EXTERNAL_IP

Example:

ssh -i ssh-key-pair ologucci888@34.169.59.15