Managing SSH Keys
Use when:
- Adding or generating an SSH key for Acquia Cloud
- Listing or deleting SSH keys
- Setting up SSH access for IDEs or CI/CD pipelines
SSH keys provide secure authentication to Acquia Cloud resources without needing to enter passwords.
Why SSH Keys?
SSH keys allow you to:
- Securely access your IDEs without entering a password
- Push code to your repositories
- Execute remote commands on your servers
- Automate deployments in scripts or CI/CD pipelines
List Your SSH Keys
See all your SSH keys
acli ssh-key:listOutput:
SSH Keys for your account:
[0] My Laptop (generated 2024-01-15)
Fingerprint: ab:cd:ef:12:34:56:78:90
[1] Work Desktop (generated 2024-02-01)
Fingerprint: 11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88List keys per IDE
acli ide:ssh-key:listGenerate a New SSH Key
Create an SSH key interactively
acli ssh-key:createThis will:
- Prompt for a label (e.g., "My Laptop", "CI Server")
- Generate a public/private key pair
- Store the public key in your Acquia account
- Save the private key locally (usually
~/.ssh/id_rsa)
Example:
$ acli ssh-key:create
? Enter a label for this SSH key: My Laptop
✓ SSH key created!
Public key added to your account.
Private key saved to: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
Fingerprint: ab:cd:ef:12:34:56:78:90Note: The label prompt is the last step before the key is generated and permanently added to your Acquia account. Confirm your label is correct before pressing Enter.
Upload an Existing SSH Key
If you already have an SSH key, upload it without regenerating:
acli ssh-key:upload --filepath ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub --label "Existing Key"Or interactively:
acli ssh-key:uploadPrompts you to select the key file and enter a label.
Skip waiting for propagation
By default, acli waits for the key to propagate to all servers. Skip this with:
acli ssh-key:upload --filepath ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub --label "My Key" --no-waitCreate and Upload in One Step
Generate a new key locally and upload it to Cloud Platform in a single command:
acli ssh-key:create-uploadOptions:
acli ssh-key:create-upload \
--filename=my_key \
--password="" \
--label="My New Key" \
--no-waitInspect an SSH Key
Get details about a specific key by fingerprint:
acli ssh-key:info --fingerprint="ab:cd:ef:12:34:56:78:90"Useful for confirming which key is registered before deleting.
Delete an SSH Key
Remove a key from your account
acli ssh-key:deletePrompts which key to delete:
? Select the SSH key to delete: [0] My Laptop
? Delete "My Laptop"? (yes/no)
✓ SSH key deleted.Non-interactive delete
acli ssh-key:delete --public-key "ab:cd:ef:12:34:56:78:90"Using SSH Keys with IDEs
SSH into your IDE
Once you have an SSH key set up, you can connect to your IDE:
# Note: Use the IDE ides-hostname, not the web URL
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa user@ide-12345.ides.acquia.comSet up git over SSH in your IDE
Instead of using HTTPS (which requires password authentication), use SSH:
# Configure your IDE's Git to use SSH
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:yourorg/yourrepo.git
# Now push without entering a password
git push origin mainExport public key for other systems
# Show your public key
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
# Copy it to GitLab, GitHub, internal systems, etc.Best Practices
1. One Key Per Device
Create separate keys for each machine:
# Personal laptop
acli ssh-key:create --label "Personal MacBook"
# Work desktop
acli ssh-key:create --label "Work Desktop"
# CI/CD server
acli ssh-key:create --label "Jenkins CI Server"2. Use Descriptive Labels
# ✓ Good
acli ssh-key:create --label "2024 MacBook Pro - Home"
acli ssh-key:create --label "GitHub Actions CI"
# ✗ Bad
acli ssh-key:create --label "Key 1"3. Revoke Old Keys
Remove keys you no longer use:
acli ssh-key:delete4. Protect Your Private Key
# Permissions should be 600 (read/write for owner only)
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa5. Use SSH Agents
macOS:
# Add to ~/.ssh/config
Host *
AddKeysToAgent yes
UseKeychain yesLinux:
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsaAdvanced: SSH for CI/CD
Generate key for CI/CD pipeline
acli ssh-key:create --label "GitHub Actions CI"Then:
- Copy the private key
- Add it to your CI/CD provider's secrets (GitHub Secrets, GitLab CI/CD Variables, etc.)
- Use in your CI script
GitHub Actions example:
- name: Deploy to Acquia
uses: actions/checkout@v2
env:
SSH_KEY: ${{ secrets.ACQUIA_SSH_KEY }}
run: |
mkdir -p ~/.ssh
echo "$SSH_KEY" > ~/.ssh/id_rsa
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
acli api:environments:code-switch <env-id> mainRelated Topics
- IDE Management — Use SSH keys to access IDEs
- Getting Started — Initial setup
- Troubleshooting