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Generating a key pair for SFTP providers

Published: May 29, 2024
Post Author Written by Ethan Sorenson

Secure connection with an SFTP server requires an SSH Key pair to securely verify the connection. With most vendors, the keys will be provided by the vendor, but there may be scenarios where you need to generate the key yourself. Keys can be generated through the command prompt in Windows using the shh-keygen command or using a 3rd party application such as PuTTY or Kleopatra. This document will cover generating the keys with PuTTY.

Unique keys should be generated for each SFTP server.

Generate Keys

  1. Download and install PuTTY.
  2. Launch the PuTTYgen application.
  3. Click on the Generate button in the Actions section.
    • Optional – Edit the Key comment to easily identify the key in the future.
    • Optional – Under the Key menu, the strength of the key can be changed if required.
SFTP1
  1. Copy the value in the Key box (begins with ssh-rsa…) and save the key locally with the name public_key.txt.
  2. Under the Conversions menu, select Export OpenSSH key.
  3. Save the key with the name private_key.
SFTP2

Use Keys

  1. Send the public_key.txt file to the SFTP vendor or upload it to your own SFTP server.

You won’t be able to create the connection until the SFTP Vendor loads the public key on their side.

  1. Open SmartConnect and create a new FTP Connector.
  2. Upload the private_key file into the Key File field.
  3. Validate and ensure the server connects.
SFTP3

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