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Managing SSH keypairs

You can use the Cleura Cloud Management Panel or the OpenStack CLI, and by default create Ed25519 keypairs.

Using other key types

Due to an application’s requirements, you might have to generate a keypair that employs older key types, like the ones based on the RSA or the DSA cryptosystem.

In cases like these, use an external tool such as ssh-keygen to create a keypair with the required characteristics. Then, when instantiating the new keypair, specify the corresponding public key you obtained from the external tool.

Prerequisites

If you prefer to use the OpenStack CLI, please be sure to enable it first.

Creating keypairs

In the left-hand side vertical pane of the Cleura Cloud Management Panel, select Compute and then KeyPairs. All existing keypairs appear in the central pane, named Compute / Keypairs. To create a new one, click the Add new Keypair link at the top right.

All available keypairs All available keypairs

A window titled Create Keypair slides over from the right side of the browser window. Enter a Name for the new keypair, and select a Region for it.

Create a new keypair without specifying a public key Create a new keypair without specifying a public key

Without pasting anything in the Public Keys text field, you can already instantiate the new keypair by clicking the Create button. Alternatively, you may want to paste one of your public keys in the Public Keys text field.

In the example below, in the Public Keys field, we have pasted the public key of an Ed25519 keypair.

Before instantiating a new keypair, you may provide a public SSH key of yours Before instantiating a new keypair, you may provide a public SSH key of yours

You can paste two or more public keys in the Public Keys field, one per line.

You may provide more than one of your public keys, one in a separate line You may provide more than one of your public keys, one in a separate line

Whenever you choose not to provide a public key, right after creating the new keypair, a window named Private Key pops up. From it, you can either download the private key of the keypair or copy it to the clipboard. In any case, you should securely store it and make it accessible to your local user only.

Whenever you create a new keypair without specifying a public key, you have to download and securely store the corresponding private key Whenever you create a new keypair without specifying a public key, you have to download and securely store the corresponding private key

After you create the new keypair, you can see it listed in its region.

The new keypair is listed under its region The new keypair is listed under its region

The simplest way to create a new keypair is by using the openstack keypair create command, like in the example below:

$ openstack keypair create my-new-keypair

-----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----
b3Bl........................................................................
........................................................................c2gt
ZWQy........................................................................
........................................................................TXAA
AAEC....
-----END OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY-----

The command output includes the private key of the my-new-keypair keypair. You may not want the private key displayed on the terminal, so instead of the command above, use something like this:

$ openstack keypair create --private-key my-priv-key my-new-keypair

+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Field       | Value                                           |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| created_at  | None                                            |
| fingerprint | 3c:90:f1:14:07:50:d4:0e:81:66:03:96:7f:5e:00:2e |
| id          | my-new-keypair                                  |
| is_deleted  | None                                            |
| name        | my-new-keypair                                  |
| type        | ssh                                             |
| user_id     | e507abcdef19d594f84f16ad13f88pqrstuxyz          |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+

In that case, in the terminal output, you only see general information regarding my-new-keypair, and the private key is automatically downloaded onto the my-priv-key file:

$ file my-priv-key
my-priv-key: OpenSSH private key

As with any other private key, you should securely store the one openstack keypair create generates, and make it accessible to your local user only.

You may also create a keypair by specifying a public key of yours, using the --public-key parameter. Example:

$ openstack keypair create --public-key ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub my-new-keypair

+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Field       | Value                                           |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| created_at  | None                                            |
| fingerprint | 01:7f:95:8c:16:6d:03:d9:0e:b1:d6:94:b4:7b:bd:de |
| id          | my-new-keypair                                  |
| is_deleted  | None                                            |
| name        | my-new-keypair                                  |
| type        | ssh                                             |
| user_id     | e507abcdef19d594f84f16ad13f88pqrstuxyz          |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+

In that case, you do not get to download the private key of the my-new-keypair keypair.

Viewing keypair details

To get more details on a specific keypair, go to the Compute / KeyPairs pane, locate the keypair of interest, and click on its row.

Viewing keypair details Viewing keypair details

Before viewing information of a specific keypair, you might want to list all keypairs in the region you are working in. For that, use the openstack keypair list command:

$ openstack keypair list

+----------------+-------------------------------------------------+------+
| Name           | Fingerprint                                     | Type |
+----------------+-------------------------------------------------+------+
| bahnhof        | 7a:97:fa:34:5c:80:55:06:41:bb:e9:77:14:3d:04:fb | ssh  |
| karlskrona     | ef:43:46:3c:44:96:a9:70:67:e6:3c:9b:c5:21:cf:2e | ssh  |
| my-new-keypair | 01:7f:95:8c:16:6d:03:d9:0e:b1:d6:94:b4:7b:bd:de | ssh  |
| puvirnituq     | 3c:39:f0:d5:6b:04:4b:ab:c9:86:97:f3:59:1d:23:f8 | ssh  |
+----------------+-------------------------------------------------+------+

Now, to get detailed information regarding the my-new-keypair keypair, use the openstack keypair show command like so:

$ openstack keypair show my-new-keypair

+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Field       | Value                                           |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| created_at  | 2026-05-28T17:24:54.000000                      |
| fingerprint | 01:7f:95:8c:16:6d:03:d9:0e:b1:d6:94:b4:7b:bd:de |
| id          | my-new-keypair                                  |
| is_deleted  | False                                           |
| name        | my-new-keypair                                  |
| private_key | None                                            |
| type        | ssh                                             |
| user_id     | e50719d594f84f16ad13f88da540f762                |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+

Duplicating keypairs

You may want to use the same SSH key for authentication in multiple Cleura Cloud regions. To do so, you can duplicate your keypairs.

First off, go to the Compute / KeyPairs pane and locate the keypair you wish to duplicate to other regions. At the right of the keypair row, click the icon. From the pop-up menu that appears, select Duplicate Keypair.

Select the option for duplicating a keypair Select the option for duplicating a keypair

A window named Duplicate Keypair slides over. Use the toggle buttons to indicate the regions you wish to duplicate the keypair to. When you are ready, click the Duplicate button.

Indicate the regions you wish to duplicate the keypair to, then click the Duplicate button Indicate the regions you wish to duplicate the keypair to, then click the Duplicate button

You now see your keypair under each region it is accessible from.

Your keypair is now accessible from more then one regions Your keypair is now accessible from more then one regions

Let’s assume you already have the my-new-keypair keypair in region Fra1, and now you wish to duplicate it (send it over) to region Kna1.

$ openstack keypair show my-new-keypair

+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Field       | Value                                           |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| created_at  | 2026-05-29T12:43:50.000000                      |
| fingerprint | 01:7f:95:8c:16:6d:03:d9:0e:b1:d6:94:b4:7b:bd:de |
| id          | my-new-keypair                                  |
| is_deleted  | False                                           |
| name        | my-new-keypair                                  |
| private_key | None                                            |
| type        | ssh                                             |
| user_id     | e50719d594f84f16ad13f88da540f762                |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+

First, save a copy of my-new-keypair’s public key onto a local file (e.g., the-pubkey):

$ openstack keypair show --public-key my-new-keypair > the-pubkey

When the command above is successful, it produces no output.

Next, source your OpenStack credentials for region Kna1.

Finally, create a new keypair named my-new-keypair, indicating the-pubkey file:

$ openstack keypair create --public-key ./the-pubkey my-new-keypair

+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Field       | Value                                           |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| created_at  | None                                            |
| fingerprint | 01:7f:95:8c:16:6d:03:d9:0e:b1:d6:94:b4:7b:bd:de |
| id          | my-new-keypair                                  |
| is_deleted  | None                                            |
| name        | my-new-keypair                                  |
| type        | ssh                                             |
| user_id     | c096cf99f65a4d22a6954b67d2ec11d7                |
+-------------+-------------------------------------------------+

Notice the keypair fingerprint in both regions: it’s the same.

Deleting keypairs

In the Compute / KeyPairs pane, locate the keypair you wish to delete. At the right of the keypair row, click the icon. From the pop-up menu that appears, select Delete Keypair.

Select the option for deleting a keypair Select the option for deleting a keypair

A window appears, asking if you are sure you want to delete the keypair. If you are, click the Yes, Delete button.

Confirm that you want to delete the selected keypair Confirm that you want to delete the selected keypair

The selected keypair is now deleted. Note that any duplicates, in other regions, are still available.

The selected keypair is deleted, and any duplicates are still available The selected keypair is deleted, and any duplicates are still available

If you want to delete more than one keypair at once, first go to the Compute / KeyPairs pane and select them. Then, click the icon at the top left.

Choose more than one keypairs you wish to delete Choose more than one keypairs you wish to delete

A window appears, asking if you are sure you want to delete the selected keypairs. Click the Yes, Delete button to confirm, or the No button if you changed your mind.

Confirm that you want to delete the selected keypairs Confirm that you want to delete the selected keypairs

To delete a keypair, use the openstack keypair delete command. For instance, to delete the my-new-keypair keypair, type:

$ openstack keypair delete my-new-keypair

When the command above is successful, it produces no output.