Create and set an SSH key

Ivan_Logre January 30, 2020

Hello,

This question may seem naive, but I lost more than an hour on that, there is something I don't get I guess.

 

I'm trying to set a new SSH key on my desktop SourceTree AND on my Bitbucket account.

If I use Putty (SourceTree > Tools > Create or import...) to create a new ssh key, it's recognized by Pageant but it's not possible to add it on bitbucket.org (error : "That SSH key is invalid." while putty and pageant sais it's not...)

If I use ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "my_email@example.com" to generate a public and private key, it's recognized on bitbucket.org BUT it can be imported on Pageant so is not used by SourceTree.

My need is quite simple, I had no problem on Mac OS X, but this is a new windows 10 and nothing works like it's supposed to.

Can you see something I'm doing wrong ?

Why does Putty/Pageant does not excpect the same things than Bitbucket/github SSK key validation tool ?

 

Thanks !

 

2 answers

1 accepted

1 vote
Answer accepted
Ivan_Logre January 30, 2020

After several tests, I found two things :

1) It works with the ECDSA format (one should generate a key with this format using Putty)

2) when importing your public key on bitbucket.org, DO NOT paste the content of the public key file (what you see by opening it with your favorite text editor), as the example A below. Instead, use Putty to load you key and copy-paste the format B below.

Format A (our public key file, which is not accepted by bitbucket)

---- BEGIN SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ----
Comment: "ecdsa-key-20200130"
AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBPzjhomgFGLy
6MiY9QHoMUhMmGNLhCvUmfGFXf3lZr0IiDWWSpDznU91U51H1ZfSvse+0E7MjEZz
Mp1dmaSbMj8=
---- END SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ----
 

Format B (visible in Putty when you load the .ppk file)

ecdsa-sha2-nistp256 AAAAE2VjZHNhLXNoYTItbmlzdHAyNTYAAAAIbmlzdHAyNTYAAABBBPzjhomgFGLy6MiY9QHoMUhMmGNLhCvUmfGFXf3lZr0IiDWWSpDznU91U51H1ZfSvse+0E7MjEZzMp1dmaSbMj8= ecdsa-key-20200130

0 votes
Ganesh Babu
Community Leader
Community Leader
Community Leaders are connectors, ambassadors, and mentors. On the online community, they serve as thought leaders, product experts, and moderators.
January 30, 2020

Hi @Ivan_Logre 

It may be because of the file format. Putty will generate a file in .ppk format,

where as the ssh key will have id_rsa (which is a private key) and id_rsa.pub (which is a public key)

Ivan_Logre January 30, 2020

Hi, thanks for your answer.

Putty allows you to save the public key and the private key appart too, but you are right the private part is formatted as a .ppk.

My question is : SourceTrre and Bitbucket are supposed to be totally integrated, working great together. Why is sourcetree based on putty & pageant --> pushing .ppk keys which are not valid on bitbucket.org ?

I found a partial answer, I'll post it ;)

Suggest an answer

Log in or Sign up to answer
TAGS
AUG Leaders

Atlassian Community Events