Copying a rsa public key to clipboard

Question

I am trying to copy a public key to the clipboard on macOS, but I keep getting "no such file or directory." The command I am using is pasted below

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Generate SSH key ```ssh-keygen -t rsa``` and then copy SSH key using ```cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | pbcopy``` — Niyanta Bhayani, Jul 13 '23 at 05:14

score 126 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 12 '16 at 20:34

126

To copy your public key to the clipboard

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | pbcopy

This pipes the output of the file to pbcopy.

answered Nov 12 '16 at 20:34

iAmWillShepherd

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Worked macOS 10.14 (Mojave) – Amr Lotfy Jan 11 '19 at 09:03

score 122 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 14 '15 at 12:30

122

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

then you can copy your ssh key

edited Dec 14 '15 at 12:30

T J

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answered Dec 04 '15 at 17:29

Palermo Andre Deschamps

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score 38 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 05 '18 at 09:19

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Another alternative solution, that is recommended in the github help pages:

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Should this fail, I recommend using their docs to trouble shoot or generate a new key - if not already done.

Github docs

answered Jun 05 '18 at 09:19

Powderham

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That’s what OP already has. It’s the correct solution on macOS though, so +1. – Konrad Rudolph Aug 28 '18 at 18:40

score 30 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 05 '16 at 08:58

30

Check the path where you have generated the public key. You can also copy the id_rsa by using this command:

clip < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

edited Jul 05 '16 at 08:58

Eugene S

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answered Feb 25 '14 at 13:22

sandip divekar

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that's the command github lists in there help section. But when I'm trying to use it I get following output: `bash: /usr/bin/clip: No such file or directory` – Jamie-505 Jun 08 '16 at 09:46
that helped me on windows – eko Apr 22 '22 at 18:45
`xclip` is also a potential option on some legacy systems. – Shawn J. Molloy Jun 06 '23 at 20:11

score 18 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 11 '20 at 09:23

Your command is right, but the error shows that you didn't create your ssh key yet. To generate new ssh key enter the following command into the terminal.

ssh-keygen

After entering the command then you will be asked to enter file name and passphrase. Normally you don't need to change this. Just press enter. Then your key will be generated in ~/.ssh directory. After this, you can copy your key by the following command.

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

or

cat .ssh/id_rsa.pub | pbcopy

You can find more about this here ssh.

score 10 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 02 '16 at 17:54

10

For using Git bash on Windows:

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub > /dev/clipboard

(modified from Jupiter St John's post on Coderwall)

answered Nov 02 '16 at 17:54

eh1160

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Shoaib Kakal · Answer 7 · 2023-02-05T14:03:23.120

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Windows:

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Mac OS:

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | pbcopy

edited Feb 05 '23 at 14:03

answered Sep 06 '20 at 15:40

Shoaib Kakal

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Easy and works like a charm! Thanks! – cbloss793 Nov 10 '21 at 20:02

score 6 · Answer 8 · answered Jun 23 '20 at 16:32

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With PowerShell on Windows, you can use:

Get-Content ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub | Set-Clipboard

answered Jun 23 '20 at 16:32

Wilka

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score 3 · Answer 9 · answered Nov 05 '21 at 17:31

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To copy your public ssh key on a Windows machine you can do:

Go to the "/ssh" folder

cd  C:\Users\<your-user>\.ssh\

List to see the keys

ls ~/.ssh

Copy the public key to clipboard(starts with "id_" and ends with ".pub")

type id_xxxxxxx.pub | clip

answered Nov 05 '21 at 17:31

Anas

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score 2 · Answer 10 · answered May 19 '13 at 18:38

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Does the file ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub exist? If not, you need to generate one first:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -C "your_email@example.com"

answered May 19 '13 at 18:38

Peter Lundgren

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score 1 · Answer 11 · answered May 25 '17 at 08:39

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Another alternative solution:

cat  ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub |  xsel -i -b

From man xsel :

-i, --input

read standard input into the selection.

-b, --clipboard

operate on the CLIPBOARD selection.

answered May 25 '17 at 08:39

Michal Przybylowicz

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score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Nov 18 '22 at 21:40

Although the OP mentions one possible ssh key file name (id_rsa.pub), no one has mentioned that there are different possible names for your ssh key. Github accepts three, for example:

id_rsa.pub
id_ecdsa.pub
id_ed25519.pub

You would be better off checking if you have any keys, such as:

$ ls -al ~/.ssh
# Lists the files in your .ssh directory, if they exist

Based on what you find, then use your copy command, such as

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/<your_key>

See Github's Documentation on checking for existing keys.

score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Oct 25 '16 at 14:49

0

cat .ssh/id_rsa.pub | bcopy

This works for me.

answered Oct 25 '16 at 14:49

mic

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Copying a rsa public key to clipboard

13 Answers13