SSH Keys

SSH keys let you securely connect to your GPU instances without a password. You need at least one SSH key before launching an instance.

Why are SSH keys required?

When you launch a GPU instance, your public SSH keys are injected into the instance during setup. This is the only way to authenticate — there are no passwords. This approach is more secure, eliminates credential management, and lets you connect from any machine that has the matching private key.

Generate a new SSH key

If you don't already have an SSH key, generate one with:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

Press Enter to accept the default file location ~/.ssh/id_ed25519. You can optionally set a passphrase for extra security.

This creates two files:

~/.ssh/id_ed25519— your private key (never share this)
~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub— your public key (this is what you add to GPU.ai)

Copy your public key

macOS

pbcopy < ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Linux

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Windows (PowerShell)

Get-Content ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | Set-Clipboard

Add the key to GPU.ai

Go to SSH Keys in the dashboard
Click Add Key
Give it a name (e.g. “work-laptop”)
Paste your public key and save

All your SSH keys are automatically attached to new instances when you launch them.

Connect to an instance

Once your instance is running, use the SSH command shown in the instances table:

ssh -p 10000 root@your-server-ip

The exact command (with port and host) is shown in the SSH Command column and can be copied with one click.

Already have an SSH key?

If you already use SSH (e.g. with GitHub), you likely already have a key. Check with:

ls ~/.ssh/*.pub

If you see a file like id_ed25519.pub or id_rsa.pub, you can use that. Just copy its contents and add it to GPU.ai.