.. _sshkey:

SSH Keys
--------

.. index:: SSH keys

The token type *sshkey* is the public SSH key, that you can upload and assign
to a user. The SSH key is only used for the application type **SSH** in
conjunction with the :ref:`machines` concept.

A user or the administrator can upload the public SSH key and assign to a user.


.. figure:: images/sshkey.png
   :width: 500

   *Enroll an SSH key token*

Paste the SSH key into the text area. The comment in the SSH key will be used as
token comment.
You can assign the SSH key to a user and then use the SSH key in Application
Definitions :ref:`application_ssh`.

.. note:: This way you can manage SSH keys centrally, as you do not need to
   distribute the SSH keys to all machines. You rather store the SSH keys
   centrally in privacyIDEA and use **privacyidea-authorizedkeys** to fetch
   the keys in real time during the login process.