GlossarySecurity
SSH Key
An SSH key is a public/private key pair used to authenticate securely to remote systems and Git services without sending a password.
SSH key authentication uses a private key on your machine and a matching public key on the service you want to access.
For Git hosting, SSH keys let you push and pull without typing a password. For servers, they are usually safer than password logins, especially when protected with a passphrase and limited to the right accounts.
Keys still need maintenance. Remove old keys, rotate them when a provider changes host keys or a machine is replaced, and use ~/.ssh/config to keep multiple services and identities from becoming a guessing game.