What's inside .ssh?
After generating a key, your .ssh folder (usually in C:\Users\<yourname>\.ssh\) might contain:
id_ed25519orid_rsa– your private key (keep this safe!)id_ed25519.puborid_rsa.pub– your public key (used to connect)known_hosts– tracks servers you’ve connected to beforeconfig– optional but handy file to simplify commands
What does known_hosts do?
Every time you connect to a new server, its signature is added here. This helps verify the identity of the server next time.
If you ever see:
WARNING: REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED!
…it means the server key doesn’t match what’s in known_hosts. This can happen if:
The instance was terminated and replaced
You're connecting to a different host than expected
Fix it by deleting the old entry:
ssh-keygen -R <hostname>
What’s in a config file?
Create a plain text file named config inside .ssh and add:
Host hivenet HostName <your-instance-id>.ssh.hivecompute.ai User ubuntu IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 ProxyCommand ssh [email protected] %h
Now you can connect with:
ssh hivenet
instead of typing everything out every time.
Tip: Create a new Host block for each instance if you use multiple.
Public key vs. private key
The
.pubfile (public) is safe to share—it’s how servers recognize youThe private key must stay private—it proves who you are
Never send someone your private key, and don’t copy it into web forms.
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