{"id":15852,"date":"2019-03-06T15:19:46","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T15:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/?p=15852"},"modified":"2026-03-10T09:30:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T09:30:44","slug":"how-to-setup-passwordless-ssh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/ca\/tutorials\/how-to-setup-passwordless-ssh\/","title":{"rendered":"How to set up passwordless SSH on Linux"},"content":{"rendered":"

Due to its reliability and security, the secure socket shell (SSH) is the most common way to interact with a remote server. However, using this protocol can be tedious since it uses a username and password by default.<\/p>

To simplify the connection process, you can set up a passwordless SSH. Instead of the traditional username and password, this system uses an encrypted key pair to authenticate remote login.<\/p>

In this article, we will explain how to set up passwordless SSH on Linux in four simple steps so you can connect to your server hassle-free.<\/p>

\n\n\n\n<\/p>

Prerequisites<\/h2>

Before setting up passwordless SSH, make sure you can access your Linux virtual private server<\/a> (VPS) using a username and password. This is important since we might need to add the authentication key manually.<\/p>

Also, you must have superuser or root access to the VPS and your local machine. Since we will edit the system-level configuration, this will avoid permission errors.<\/p>

If you can’t access your VPS via SSH as a superuser, check whether your hosting provider can help. For Hostinger VPS users, you have full root access by default, meaning you can freely modify any aspect of your server.<\/p>

Hostinger users can also connect to their server using the browser terminal<\/a>. This can be an alternative to passwordless SSH since you can interact with your VPS without entering credentials as long as you can access your hosting account.<\/p>

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Checking if SSH keys exist<\/h3>

If you are working with systems other than yours, such as a client’s computer, check whether it already has passwordless SSH set up.<\/p>

\n \n \n \n <\/svg>\n Important\n <\/span>\n

\n Important!<\/strong> Setting up passwordless SSH on a local system that already has it will replace the existing authentication keys. This can cause connectivity issues that prevent you from accessing the previously paired server.\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p>

To check if your local system has passwordless SSH enabled, open Terminal and run this command:<\/p>

ls -al ~\/.ssh\/id_*.pub<\/pre>
If you see the .pub <\/strong>file listed, which contains the authorization keys, the passwordless SSH is already active.<\/p>
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