permission denied publickey - Permission denied publickey SSH authentication failed

root@linuxfix:~/permission_denied_publickey$

permission denied publickey

Permission denied publickey SSH authentication failed

Solutions

Prerequisites: Start by updating your system to resolve common issues and ensure the solutions provided below are compatible with your current environment.

check_latest_version && sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Check SSH key

Verify correct key is used:

ssh-add -l

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa user@host

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Fix permissions

Set correct file permissions:

chmod 700 ~/.ssh

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa

chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Add key to agent

Load key into SSH agent:

eval $(ssh-agent)

ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_rsa

ssh-add -l

What is permission denied publickey?

SSH key authentication failed due to incorrect keys, permissions, or configuration.

Common scenarios: Wrong SSH keys, incorrect permissions, agent not running, or server misconfiguration.

Common Causes

Wrong SSH key
Incorrect file permissions
SSH agent not running
Key not added to agent
Server configuration

Debugging Tips

ssh -vvv user@host

ls -la ~/.ssh/

cat ~/.ssh/config

Prevention

Backup SSH keys
Set correct permissions
Use SSH agent
Test key authentication

Additional Resources

SSH Key Guide

SSH key authentication setup

ssh authentication publickey permissions