DROPBEARKEY(1)

📦
version 2026.94 · 2 versions
, in arch rolling, nixpkgs unstable, ubuntu stonking

💖 DROPBEARKEY 💖 (that's the DROPBEARKEY(1) page, bestie — General Commands Manual energy)

okay so picture this: you need SSH keys, but for Dropbear. not OpenSSH. Dropbear. and this lil icon is the one who makes them for you. let's get into it ✨

✨ NAME ✨

dropbearkey — create private keys for the use with dropbear(8) or dbclient(1)

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

dropbearkey -t type -f file [-s bits] [-y]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

dropbearkey generates a RSA, DSS, ECDSA, or Ed25519 format SSH private key, and saves it to a file for the use with the Dropbear client or server. that's the whole gig. it's giving key factory 🔥

quick lil translation note, bestie: some SSH implementations use the term “DSA” rather than “DSS”. they mean the same thing. literally the same thing. don't let anyone tell you different 💅

💅 OPTIONS 💅

  • -t type — the type of key you want to generate. has to be one of rsa, ecdsa, ed25519, or dss. no freestyling on the spelling, she's picky 💀
  • -f file — write the secret key to the file file. and btw for client authentication, ~/.ssh/id_dropbear is loaded by default. so that's your main character file path 👑
  • -s bits — set the key size to bits bits. should be multiple of 8. it's optional, so no pressure, but the multiple-of-8 thing is not a suggestion, okay 🍓
  • -y — just print the publickey and fingerprint for the private key in file. no generating, no writing, just vibes and output 🌸

👑 NOTES 👑

  • the program dropbearconvert(1) can be used to convert between Dropbear and OpenSSH key formats. so if you got keys from the other side of the SSH world, she can translate 🧚
  • Dropbear does not support encrypted keys.
that last one is a real one, bestie. no encryption. read it twice. do not expect your passphrase-protected key dreams to come true here. 😭

🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

generate a host-key:

# dropbearkey -t rsa -f /etc/dropbear/dropbear_rsa_host_key

extract a public key suitable for authorized_keys from private key:

# dropbearkey -y -f id_rsa | grep "^ssh-rsa " >> authorized_keys

see how the -y just pulls the public part out and the grep grabs the line? obsessed. that second one is the classic "wait, how do I get my pubkey out" move and she ATE 💖

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

dbclient(1), dropbearconvert(1), dropbear(8)

https://matt.ucc.asn.au/dropbear/dropbear.html

🌸 AUTHORS 🌸

Matt Johnston <matt@ucc.asn.au>.

Gerrit Pape <pape@smarden.org> wrote this manual page. (yes, the actual manual page. iconic behavior.)

aaaand that's the whole page, bestie 💖 this one came from Debian, dated February 1, 2023, and it was served up as DROPBEARKEY(1) — go make some keys, stay unencrypted (unfortunately), and slay 🎀✨🦋

📦 where this page comes from