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SSH Key Management

The InstaVM SDK provides methods to manage SSH public keys for secure VM authentication.

Overview​

SSH keys allow you to securely access your VMs without password authentication. You can add multiple public keys, list them, and remove keys you no longer need.

Python SDK​

Installation​

pip install instavm

Adding SSH Keys​

Add an SSH public key to your account:

from instavm import InstaVM

client = InstaVM('your_api_key')

# Add a new SSH public key
result = client.ssh.add_key(
    public_key="ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC..."
)

print(f"SSH key added")
print(f"Key ID: {result.get('key_id')}")
print(f"Fingerprint: {result.get('fingerprint')}")
print(f"Added at: {result.get('created_at')}")

Listing SSH Keys​

Retrieve all SSH keys associated with your account:

from instavm import InstaVM

client = InstaVM('your_api_key')

# List all SSH keys
keys = client.ssh.list_keys()

for key in keys:
    print(f"Key ID: {key.get('key_id')}")
    print(f"  Name: {key.get('name', 'unnamed')}")
    print(f"  Fingerprint: {key.get('fingerprint')}")
    print(f"  Added: {key.get('created_at')}")

Deleting SSH Keys​

Remove an SSH key by its ID:

from instavm import InstaVM

client = InstaVM('your_api_key')

# Delete an SSH key by ID
result = client.ssh.delete_key(key_id=123)

# Check if deletion was successful
if 'success' in result and result['success']:
    print("SSH key deleted successfully")
else:
    print(f"Failed to delete SSH key: {result}")

Generating SSH Keys​

If you don't have an SSH key pair, you can generate one:

# Generate a new SSH key pair (RSA 4096 bits)
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

# This creates:
# ~/.ssh/id_rsa        (private key)
# ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub    (public key)

# Display the public key
cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Example output:

ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQC0xl+6your+key+data+here user@example.com

Using SSH Keys with VMs​

Once you've added an SSH public key, you can SSH into your VMs:

# Get SSH connection details when creating a VM
from instavm import InstaVM

client = InstaVM('your_api_key')

vm = client.vms.create()

# SSH connection details are returned
ssh_host = vm.get('ssh_host')
ssh_user = vm.get('ssh_user')
ssh_port = vm.get('ssh_port', 22)

print(f"SSH into: ssh {ssh_user}@{ssh_host} -p {ssh_port}")

Then connect from your terminal:

# Connect to your VM
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa user@vm-host.example.com -p 22

# Or with the connection string from SDK
ssh user@vm-host.example.com -p 22

Best Practices​

  1. Key Security

    • Never share private keys (id_rsa)
    • Only add public keys (id_rsa.pub)
    • Use strong passphrases for private keys
    • Rotate keys periodically

  2. Key Management

    • Add descriptive names/emails when generating keys
    • Delete unused keys regularly
    • Use separate keys for different environments

  3. VM Access

    • Each VM can accept multiple SSH keys
    • Keys are bound to your account, not individual VMs
    • All keys work across all your VMs

API Reference​

For complete API documentation, see:

Error Handling​

from instavm import InstaVM, InstaVMError

client = InstaVM('your_api_key')

try:
    # Add invalid SSH key
    result = client.ssh.add_key(public_key="invalid_key")
except InstaVMError as e:
    print(f"Failed to add SSH key: {e}")