Change (or add) the passphrase on an SSH private key — by Mike Mazur on Server Fault

beginnerforumCC BY-SA (Stack Exchange; version depends on post date)

ssh-keygen -p changes the passphrase on an existing key without generating a new one, so servers that already trust the key keep working. Use -f to choose a key file other than the default.

Quick steps

ssh-keygen -p
or for a specific key: ssh-keygen -p -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Paraphrased from the source. Menus can differ by version, so check the original for full details.

Read the full thread on serverfault.com

Source: Change (or add) the passphrase on an SSH private key by Mike Mazur on Server Fault. Licence: CC BY-SA (Stack Exchange; version depends on post date).

Source reviewed: 2026-11-02
Link checked: Not yet
Tested hands-on: Not by Oddbyte.Me

sshssh-keygenpassphrasekeys

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