SFTP - Generate your RSA 4096-bit SSH Key

Jon Gilbert Updated by Jon Gilbert

SFTP access uses SSH key authentication — there is no password. You generate a key pair on your machine: a private key (kept secret, never shared) and a public key (sent to OneAdvanced). The private and public keys are paired and are used to authenticate and encrypt/decrypt files as they are uploaded/downloaded.

On Windows (PowerShell or Command Prompt)

Open PowerShell

Press Win+X → select Windows PowerShell or Terminal.

Generate the key pair

Run the following command: ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your.email@company.com"

When prompted for a file location, press Enter to use the default: C:\Users\YourName\.ssh\id_rsa

Optionally set a passphrase for extra security:

Locate your public key

Your public key is the file ending in .pub. View it with:

Get-Content "$env:USERPROFILE\.ssh\id_rsa.pub"

Copy the entire output — it starts with ssh-rsa AAAA.... and ends with your email address.

On Mac / Linux

Generate the key pair

# Generate RSA 4096-bit key pair

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your.email@company.com"

Locate your public key

# View your public key to send to OneAdvanced

cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Send your public key to OneAdvanced

Send your public key as part of your SFTP request (see Prerequisites). OneAdvanced will register the public key against your SFTP user account and confirm when your access is ready.

Never share your private key

Your private key file (id_rsa) must never be shared with anyone — including OneAdvanced. Only the public key file (id_rsa.pub) should be sent. Anyone with your private key can impersonate you.

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