Adding SSH Key fails

When adding SSH keys under "Project Settings > SSH Keys > Additional SSH Keys", you may encounter the following error:

"It looks like this private key is invalid. Please check if you have pasted the right key. If you are sure your key is valid, please contact support for assistance."

This can happen if the key is either:

• Not in PEM format.

To get your key, you can use the following command: ssh-keygen -m PEM -t rsa -C "your_email@example.com"

When adding the Private Key to CircleCI, it should follow PEM format and should include the opening and closing tags:

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----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-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----

• Protected by a passphrase.

Since CircleCI cannot decrypt SSH keys, every new key must have an empty passphrase.

Please see our documentation for more information on Adding an SSH Key to CircleCI.