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What you’ll need

  • A Hivenet account with Compute credits
  • Windows 10 or later
  • Windows Terminal (or PowerShell)
  • OpenSSH installed (enabled by default on Windows 10+)

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Step 1 – Create your SSH key pair

Open Windows Terminal and run this command: 
ssh-keygen
  • Press Enter to accept the default location (C:\Users\<yourname>\.ssh\id_ed25519)
  • When prompted, you can set a passphrase (optional but recommended)
This creates two files:
  • id_ed25519 (your private key) — never share this
  • id_ed25519.pub (your public key) — you’ll upload this to Hivenet
Tip: If you see a message that the file already exists, you can overwrite it or cancel and use a new name (e.g., id_hivenet, id_rsa).
Already use a password manager? Many, including 1Password and Bitwarden, can generate and store SSH keys for you in one click. If that’s your workflow, feel free to skip the ssh-keygen command and copy the public key straight from your manager.

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Step 2 – Find your key files

Your key files are located in: 
C:\Users\<yourname>\.ssh\
You can open this folder in File Explorer or use PowerShell: 
cd $env:USERPROFILE\.ssh explorer .

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Step 3 – Add your public key to Hivenet

  1. Open the .pub file in a text editor (right-click > Open with Notepad)
  2. Copy the entire contents of the file
  3. Paste it into the SSH Key field when creating your instance on the Compute dashboard
Only paste the .pub file contents. Do not paste the private key.
The SSH key field accepts one public key only.If you want to authorize more keys later (for teammates or alternate devices), connect to the instance and add them manually in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys.

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Step 4 – Create a basic SSH config file (optional but useful)

In the same .ssh folder, create a new file named config (no file extension). Paste this in (make sure your SSH key name is similar to the name given): 
Host hivenet     
HostName <your-instance-id>.ssh.hivecompute.ai     
User ubuntu     
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519   
ProxyCommand ssh [email protected] %h
This lets you connect with: 
ssh hivenet
instead of typing the full connection string every time.

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Troubleshooting

  • “Permission denied (publickey)” — Your public key may not be added correctly or you’re using the wrong private key.
  • “Connection timed out” — Check your config file or try adding -v for more detailed output.
  • Terminal closes too fast? Open a terminal first, then paste the command manually instead of double-clicking a script.