How to Change the Passphrase for a Secure Shell Private Key

The following command changes the authentication mechanism for the private key, the passphrase, and not the actual private key. For more information, see the ssh-keygen(1) man page.

• Change your passphrase.

  Type the ssh-keygen command with the –p option, and answer the prompts.

  mySystem% ssh-keygen -p
  Enter file which contains the private key 
        (/home/username/.ssh/id_rsa):<Press Return>
  Enter passphrase 
        (empty for no passphrase): <Type passphrase>
  Enter same passphrase again:   <Type passphrase>

  where –p requests changing the passphrase of a private key file.