Public Keys

A PublicKey is used to authenticate to Files.com via SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol). This method of authentication allows users to use their private key (which is never shared with Files.com) to authenticate themselves against the PublicKey stored on Files.com.

When a user configures their PublicKey, it allows them to bypass traditional password-based authentication, leveraging the security of key-based authentication instead.

Note that Files.com's SSH support is limited to file operations only. While users can securely transfer files and manage their data via SFTP, they do not have access to a full shell environment for executing arbitrary commands.

When generating new SSH keys, here are the available options: Files.com supports multiple SSH key algorithms: RSA (default 4096 bits, range 1024-4096 in 8-bit increments), DSA (1024 bits only), Ed25519 (256 bits), and ECDSA (256, 384, or 521 bits). When generating keys, the system uses these default lengths unless a specific length is specified.

Files.com also supports importing additional key types that cannot be generated: security key types (sk-ecdsa-sha2-nistp256, sk-ssh-ed25519). RSA keys up to 8192 bits are also supported for import.

List Public Keys

Command

files-cli public-keys list

Output

Outputs a list of PublicKey objects according to the output format.

Authorization Requirement

Not available to user API keys or sessions from users that are marked as Shared/Bot users.

Flags

FlagDescription
--user-id=
int64		User ID. Provide a value of 0 to operate the current session's user.

Additional Arguments

Example Request

files-cli public-keys list \
  --user-id=1

Show Public Key

Command

files-cli public-keys find

Output

Outputs a PublicKey object according to the output format.

Authorization Requirement

Not available to user API keys or sessions from users that are marked as Shared/Bot users.

Flags

FlagDescription
--id=
int64
Required		Public Key ID.

Example Request

files-cli public-keys find \
  --id=1

Create Public Key

Command

files-cli public-keys create

Output

Outputs a PublicKey object according to the output format.

Authorization Requirement

Not available to user API keys or sessions from users that are marked as Shared/Bot users.

Flags

FlagDefaultDescription
--user-id=
int64		User ID. Provide a value of 0 to operate the current session's user.
--title=
string
Required		Internal reference for key.
--public-key=
string		Actual contents of SSH key.
--generate-keypair
boolean		falseIf true, generate a new SSH key pair. Can not be used with public_key
--generate-private-key-password=
string		Password for the private key. Used for the generation of the key. Will be ignored if generate_keypair is false.
--generate-algorithm=
string		"rsa"Type of key to generate. One of rsa, dsa, ecdsa, ed25519. Used for the generation of the key. Will be ignored if generate_keypair is false.
--generate-length=
int64		Length of key to generate. If algorithm is ecdsa, this is the signature size. Used for the generation of the key. Will be ignored if generate_keypair is false.

Example Request

files-cli public-keys create \
  --title="My Main Key"

Update Public Key

Command

files-cli public-keys update

Output

Outputs a PublicKey object according to the output format.

Authorization Requirement

Not available to user API keys or sessions from users that are marked as Shared/Bot users.

Flags

FlagDescription
--id=
int64
Required		Public Key ID.
--title=
string
Required		Internal reference for key.

Example Request

files-cli public-keys update \
  --id=1 \
  --title="My Main Key"

Delete Public Key

Command

files-cli public-keys delete

Output

No output is returned.

Authorization Requirement

Not available to user API keys or sessions from users that are marked as Shared/Bot users.

Flags

FlagDescription
--id=
int64
Required		Public Key ID.

Example Request

files-cli public-keys delete \
  --id=1

The PublicKey Object

Some of the commands above return a PublicKey object. The attributes of this object are listed below.

AttributeDescription
id
int64		Public key ID
workspace_id
int64		Workspace ID (0 for default workspace).
title
string		Public key title
created_at
date-time		Public key created at date/time
expires_at
date-time		Public key expiration date/time
expired
boolean		Is this public key expired?
fingerprint
string		Public key fingerprint (MD5)
fingerprint_sha256
string		Public key fingerprint (SHA256)
status
string		Only returned when generating keys. Can be invalid, not_generated, generating, complete
Possible values: error, not_set, to_be_generated, generating, complete
last_login_at
date-time		Key's most recent login time via SFTP
generated_private_key
string		Only returned when generating keys. Private key generated for the user.
generated_public_key
string		Only returned when generating keys. Public key generated for the user.
username
string		Username of the user this public key is associated with
user_id
int64		User ID this public key is associated with