Kallidus supports public key authentication for SFTP data transfers, letting your system connect without sending a password.
You generate a key pair on your side. The private key stays with you and is never shared. The public key is sent to Kallidus and added to your SFTP account.
Key requirements
Use Ed25519 (EdDSA). If your data feed system does not support Ed25519, use RSA at 4096-bit.
Either way, the key must be in OpenSSH format. A passphrase is supported but, because most data feeds run unattended, an unencrypted key held in a secrets store is usually the more practical choice.
Generating a key pair
These are the two most common tools; others work equally well.
Windows, macOS or Linux command line: use ssh-keygen, which ships with OpenSSH.
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "yourcompany-sftp"
For RSA:
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "yourcompany-sftp"
Press Enter at the passphrase prompt to create a key without one.
This produces two files. The one ending .pub is your public key. The default save location for these files is ~/.ssh/ on macOS and Linux, C:\Users\<you>\.ssh\ on Windows.
PuTTYgen: select EdDSA (Ed25519) or RSA with 4096 bits, click Generate, move the mouse over the blank area to generate randomness when prompted, then copy the entire contents of the box at the top labelled "Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file". Do not use the Save public key button, which writes a different format, and do not use Conversions > Export OpenSSH key, which exports your private key.
Sending us the public key
A public key is a single line that starts with ssh-ed25519 or ssh-rsa, for example:
ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIB4k... yourcompany-sftp
Send it to support via the ticket system providing the SFTP account you need the key attached to. We will confirm once the key is active. Password authentication remains enabled alongside the key, and can be disabled on request.
Never send your private key or passphrase to Kallidus or anyone else. A private key file begins with -----BEGIN OPENSSH PRIVATE KEY----- or ends in .ppk. If you have sent either by mistake, generate a new key pair and tell us.
Key rotation
If you need to rotate keys, please generate a new pair and send a request to support via the ticket system to replace your existing key.