This warning appears when SSH cannot find or access the identity file (private key) at the specified path. It typically indicates the key file doesn't exist, the path is incorrect, or the file has been moved.
The SSH warning about an identity file not being accessible means that SSH attempted to load a private key from a specified file path but failed because the file either doesn't exist at that location or cannot be read. This is often just a warning—SSH will continue trying other configured identity files or authentication methods. However, if all identity files are inaccessible, SSH will fall back to password authentication or fail entirely if that's not available. The error message provides the exact path SSH was checking, which is useful for diagnosing the actual location of your key.
Check if the key file exists at the path SSH is looking for. List your SSH keys:
ls -la ~/.ssh/This shows all files in the .ssh directory. Look for standard SSH key names like:
- id_rsa / id_rsa.pub (RSA keys)
- id_ed25519 / id_ed25519.pub (ED25519 keys)
- id_dsa / id_dsa.pub (older DSA keys)
- Custom names if you created keys with custom filenames
If the file doesn't exist, you'll need to generate a new key (see step 3).
If the file does exist, verify the path is correct in your SSH config:
cat ~/.ssh/configLook for IdentityFile entries. The path should be:
- Absolute path: ~/.ssh/id_rsa or /home/username/.ssh/id_rsa
- Tilde expansion: ~ expands to your home directory
If you're using SSH in a script or tool, check the path specification there too. On Windows with WSL, ensure you use Unix-style paths like /mnt/c/Users/YourName/.ssh/id_rsa instead of Windows paths.
If the identity file doesn't exist and you don't have an SSH key yet, generate one:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"Or for RSA keys (if your server doesn't support ED25519):
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "[email protected]"Press Enter when asked for file location to save in the default ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 or ~/.ssh/id_rsa. Press Enter again for an empty passphrase, or enter a passphrase for security. The key will be created in the standard location that SSH expects.
SSH is strict about file permissions for security. Set the correct permissions:
chmod 700 ~/.ssh
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pubPermissions must be:
- Directory ~/.ssh: 700 (rwx------)
- Private key: 600 (rw-------)
- Public key: 644 (rw-r--r--)
SSH will refuse to use a private key if it's readable by other users (permissions must not be 644 or 777).
If you have multiple SSH keys or a custom filename, explicitly specify which key to use:
ssh -i ~/.ssh/custom_key_name user@hostOr for other tools:
scp -i ~/.ssh/custom_key file user@host:/pathFor Git operations, configure it per repository or globally:
git config core.sshCommand "ssh -i ~/.ssh/custom_key"For better organization, set up identity files in your SSH config file ~/.ssh/config:
Host myserver
HostName server.example.com
User username
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/backup_key
Host github.com
User git
IdentityFile ~/.ssh/github_keySSH will try each IdentityFile in order until one succeeds. Make sure the paths are correct and files exist.
Once you have a working identity file, copy the public key to the remote server:
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 user@hostOr manually:
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub | ssh user@host "mkdir -p ~/.ssh && cat >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys"Then verify you can connect without a warning:
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 user@hostWindows WSL Issues: If you're using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), SSH may not find keys on the Windows filesystem. Use Unix-style paths starting with /mnt/c/ instead of C:\. Better yet, generate keys directly in WSL at ~/.ssh/ within the Linux filesystem.
Multiple Identity Files: SSH tries multiple identity files in order. If one is inaccessible, it warns about it but continues to the next. This is why you might see the warning but still connect via password or another key. To suppress harmless warnings, explicitly specify only the keys you want in your SSH config.
File Ownership: The identity file must be owned by you (the user running SSH). If the file is owned by root or another user, SSH won't use it. Check with ls -l ~/.ssh/id_rsa and change ownership if needed: chown $USER:$USER ~/.ssh/id_rsa.
Symlinks: If your identity file is a symlink, ensure the target file exists and has correct permissions. SSH follows symlinks, so the actual file (not just the link) must be accessible.
SSH Agent: For repeated connections, add your key to the SSH agent to avoid entering a passphrase each time: ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519. The agent keeps the key in memory for the session.
Cloud Environments (AWS, GCP, Azure): Cloud VMs often have default key paths. When creating instances, ensure you download the private key file and store it with proper permissions. Tools like Terraform, Ansible, or cloud CLIs will expect the key at a specific path.
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