community.crypto.openssh_keypair – Generate OpenSSH private and public keys.

Note

This plugin is part of the community.crypto collection (version 1.3.0).

To install it use: ansible-galaxy collection install community.crypto.

To use it in a playbook, specify: community.crypto.openssh_keypair.

Synopsis
Requirements
Parameters
Notes
Examples
Return Values

Synopsis

This module allows one to (re)generate OpenSSH private and public keys. It uses ssh-keygen to generate keys. One can generate rsa, dsa, rsa1, ed25519 or ecdsa private keys.

Requirements

The below requirements are needed on the host that executes this module.

ssh-keygen

Parameters

Parameter	Choices/Defaults	Comments
attributes string added in 2.3 of ansible.builtin		The attributes the resulting file or directory should have. To get supported flags look at the man page for chattr on the target system. This string should contain the attributes in the same order as the one displayed by lsattr. The `=` operator is assumed as default, otherwise `+` or `-` operators need to be included in the string. aliases: attr
comment string		Provides a new comment to the public key.
force boolean	no ← yes	Should the key be regenerated even if it already exists
group string		Name of the group that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.
mode raw		The permissions the resulting file or directory should have. For those used to /usr/bin/chmod remember that modes are actually octal numbers. You must either add a leading zero so that Ansible's YAML parser knows it is an octal number (like `0644` or `01777`) or quote it (like `'644'` or `'1777'`) so Ansible receives a string and can do its own conversion from string into number. Giving Ansible a number without following one of these rules will end up with a decimal number which will have unexpected results. As of Ansible 1.8, the mode may be specified as a symbolic mode (for example, `u+rwx` or `u=rw,g=r,o=r`).
owner string		Name of the user that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.
path path / required		Name of the files containing the public and private key. The file containing the public key will have the extension `.pub`.
regenerate string added in 1.0.0 of community.crypto	never fail partial_idempotence ← full_idempotence always	Allows to configure in which situations the module is allowed to regenerate private keys. The module will always generate a new key if the destination file does not exist. By default, the key will be regenerated when it doesn't match the module's options, except when the key cannot be read or the passphrase does not match. Please note that this changed for Ansible 2.10. For Ansible 2.9, the behavior was as if `full_idempotence` is specified. If set to `never`, the module will fail if the key cannot be read or the passphrase isn't matching, and will never regenerate an existing key. If set to `fail`, the module will fail if the key does not correspond to the module's options. If set to `partial_idempotence`, the key will be regenerated if it does not conform to the module's options. The key is not regenerated if it cannot be read (broken file), the key is protected by an unknown passphrase, or when they key is not protected by a passphrase, but a passphrase is specified. If set to `full_idempotence`, the key will be regenerated if it does not conform to the module's options. This is also the case if the key cannot be read (broken file), the key is protected by an unknown passphrase, or when they key is not protected by a passphrase, but a passphrase is specified. Make sure you have a backup when using this option! If set to `always`, the module will always regenerate the key. This is equivalent to setting force to `yes`. Note that adjusting the comment and the permissions can be changed without regeneration. Therefore, even for `never`, the task can result in changed.
selevel string		The level part of the SELinux file context. This is the MLS/MCS attribute, sometimes known as the `range`. When set to `_default`, it will use the `level` portion of the policy if available.
serole string		The role part of the SELinux file context. When set to `_default`, it will use the `role` portion of the policy if available.
setype string		The type part of the SELinux file context. When set to `_default`, it will use the `type` portion of the policy if available.
seuser string		The user part of the SELinux file context. By default it uses the `system` policy, where applicable. When set to `_default`, it will use the `user` portion of the policy if available.
size integer		Specifies the number of bits in the private key to create. For RSA keys, the minimum size is 1024 bits and the default is 4096 bits. Generally, 2048 bits is considered sufficient. DSA keys must be exactly 1024 bits as specified by FIPS 186-2. For ECDSA keys, size determines the key length by selecting from one of three elliptic curve sizes: 256, 384 or 521 bits. Attempting to use bit lengths other than these three values for ECDSA keys will cause this module to fail. Ed25519 keys have a fixed length and the size will be ignored.
state string	present ← absent	Whether the private and public keys should exist or not, taking action if the state is different from what is stated.
type string	rsa ← dsa rsa1 ecdsa ed25519	The algorithm used to generate the SSH private key. `rsa1` is for protocol version 1. `rsa1` is deprecated and may not be supported by every version of ssh-keygen.
unsafe_writes boolean added in 2.2 of ansible.builtin	no ← yes	Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target file. By default this module uses atomic operations to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target files, but sometimes systems are configured or just broken in ways that prevent this. One example is docker mounted files, which cannot be updated atomically from inside the container and can only be written in an unsafe manner. This option allows Ansible to fall back to unsafe methods of updating files when atomic operations fail (however, it doesn't force Ansible to perform unsafe writes). IMPORTANT! Unsafe writes are subject to race conditions and can lead to data corruption.

Notes

Note

In case the ssh key is broken or password protected, the module will fail. Set the force option to yes if you want to regenerate the keypair.

Examples

- name: Generate an OpenSSH keypair with the default values (4096 bits, rsa)
  community.crypto.openssh_keypair:
    path: /tmp/id_ssh_rsa

- name: Generate an OpenSSH rsa keypair with a different size (2048 bits)
  community.crypto.openssh_keypair:
    path: /tmp/id_ssh_rsa
    size: 2048

- name: Force regenerate an OpenSSH keypair if it already exists
  community.crypto.openssh_keypair:
    path: /tmp/id_ssh_rsa
    force: True

- name: Generate an OpenSSH keypair with a different algorithm (dsa)
  community.crypto.openssh_keypair:
    path: /tmp/id_ssh_dsa
    type: dsa

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key	Returned	Description
comment string	changed or success	The comment of the generated key Sample: test@comment
filename string	changed or success	Path to the generated SSH private key file Sample: /tmp/id_ssh_rsa
fingerprint string	changed or success	The fingerprint of the key. Sample: SHA256:r4YCZxihVjedH2OlfjVGI6Y5xAYtdCwk8VxKyzVyYfM
public_key string	changed or success	The public key of the generated SSH private key Sample: ssh-rsa AAAAB3Nza(...omitted...)veL4E3Xcw== test_key
size integer	changed or success	Size (in bits) of the SSH private key Sample: 4096
type string	changed or success	Algorithm used to generate the SSH private key Sample: rsa

Authors

David Kainz (@lolcube)

© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2019 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.10/collections/community/crypto/openssh_keypair_module.html