Sharing ssh keys between Windows and WSL2

Managing SSH keys across Windows and WSL can feel like a juggling act. Thankfully, a simple solution exists: creating a symbolic link (symlink) between the .ssh folders in both environments. This streamlines your workflow and eliminates the need for duplicate keys or conversions.

Streamlining Access with Symlinks

Preparation:

Backup existing keys: If you have existing SSH keys in your WSL .ssh directory, move them to a safe location to avoid conflicts. For example: mv ~/.ssh ~/.ssh_old

Creating the Symlink:

1. Open a WSL terminal: Launch your preferred WSL distribution.
2. Execute the ln command:

ln -s /mnt/c/Users/{username}/.ssh ~/.ssh

Replace {username} with your actual Windows username. This command creates a symlink from your Windows .ssh folder to your WSL home directory's .ssh folder.

Addressing Permission Issues:

1. Potential Error: Git commands may initially fail with a permission error like:

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@         WARNING: UNPROTECTED PRIVATE KEY FILE!          @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Permissions 0777 for 'id_ed25519' are too open.
It is required that your private key files are NOT accessible by others.
This private key will be ignored.
Load key "id_ed25519": bad permissions
git@github.com: Permission denied (publickey).
fatal: Could not read from remote repository.

Please make sure you have the correct access rights
and the repository exists.

2. Enable Metadata Options: This occurs because WSL defaults to 777 permissions for Windows files. To fix this, enable metadata options in WSL:

• Open /etc/wsl.conf using a text editor with root privileges (e.g., sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf).
• Add the following lines:

[automount]
options = "metadata"

• Save the changes and close the editor.

3. Restart WSL:

• Execute wsl --shutdown from PowerShell or Command Prompt to shut down WSL.
• Relaunch your WSL distribution.

Setting Correct Permissions:

Change file permissions: Use the chmod command to set appropriate permissions for your SSH key files:

chmod 600 ~/.ssh/id_rsa
chmod 644 ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

This sets the private key (id_rsa) to be readable and writable only by the owner (600) and the public key (id_rsa.pub) to be readable by everyone and writable only by the owner (644).

With these steps, your SSH keys will be seamlessly shared between Windows and WSL, enabling smooth and efficient development workflows. Happy coding!