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Send to SFTP using a key

The Send to FTP Job Action, when using the SFTP protocol, offers four authentication options:

  • Password
  • Path to Key
  • Raw Key text
  • No authentication

For the key options, Informer needs an unencrypted RSA private key. SFTP vendors often provide keys in PuTTY's PPK format, which must be converted, or you may need to create a key from scratch and give the public half to the vendor. This guide uses PuTTYgen.

Create and convert the key​

  1. In PuTTYgen, set Key to SSH-2 RSA and click Generate (this can take a moment).
  2. Click File → Save private key. When warned about saving without a passphrase, click Yes, then name the .ppk file. (If you already have a PPK, skip to loading it.)
  3. Click Load and select the .ppk file.
  4. Click Conversions → Export OpenSSH key. When warned about the passphrase, click Yes, and save the file with a .pem extension.

Use the key in Informer​

Open the .pem file in a text editor. It is a base64 RSA private key with this shape:

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
... base64-encoded key body ...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

In the Send to FTP Action, either paste the raw key text into the Raw Key text field or point Informer at the Path to Key (the .pem file). If the vendor requested a matching public key, copy it from PuTTYgen and share it with them.

warning

Treat a private key like a password. Do not paste it into screenshots, tickets, or anywhere it could be exposed.