Xojo Plugin

SFTP Authenticate with Password and Private Key

Demonstrates the Chilkat SFtp.AuthenticatePwPk method, which authenticates with a server that requires both a password and a private key. The arguments are the username, the password, and an SshKey private key.

Note: The private-key path is relative to the application's current working directory. Supply the path to your own key file.

Background: Most servers require either a password or a public key, not both — but some high-security deployments mandate two-factor SSH, combining something you know (the password) with something you have (the key). This method satisfies that policy in one call. As always, the password should come from a secure source rather than a literal in code.

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Dim success As Boolean
success = False

//  Demonstrates the SFtp.AuthenticatePwPk method, which authenticates with a server that requires
//  BOTH a password and a private key.  The 1st argument is the username, the 2nd is the password,
//  and the 3rd is an SshKey private key.

Dim sftp As New Chilkat.SFtp

//  Step 1: Connect the SSH transport.  Port 22 is the usual port.
Dim port As Int32
port = 22
success = sftp.Connect("sftp.example.com",port)
If (success = False) Then
    System.DebugLog(sftp.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

//  Normally you would not hard-code the password in source.  You should instead obtain it
//  from an interactive prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
Dim password As String
password = "mySshPassword"

//  Load the SSH private key.  LoadText reads the file's text, which is then imported.
Dim privKey As New Chilkat.SshKey
Dim keyText As String
keyText = privKey.LoadText("qa_data/id_rsa")
If (privKey.LastMethodSuccess = False) Then
    System.DebugLog(privKey.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

success = privKey.FromOpenSshPrivateKey(keyText)
If (success = False) Then
    System.DebugLog(privKey.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

success = sftp.AuthenticatePwPk("mySshLogin",password,privKey)
If (success = False) Then
    System.DebugLog(sftp.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

//  Step 3: Open the SFTP subsystem.  This must be done after authentication and before any
//  file or directory operations.
success = sftp.InitializeSftp()
If (success = False) Then
    System.DebugLog(sftp.LastErrorText)
    Return
End If

System.DebugLog("Authenticated with a password and a private key.")

sftp.Disconnect