How do I view the fingerprint of a private key?

Run ssh-keygen -lf path/to/private_key -E sha256 to compute the fingerprint from the private key.

Why does my fingerprint show as MD5 instead of SHA‑256?

Older OpenSSH versions default to MD5. Use -E sha256 to force SHA‑256 output.

Can I get the fingerprint for an SSH key stored on GitHub?

Yes, download the key file from GitHub or use the GitHub API to retrieve the key, then run ssh-keygen -lf on it.

2026-10-30 · Q&A guide

Find RSA Key Fingerprint on Linux for GitHub SSH Audit

Use OpenSSH tools to display the RSA key fingerprint for GitHub authentication. Follow these steps to audit your SSH keys.

Locate or Generate Your RSA Key

Most users store their keys in ~/.ssh. If you already ran ssh-keygen, the private key will be id_rsa and the public key id_rsa.pub. If you need to generate a new key, run ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com" and accept the default location.

Compute the Fingerprint with OpenSSH

OpenSSH provides a direct way to view the fingerprint. Use the following command to read the public key and display its SHA‑256 fingerprint:

ssh-keygen -lf ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

Verify the Fingerprint on GitHub

Log into GitHub, go to Settings → SSH and GPG keys, and click the key you want to audit. The displayed fingerprint should match the one produced by ssh-keygen. If they differ, the key file may be corrupted or a different key is being used.

Common Pitfalls and Tips

- Ensure you are using the public key (.pub) file, not the private key. - The -lf flag shows the fingerprint in the default SHA‑256 format; use -E md5 for older MD5 fingerprints if required by legacy systems. - If you have multiple keys, specify the exact path to avoid confusion.

Automate the Check in Scripts

For CI pipelines or regular audits, embed the command in a shell script and compare the output against a stored value. Example:

key_path="~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub"
expected="SHA256:abc123..."
actual=$(ssh-keygen -lf $key_path | awk '{print $2}')
[ "$actual" = "$expected" ] && echo "Fingerprint matches" || echo "Mismatch detected"

Takeaway: The OpenSSH ssh-keygen -lf command gives you the RSA fingerprint you need for GitHub audits.