sshpubkeys

library3.3.1pypypi✓ verified 22d ago

sshpubkeys is a Python library for parsing SSH public keys. It supports various key types (RSA, DSA, ECDSA, Ed25519) and can handle authorized_keys file formats, including options like 'command=' or 'no-port-forwarding'. The current version is 3.3.1, and it maintains an active, feature-driven release cadence.

auth-security serialization

pip install sshpubkeys

github ↗package ↗

INSTALL

IMPORT

SIG · SSHPUBKEYS

sshpubkeys

auth-securitypythonv3.3.1

Install

2.6s avg

Import

73ms

Disk

35MB

Pass rate

10/ 10

Env Coverage10 / 10

glibc

3.9–3.13

musl

3.9–3.13

Install & Compatibility

Where this runs

tested against v3.3.1 · pip install

no network on importno background threads

Install × environment matrix

Each cell = how many times install + import succeeded across repeated harness runs. Partial = flaky.
glibc = Debian/Ubuntu slim · musl = Alpine Linux

musl

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 0.0s · import 0.072s · 36.3MB

glibc

py 3.10–3.95 runs

installs and imports cleanly · install 2.6s · import 0.074s · 37MB

35MB installed

● package 35MB

Code

Verified usage

Verified import paths — ran on the pinned version, not inferred.

SSHKey

✓ from sshpubkeys import SSHKey

InvalidKeyException

✓ from sshpubkeys import InvalidKeyException

Initialize an SSHKey object from a public key string, retrieve its properties, and perform basic validation. Demonstrates handling of `InvalidKeyException`.

from sshpubkeys import SSHKey, InvalidKeyException import os # This is a dummy example key. Replace with a real key or load from a file. # For actual use, avoid hardcoding keys directly in code. # A real key might look like: 'ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCq2z/t... user@example.com' example_public_key_string = os.environ.get( 'SSH_PUBLIC_KEY', 'ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCw0Y1c/tFk9k/N... dummy_key@example.com' ) try: key = SSHKey(example_public_key_string) print(f"Key type: {key.key_type}") print(f"Key length: {key.length}") print(f"Fingerprint (MD5): {key.hash_md5}") print(f"Fingerprint (SHA256): {key.hash_sha256}") print(f"Comment: {key.comment}") key.verify_length() # Ensures key length is standard for its type print("Key is valid and has standard length.") except InvalidKeyException as e: print(f"Error parsing SSH key: {e}") except Exception as e: print(f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}")

Debug

Known issues

breakingSupport for Python 2.6 and Python 3.3 was dropped.

fix

Upgrade your Python environment to Python 3.4+ (preferably 3.6+).

affects: v3.0.0 onwards

breakingHandling of DSA keys changed; 'loose mode' no longer accepts non-standard DSA key lengths.

fix

Ensure all DSA keys conform to standard lengths (e.g., 1024-bit). If you rely on non-standard lengths, you may need to regenerate or migrate keys.

affects: v3.0.0 onwards

breakingThe internal ECDSA implementation dependency shifted from `ecdsa` to `cryptography`. While generally internal, direct interaction with `_key.ecdsa_key` or similar internal objects will break.

fix

Refactor code to use only the public API of `SSHKey`. Avoid accessing internal, private attributes or methods that may rely on specific underlying cryptographic libraries.

affects: v3.2.0 onwards

gotchaPython 3.5 support was temporarily broken in versions immediately preceding `3.3.1`, despite earlier support.

fix

If using Python 3.5, ensure you are on `sshpubkeys` version `3.3.1` or later for correct compatibility, or preferably, upgrade to a newer, actively supported Python version.

affects: v3.3.0 (specifically a bug introduced and then reverted by v3.3.1)

gotchaA typo `ed25516` was corrected to `ed25519` for the key type. While primarily an internal fix, users relying on string comparisons with the incorrect type might be affected.

fix

Always use the `key_type` property and verify against the correct 'ed25519' string. Ensure your code doesn't implicitly rely on the old typo for string comparisons or type lookups.

affects: v3.2.0 onwards (fix applied in v3.2.0)

Errors

Common errors & fixes

PublicKeyError: Invalid key format

The input string provided to SSHKey does not represent a valid SSH public key in any recognized format.

fix

Ensure the input string is a correctly formatted SSH public key (e.g., 'ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQ...'); often caused by malformed or incomplete key strings.

PublicKeyError: Invalid options in authorized_keys line: <MALFORMED_OPTION>

The options specified in an authorized_keys line are malformed or use incorrect syntax (e.g., missing quotes around command values).

fix

Correct the syntax of the options in the authorized_keys line, ensuring proper quoting for values (e.g., `command="/usr/bin/my_script"` instead of `command=/usr/bin/my_script`).

PublicKeyError: Unknown key type: <UNKNOWN_TYPE>

The SSH key type specified in the public key string (e.g., 'ssh-rsa', 'ssh-dss') is not recognized or supported by the sshpubkeys library.

fix

Verify that the key type is a standard and supported SSH key type (e.g., `ssh-rsa`, `ssh-dss`, `ecdsa-sha2-nistp256`, `ssh-ed25519`) and that it is spelled correctly.

Upgrade

Version history

3.3.1latest on PyPI · released Feb 4, 2021

Audit

Dependencies

cryptographyrequiredProvides underlying cryptographic primitives for key parsing and validation. Replaced `ecdsa` as of v3.2.0.

Agent activity

21 hits · last 30 days

node

OpenAI (training)

Resources

githubhttps://github.com/ojarva/python-sshpubkeys ↗

packagehttps://pypi.org/project/sshpubkeys/ ↗