The given command adds the public SSH key from the...

The given command adds the public SSH key from the local machine to the authorized_keys file of the remote user on the specified host. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of what it does:

1. type %USERPROFILE%\.ssh\id_rsa.pub:

   • This is a Windows command to display the contents of the file id_rsa.pub, which is the public SSH key stored in the .ssh directory within the user's profile folder (%USERPROFILE%).

2. |:

   • This is a pipe operator, which takes the output of the first command (the content of the id_rsa.pub file) and sends it as input to the next command.

3. ssh user@host "cat >> .ssh/authorized_keys":

   • This portion connects to a remote machine using SSH as the specified user on the specified host.
   • Once connected, the cat >> .ssh/authorized_keys command is executed on the remote machine. This appends (>>) the public key provided through the pipe to the file ~/.ssh/authorized_keys on the remote machine (the ~ refers to the home directory of the remote user).

Summary:

The full command appends the local public SSH key (id_rsa.pub) to the authorized_keys file on a remote host. This grants the local user SSH access to the remote host without needing to provide a password next time they connect (assuming key-based authentication is properly configured).