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AGamePlayer
Asked: 2022-01-23 20:12:11 +0800 CST

Do I need to restart my Debian after removing one key in authorized_keys?

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I removed a public key in authorized_keys for a computer that I've lost.

I have some servers running on the Debian and am afraid that a reboot would cause some trouble.

However, I can't verify whether the lost-computer can still log in via the key.

Am I all good now or do I still need a reboot?

I'm using Debian 10.

debian authentication

2 Answers

  1. You do not, regardless of the distro, version or even the operating system type. authorized_keys file contains SSH public key database for certain user and is not used in bootstrap sequence nor in multiuser boot routine.

    You can even delete the whole file and it's absence will not break the boot up process.

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  2. SSH daemon checks the authorized_keys while when a client SSH is connecting to it. Therefore the updates to the file are applied immediately.

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