How to Create a Key Pair in AWS A key pair is a set of public and private keys that you can use to securely connect to your AWS instances. The public key is a cryptographic code that can be used by anyone to encrypt data, while the private key is a secret code that can be used to decrypt the data. To create a key pair using the AWS Management Console: Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the Amazon EC2 console. In the navigation pane, under Network & Security , choose Key Pairs . Choose Create key pair . In the Create key pair dialog box, enter a name for your key pair and choose the file format. You can choose PEM or PPK for Windows or Linux instances. Choose Create key pair . The console will download the private key file to your computer. You must save this file in a secure location and never share it with anyone. You will need this file to connect to your instances later. You can view the public key of ...