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4.8. Creating a user account with SSH key

The images created by Image Builder have the root account locked and no other accounts included. Such configuration is provided in order to ensure that images are secure, by not having a default password. Image Builder enables you to create a user account with SSH key for a blueprint so that you can authenticate to the image that you created from the blueprint. To do so, first, create a blueprint. Then, you will create a user account with a password and an SSH key. The following example shows how to create a Server administrator user with an SSH key configured.

Prerequisites

  • You have created an SSH key that will be paired with the created user later on in the process.
  • You have opened the Image Builder interface of the RHEL 8 web console in a browser.
  • You have an existing blueprint

Procedure

  1. Locate the blueprint that you want to create a user account for by entering its name or a part of it into the search box at the top left, and press Enter.

    The search is added to the list of filters under the text entry field, and the list of blueprints below is reduced to those that match the search.

  2. Click on the blueprint name to display the blueprint details.

    image builder create user account
  3. Click Create User Account.

    This will open a window with fields for user account creation

    image builder creating user account 2
  4. Fill in the details. Notice that when you insert the name, the User name field autocompletes, suggesting a username.

    If you want to provide administrators rights to the user account you are creating, check the Role field.

    Paste the content of your public SSH key file.

  5. Once you have inserted all the desired details, click Create.
  6. The new user account will appear in the user list, showing all the information you have inserted.

    image builder user account created
  7. If you want to create more user accounts for the blueprint, repeat the process.

Additional resources