Create at least one keypair for each project. If you have generated a keypair with an external tool, you can import it into OpenStack. The keypair can be used for multiple instances that belong to a project. Create a key. To create a mykey key that you can associate with instances, run the following command: $ nova keypair-add mykey > mykey.pem Save the mykey.pem file to a secure location. It enables root access to any instances with which the mykey key is associated. Alternatively, you can import a keypair. To import an existing public key, mykey.pub, and associate it with the mykey key, run the following command: $ nova keypair-add --pub-key mykey.pub mykey You must have the matching private key to access instances that are associated with this key.