SSH Keys Management
You can upload an SSH private key into a project via the TeamCity web interface and then use it when configuring VCS roots or in the SSH Agent build feature.
Supported Key Format
TeamCity supports keys in the PEM and OpenSSH formats. If your private key uses a different format, it has to be converted. For example, the Putty private key format (*.ppk), not supported by TeamCity, can be converted to the PEM format using PuTTY Key Generator: use the menu Conversions | Export OpenSSH key.
Uploading SSH Key to TeamCity Server
In Project Settings, click SSH Keys.
On the SSH Keys page, click Upload SSH Key.
In the "Upload SSH Key" dialog, select a private key (usually stored in
<USER_HOME>/.ssh/id_rsaor<USER_HOME>/.ssh/id_dsa).
When you upload an SSH key for a project, it is stored in <TeamCity Data Directory>/config/projects/<project>/pluginData/ssh_keys. TeamCity tracks this folder and is able to pick up new keys on-the-fly. The key will be available in the current project and its subprojects.
Once the key is uploaded, a VCS root can be configured to use this uploaded key.
SSH Key Usage
See SSH Agent for usage from within the build scripts.
The uploaded key can be used in a VCS root. SSH key is used on the server and is also passed to the agent in case agent-side checkout is configured.
During the build with agent-side checkout, the Git plugin downloads the key from the server to the agent. It temporarily saves the key on the agent's file system and removes it after git fetch/clone is completed.
To transfer the key from the server to the agent, TeamCity encrypts it with a DES symmetric cipher. For a more secure way, configure an HTTPS connection between agents and the server.