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. 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. 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.