AuthorizedKeysFile

AuthorizedKeysFile is a configuration directive used in SSH (Secure Shell) server configurations, specifically in the sshd_config file. Its primary purpose is to specify the location of the file that contains the public keys authorized to log in to the server without requiring a password. By default, this file is named authorized_keys and is located in the .ssh directory within the user's home directory.

When an SSH client attempts to connect to a server, and password authentication is disabled or a public key is provided, the SSH server will look for the public key in the file specified by the AuthorizedKeysFile directive. If a matching public key is found in this file, and the corresponding private key is presented by the client, the user is granted access.

The directive can be configured to point to multiple files or to a different directory. For example, it can be set to ".ssh/authorized_keys .ssh/authorized_keys2" to check two different files, or to a completely custom path if system-wide key management is desired. The path specified is relative to the user's home directory unless an absolute path is given. This directive enhances security by enabling key-based authentication, which is generally considered more secure than password-based authentication.