AWS ssh key pair with passphrase

Question

Is it possible to use the AWS Management Console to create an ssh key pair that requires a passphrase? I can create a key pair and associate it with an ec2 instance, but I'm never given the option to also set a passphrase for the key.

Answer 1

Directly through the console or the api you can't.

It is possible to create a keypair using external tools and import it. You can try to create the keypair with password and then import it using the console or the api.

For more information take a look at http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-key-pairs.html