Where should the SSH key be placed in a project or system?

SSH keys should not be stored directly in the project (for example, in the repository) to avoid leaking private data. They are usually placed in the user's home directory on the machine, in the ~/.ssh/ folder.

There, private keys (e.g., id_rsa) and corresponding public keys (id_rsa.pub) are stored. When working with remote servers or repositories, the SSH client automatically uses these keys for authentication.

If you need to use keys in CI/CD or containers, they are transmitted through secure environment variables or secrets, not placed in the repository.

Therefore, the correct place for SSH keys is the local secure user directory, not the project source code folder.