Retrieve the Nessus Agents Linking Key

Before you begin the Nessus Agents installation process, you must retrieve the Nessus Agent Linking Key from Nessus Manager or

Use this procedure to retrieve the linking key in Nessus Manager or

To retrieve the linking key in Nessus Manager:

  1. In the top navigation bar, click Scans.

    The My Scans page appears.

  2. In the left navigation bar, click Agents.

    The Agents page appears.

  3. (Optional) In Nessus Manager 8.10 and later, to modify the Linking Key, click the button next to the linking key.

    Examples of when you would want to modify a linking key include:

    • You regenerated your linking key and want to revert to a previous linking key.
    • You have a mass deployment script where you want to predefine your linking key.

    Note: The linking key must be a 64 character alphanumeric string.

  4. Record or copy the Linking Key.

To retrieve the linking key in the new interface:


    The left navigation plane appears.

  2. In the left navigation plane, click Settings.

    The Settings page appears.

  3. Click the Sensors widget.

    The Sensors page appears. By default, Agents is selected in the left navigation menu and the Linked Agents tab is active.

  4. In the upper-right corner of the page, click Add Agent.

    The Add Agent plane appears.

  5. Click the Copy button to copy the Linking Key.

    A Linking key copied to clipboard confirmation message appears.

What to do next: