What does "Host key did not appear in manually configured list" mean?

Question

I'm trying to set up an SSH key pair. I have so far I have

1. Generated the pair with PuTTYGen
2. Saved the private key to the client machine
3. Added the public key to server. I put it in the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file for the user that I will be using to connect
4. Added the fingerprint from PuTTYGen to the Connection > SSH > Host Keys menu in PuTTY
5. Added the path of the private key to the Connection > SSH > Auth menu in PuTTY

But when I try to connect I get the error "Host key did not appear in manually configured list".

Answer 1

The step 4 is wrong:

Added the fingerprint from PuTTYGen to the Connection > SSH > Host Keys menu in PuTTY

The "Host keys" box is for public key of the server (host key). While you have added there your public key.

In general, you do not need to add anything there. Just verify the host key on the prompt, that you will get on the first connection. What you have probably done already anyway. If not, see my article Where do I get SSH host key fingerprint to authorize the server? – You can also check another article Understanding SSH Key Pairs.