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Using an SSH agent to avoid typing your password
Not only is typing your passphrase once convenient, you can make your password very complicated and only ever type an easy to remember passphrase to access all your accounts.
At the shell
At any time, you can type
ssh-agent /bin/ksh
ssh-add $HOME/private_key.rsa
(you can replace /bin/ksh
by your favorite shell). Any command issued from then on that uses ssh
to interact with a server that hosts your public key (e.g. ssh, sshfs, rsync
) will not require a password e.g.
home_pc$ ssh-agent /bin/ksh
home_pc$ ssh-add $HOME/public_key.rsa
Enter passphrase for /home/user/public_key.rsa:
Identity added: /home/user/public_key.rsa (/home/user/public_key.rsa)
home_pc$ ssh miku.freeshell.org
miku$
Any Window Manager
Arrange to have
ssh-add $HOME/private_key.rsa
run at login (e.g. via $HOME/.xinitrc or as a "Startup Application in Gnome/KDE"). You should get a popup asking for your passphrase.
Gnome
KDE
Mac OS X
Windows
You may have to change your openssh formatted private key to PuTTY's .ppk format via PuTTYgen.
$Id: agent.html,v 1.3 2011/09/11 13:31:10 jbaber Exp $
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