Tired of entering your SSH key password repeatedly during deployments or Git operations? There’s a simple way to manage your keys securely and efficiently by enabling automatic addition to ssh-agent.

Why Password-Protect SSH Keys?

Password-protecting your SSH keys is essential for securing access to your servers and repositories. However, if you’re not using your operating system’s keychain to store passwords, you might find yourself repeatedly running ssh-add or entering your password every time the key is used.

For workflows that involve multiple SSH connections, such as deployments, this can quickly become a headache.

The Simple Fix: AddKeysToAgent

By adding a single line to your .ssh/config, you can eliminate the need to manually add your keys or repeatedly enter your password. Here’s how:

Update Your SSH Config

Open (or create) your .ssh/config file and add the following line:

AddKeysToAgent yes

What Does This Do?

• Automatically adds your SSH keys to ssh-agent when they are used for the first time.
• Prompts you for the key password only once per session.
• Works seamlessly with tools like Git, which use SSH behind the scenes.

Example .ssh/config

Here’s an example configuration for a specific host:

Host example
  HostName server.example.com
  User yourusername
  IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_rsa
  AddKeysToAgent yes

This configuration ensures that when you connect to server.example.com, your SSH key is automatically added to ssh-agent on first use.

Benefits of Using AddKeysToAgent

• Convenience: Enter your password once per session, even for multi-connection tasks.
• Security: Your SSH key remains password-protected, and you avoid leaving unencrypted keys on disk.
• Compatibility: Works with all tools leveraging SSH, including Git.

Conclusion

Simplify your SSH key management by enabling AddKeysToAgent. With this one-line fix, you’ll save time and avoid repetitive password prompts during your workflow. Whether you’re deploying code or pulling from a Git repository, SSH just got a lot easier.

Try it today and enjoy a smoother, more secure workflow!