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why can't I connect to my ssh server UNLESS I enter eval "$(ssh-agent -s)" first?
(lemmy.dbzer0.com)
I have my own ssh server (on raspberry pi 5, Ubuntu Server 23) but when I try to connect from my PC using key authentication (having password disabled), I get a blank screen. A blinking cursor.
However, once I enter the command eval "$(ssh-agent -s)" and try ssh again, I successfully login after entering my passphrase. I don't want to issue this command every time. Is that possible?
This does not occur when I have password enabled on the ssh server. Also, ideally, I want to enter my passphrase EVERYTIME I connect to my server, so ideally I don't want it to be stored in cache or something. I want the passphrase to be a lil' password so that other people can't accidentally connect to my server when they use my PC.
The whole point of ssh-agent is to remember your passphrase. If you don't want to do that your problem might be that for some reason ssh client doesn't pick up your key. Try defining it for the host
Also, there's -v flag for ssh. Use it to debug what's going on when it doesn't try to use your key
FWIW, I've found that the -v flag often doesn't say why it's not using your key, just that it isn't using your key and it has fallen back to password authentication.
It's usually not terribly helpful for figuring out why it's not using your key, just that it's not using your key, which you kind of already know if it's prompting you for a password. lol
Because it's basically axiomatic: ssh uses all keys it knows about. The system can't tell you why it's not using something it doesn't know it should be able to use. You can give a -i for the certificate to check if it doesn't know it because the content is broken or the location.
That said: this doesn't make -v more useful for cases like this, just because there's a reason!