SSH Agent

ssh-agent

The ssh-agent keeps your keys unlocked in memory, so you type a key's passphrase once instead of on every git push. The ssh-agent page shows the keys it holds.

Load a key

• Keys page: key's ⋯ menu → Add to ssh-agent.
• CLI: lanyard agent add id_ed25519_servers

Keys without a passphrase load straight away. For a key with a passphrase, Lanyard opens a terminal where ssh-add asks for it; type it there, then click Refresh on the ssh-agent page.

Unload keys

• One key: Remove from agent on its row, or lanyard agent rm <key>.
• All keys: Remove all, or lanyard agent clear.

When the agent is not running

If no agent is reachable, the page says so and shows how to start one:

Windows. The OpenSSH Authentication Agent is a Windows service and is disabled by default. In PowerShell as Administrator:

Get-Service ssh-agent | Set-Service -StartupType Automatic
Start-Service ssh-agent

macOS. The agent starts automatically. To keep keys loaded across reboots, add this to ~/.ssh/config (outside Lanyard's managed section):

Host *
    UseKeychain yes
    AddKeysToAgent yes

Linux. Most desktops start an agent for you. In a plain shell, start one with:

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"