comment on another command line option

[Steve VanDevender]

Dennis Gearon writes:
 > I would like ssh to have the command line option of supplying the passphrase.
 > This would make it possible to do attendant free scp transfers from PHP, for
 > example. As it is, it is impossible to use a web script to initiate an scp xfer
 > if an encrypted private key is used.
 > 
 > I realize that stupid people could make shell scripts or web scripts then with
 > the pass phrase in them, but those same stupid people are just as likely to walk
 > out in front of cars. The preferred method is to supply the passphrase through
 > an ssl connected web page/script for a one time use.
 > 
 > without the ability to do attendant free scp transfers using pass phrased
 > private keys, the only remote to remote transfers that can be initiated by a web
 > script is via ssl, and that costs money for a certificate that most host's will
 > accept.

Why not just set up ssh-agent and add your intended key with ssh-add?
Then you can do password-free logins with subsequent invocations of ssh
or scp.

That's probably not the only way you can get what you want with the
existing OpenSSH functionality.