ssh while ssh-agent is running

Sam Darwin samuel.d.darwin at gmail.com
Wed Oct 2 02:14:10 AEST 2024


> ssh should do this already

Hi Damien,
Let's discuss what it does already... For example, if ssh-agent already has
six keys, will it append the "-i key" as the seventh choice?
Apparently there is a "six-key authentication limit on most servers". A
seventh key will fail. If ssh is adding the new key to the end of the list
it would be expected to fail.
This limit is actually why I haven't added to the newer key to the agent
also.

Which leads to an idea: how about switching the  "-i key" to the top of the
list, instead of the end.

> IdentitiesOnly

Ok. The option "-o IdentitiesOnly=yes" is another solution.
A problem with that, it's a bit cumbersome. You have to realize what the
cause of the problem, so that adding the flag will fix it (why is ssh
failing anyway?).  And then check the exact syntax.  And write that, on the
command-line.     It is another option though.


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