I'm using Pageant (on Windows 7) to login to SSH connections with private keys .ppk files. However each time I start the program I have to add all the keys I want again and enter their encryption keys. How can I get it to save this stuff?
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7I have the same problem (which I don't feel is addressed in the answers). Pageant no longer saves the keys for me. Of course the passphrase isn't saved, that would be idiotic, but I see no reason to drop the keys. Tried to run as Administrator, didn't help.– ZanoSep 17, 2012 at 11:04
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May be this would be useful: winscp.net/eng/docs/ui_pageant#getting_started_with_pageant– shasi kanthMay 23, 2016 at 13:13
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For me helped this: gist.github.com/chunter/3ec25dd802c2163265eacfcb6f53cb7d– TaratorJan 12, 2021 at 10:49
6 Answers
Pageant cannot save the encryption keys for the key files. That would defeat the entire purpose of encrypting the keys in the first place...
However, if you edit the keys with PuTTYgen, you can store the keys unecrypted. Just leave the password field blank.
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1Note that unencrypted keys are quite insecure and anyone obtaining the key files has access to the servers for that key.– IkkeJan 23, 2014 at 8:25
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9I don't think he's talking about saving the passwords for the keys. Pageant totally forgets about the entire existence of
.ppk
files it has loaded. Even ones without password protection. That's clearly stupid.– TimmmmJul 19, 2017 at 8:46
As mentioned already, you can add the key locations as command-line arguments to pageant. If you are running pageant from the Windows Start-Up folder, simply pass the key locations in as command-line arguments in the shortcut. For example:
"c:\program files\putty\pageant.exe" "c:\mykey.ppk"
For a comprehensive guide to setting this up, see the this page.
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1Running that command in a batch file seems to freeze the command line. It never return from the execution. It does however starts it fine, but control never comes back to the batch file.– AchsharJun 24, 2013 at 1:53
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@Achshar the solution described above doesn't need a batch file; you can simply create a Windows shortcut that points to pageant.exe, then add the .ppk's path to the end of the Target field in the shortcut's Properties. If you do want to run this in a .bat, you'd need to use
START C:\path\to\pageant.exe ...
to kick off pageant in a separate process. Sep 29, 2016 at 14:08 -
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If you want to defer the password prompt to decrypt encrypted keys until you actually try to login to something that uses the key, use
"c:\program files\putty\pageant.exe" --encrypted "c:\mykey.ppk"
. Pageant will then prompt for the passphrase on first use of the key, and then keep the decrypted key cached for further use. Feb 22 at 8:54
The simplest way to do this in Windows is to create a specially crafted shortcut inside the Startup folder (Start -> Programs -> Startup):
Note: This only works if you did not set a password on your key
- go to Start menu, then "Programs", right click on the Startup folder and choose "Open"
- right-click inside the folder and select "New", then "Shortcut"
- browse to your PuTTY installation, for example "C:\Program Files (x86)\Atlassian\SourceTree\tools\putty" and select "pageant.exe"
- name the shortcut whatever you want
- right-click the newly created shortcut and select "Properties" You should see something like this:
Append its full path to your "Target" field like so: Target: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Atlassian\SourceTree\tools\putty\pageant.exe" C:\Git\Key.ppk
You should now see:
This particular set up is for GitFlow and Jira.
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@isherwood, My work blocks that link because it categorizes the blog as games.– crh225Dec 12, 2016 at 19:33
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1
If you use SourceTree, make sure you fill in the 'SSH Key' option in the settings. It will automatically pass it to Pageant when it runs it.
You can also simply not close pagent If that fits with your security model. I have mine configured to auto-start with my private key when my system boots up, so that when I load my desktop I just type in my password, and I'm good to go until I shut my system down. You'd want to set a screensaver password and an aggressive screensaver activation to make sure your system is quickly protected in the event you leave it, though.