macOS keeps asking my ssh passphrase since I updated to Sierra

It used to remember the passphrase, but now it's asking it to me each time.

I've read that I need to regenerate the public key with this command, which I did:

ssh-keygen -y -f id_rsa > id_rsa.pub

but it didn't fix anything.

How can I make macOS remember my passphrase again?

Solution 1:

In the latest version of macOS (10.12.2), this is easy to fix. Just edit your ~/.ssh/config and enable the UseKeychain option:

Host *
    UseKeychain yes

There is no need to change anything else. Now everything works the way it used to work before the latest updates. You do not need to add keys to ssh-agent.

Edit: You may still need to enter your passphrase once. If you don't know it, follow these instructions to reveal it.

Solution 2:

I had the same problem. MacOS Sierra keychain keeps asking for the passphrase. Your id_rsa should be encrypted with a passphrase for security. Then try adding it to the keychain ssh-add -K ~/.ssh/id_rsa

If your key is in another folder than ~/.ssh then substitute with the correct folder.

Keychain now knows your ssh key and, hopefully, all works now (mine did)

Solution 3:

This fixed my similar issue:

/usr/bin/ssh-add -K

This stores passphrases in your keychain.

Update (thanks @EasyCo): This works but does not persist between restarts. @jukka-suomela's solution on this page does work across restarts. You can find that answer here:

https://superuser.com/a/1158050/234685

Solution 4:

I only had to enter the correct passphrase once and it started working. The problem was that I didn't remember my original SSH passphrase, but I recovered it by following these steps from Github:

• In Finder, search for the Keychain Access app.
• In Keychain Access, search for SSH.
• Double click on the entry for your SSH key to open a new dialog box.
• Keychain access dialogIn the lower-left corner, select Show password.
• You'll be prompted for your administrative password. Type it into the "Keychain Access" dialog box.
• Your password will be revealed.

Solution 5:

None of the above solutions worked after installing Sierra over El Capitan on a new MacBook Pro. Sierra by design does not save SSH keys in the keychain.

Two solutions worked for me. One is to add the command ssh-add -A &> /dev/null to ~/.bash_profile. Every time you open the terminal, this command will be executed (the &> /dev/null part sends the output of the command the file /dev/null).

A more complicated but slightly slicker solution is to create a plist with the command that is executed every time the OS is booted as suggested in Saving SSH keys in macOS Sierra keychain. This involves using Xcode to create the file.